FED:Family medal returns to historian

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2011
FED:Family medal returns to historian

By Max Blenkin, AAP Defence Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 20 AAP - Australian War Memorial historian Aaron Pegram always thought
the medals of his great-uncle Albert, killed by a German sniper in 1917, were long lost.

The family legend was that Albert's grief-stricken mother took them to her grave.

"That was what I believed up until a week-and-a-half ago," he said. "I got an email
out of the blue from a lady named Jennifer Swainson."

Digging in her garden in Bredbo, NSW, in 1995 she uncovered an unusual find - a World
War One Victory Medal which she put away, only realising quite recently that a name and
service number was embossed on the edge.

"So she jumped on Google and Googled his regimental number and up popped the blogpost
and my email address," he said.

That blog post on the war memorial website, written by Mr Pegram in 2007, tells the
story of Private Albert George Pegram, a labourer of Bredbo who enlisted in 1916, trained
at Goulburn and reached the Western Front in August 1916, only to be mortally wounded
by a German sniper at the battle of Polygon Wood in September 1917.

"Albert's loss was painful for the Pegram family, who never had the means to visit
his grave at Lijssenthoeck Military Cemetery, just west of Ypres," it said.

"His nephew was born the day he died and was consequently named after him. Albert's
father would never forgive himself for signing his son's enlistment papers and his mother
would take to her grave his war medals and his memorial plaque.

"Perhaps the most poignant is a small inscription dedicated to Albert in a Pegram family
bible which reads: In his lonely grave he lyes (lyes) far from all he loved so dear."

War memorial head of conservation Barbara Reeve has some advice on preserving finds
like this - since it's in good condition despite 50 years in the ground, have the ribbon
replaced but otherwise leave it alone.

And when it comes to preparing precious medals for Anzac Day, she has some firm advice
- forget the Brasso and steel wool.

"Less is better. Let your medals age gracefully. Would you put steel wool on your own
face - no. You get rid of the detail if you use anything abrasive."

Many old soldiers were well trained in using Brasso and applied it liberally to their
medals, leaving behind an unsightly residue which is also corrosive. That can be removed
carefully with an item such as a child's toothbrush.

Ms Reeve said fingerprints otherwise remain the principle source of corrosion.

The advice is after Anzac Day, wipe medals over carefully with methylated spirits or
acetone then store between layers of cotton cloth.

* Personal medals should be worn on the left, those of relatives on the right. The
War Memorial provides comprehensive details on medal conservation on its website www.awm.gov.au.

AAP mb/sb/jnb

KEYWORD: ANZAC MEDALS (PIX AVAILABLE)

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