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Apologies, a couple of corrections GUS's surname(!) and his relationship to Alice and Lina. Trying to do too much at once!
)
I only found out about this today and I'm going to need as much help as possible with this please. The chances of success are likely to be slim at best but someone, somewhere, could well have the answer.
My cousin, Mike, recently got a copy of Sidney Ezra's WWII naval record which revealed he'd been awarded 4 medals: the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic Star (1942/43), the Burma Star and the 1939-45 War Medal. He, or one of his aunts on his behalf, applied for the medals on 18 Dec 1950 and they were sent to their address: 24 Malden Road, Borehamwood, addressed to Miss Ellis, of whom there were two, Alice and Lina. Sid (aka GUS) was living at 97 Shenley Road, Borehamwood.
Mike doesn't know if his aunts passed the medals on to GUS but that is the last that is positively known of their whereabouts.
When that part of Borehamwood was developed, 97 Shenley Road was demolished along with others and GUS was moved temporarily into another cottage nearby.
Sometime between about 1955 and 1965 GUS's home was broken into and a number of items stolen, including his fishing tackle. GUS never mentioned the medals but was upset about losing the fishing tackle.
Alice died in 1947 and Lina died in 1956. They both lived at the same address. Their niece, Mike's mother, cleared the house but there was not mention of the medals which Mike feels sure there would have been had they been there.
My father was close to GUS but I have no recollection of seeing a group of 4 medals, so I don't think my father ever had them.
GUS died in Ipswich in 1972 and Mike cleared the house but found no medals only GUS's service record which was subsequently destroyed sometime between 1978 and 1990.
I've only just started the hunt: my first stop will be newspapers to see if by any chance the British Newspaper Archive has a mention. What I'm looking for is any mention of the burglary.
What papers would have covered Borehamwood in the 1950s and 1960s?
A long shot is Hertfordshire Police in case there was a crime report and, if so, an investigation.
What sites are there where medals can be bought/sold? I know it was a long time ago so GUS's may have come on the market a few times since their last sighting.
Mike and I would
really like to find these medals if it is at all possible.
Any and all help would be
very, very much appreciated. I will be posting this to my blog (link below) and everywhere else I can think of in the possibly vain hope these four medals can be located.
