In September 2023 Ella, a Production Manager for Warner Bros International Television Productions (WBITVP) New Zealand, contacted me with the details of a story they were preparing for a television series that related to a mystery surrounding medals which a family owned but had no idea who they belonged to. This story would be one of a number being filmed for an up-coming TV series entitled My Family Mystery. Ella wanted someone who could talk with the host of the show, Sonia Gray (TV1’s Lotto presenter) about the medals, the context in which they would have been given and how MRNZ went about locating families to return medals to. Fully cognisant of the fact that my ageing visage had little to warrant a late-in-life screen career, I agreed anyway (better to be asked late than never).
The mystery unfolds …
Finn’s great-grandfather (Frederick George Waldour MARTEN) had been a World War II veteran soldier who had kept his war medals and other bits of related memorabilia in a box for the past 60 plus years. When Fred Marten passed away in Auckland in 1990, his grandson Finn inherited the box. Apart from his grandfather’s medals, among the contents of the box Finn found three World War One medals in a black cloth bag. Each was named around the edge, two named to the same man and all three showing the soldiers had served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF).
Finn’s family had no idea of who the men were, they were not names known within the family’s ancestors neither did they have any idea why or how Fred had acquired them. When Finn spotted an advertisement seeking families with an unresolved mystery for a TV series, he approached WBITVP with the mystery medals keen to find out who the men were and hopefully to return the medals to their families.
War medals
The three medals were each named with a surname and initials only. Two medals, a British War Medal, 1914/1918 and a Victory Medal were named to 53920 CPL. J. JONES N.Z.E.F., while the single medal, also a British War Medal, 1914/1918 was named to 14503 PTE. J. H. TAYLOR N.Z.E.F.
The WBITVP researchers had been able to expand these names to identify each soldier, Corporal Joseph Jones and Private Joseph Harold Taylor. Both were Auckland residents who had died just two years apart in Auckland. Joseph Jones had married Mary Ann but did not appear to have children, Joseph was a 78 year old retired Labourer whose wife had pre-deceased him when he died in 1950. Joseph Harold Taylor (whom I have named “Harry” to distinguish from the two Josephs) had also married and was without children. May, his wife was 57 years of age at the time of Harry’s death in 1952, at age 63. What had happened to each soldier’s medals in the intervening years and how they had come into the possession of Frederick Marten was a mystery that needed unravelling before they could be passed on to any descendants who may be alive.
With this information and a small photograph of two medals sent to me by the production Manager, I began my own research (homework) in preparation for their visit to Nelson for some live filming. The first thing I needed to do was to verify that what WB ITVP researchers had come up with was accurate (mistakes can be embarrassing if it results in the wrong family or the wrong medal recipient being arrived at). After verifying their information, the critical part of the process was then to identify to whom exactly the medals should be returned to. While it is our policy to introduce any medal that is returned, simply into to the medal recipient’s living descendant lineage (that might not necessarily be the closest living link to the recipient), ideally we will endeavour to return a medal to a male who bears the medal recipient’s last name. This helps to perpetuate familial ownership with an identifiable descendant and tends to have greater relevance to an owner when handed down to someone of the same last name. Of course this very much depends on a family’s structure (males vs females) and the availability of legatees given the vagaries marriages/divorces/deaths can create among surviving offspring.
The soldiers …
53920 Corporal Joseph JONES – 1st (Canterbury-Otago) Battalion, NZ Rifle Brigade. Born on 28 May 1873 at Portwood, Stockport in Cheshire LANCSHIRE to parents William Jones (a Hawker of Lamp Oil) and Jane GASKILL. Joseph was the fourth child of nine siblings. He started work as Cotton Spinner in a textile factory at Stockport at 14 years of age until the formation of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1889. Joseph enlisted as a Gunner in the RGA at the age of 16 that same year. On 25 Nov 1893, Joseph (20) married 21 year old Cotton Tinter Mary Ann GREENWOOD (1872-1946) at Stockport. By 1901, having completed his 12 years ‘With the Colours’ Joseph and Mary Ann emigrated to NZ and settled in Auckland. Labouring jobs for Joseph followed until the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914. At this point in time Joseph was a Quarryman for the Portland Cement Company.
A month shy of his 43rd birthday, Joseph Jones volunteered for war service and re-enlisted on 24 April 1917 (he clearly stretched the truth claiming he was 33 years of age on his medical documentation). Enlisted with the rank of a Temporary Corporal for the purposes on maintaining discipline within his company (13th Coy.) during the voyage to England, Joseph embarked for Plymouth with the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regt, arriving in September at Sling Camp, the NZ Base Depot on the Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire where he reverted in rank to Private.
To France in October, Pte. Jones was again promoted to L/Cpl. on the basis of his prior maturity and experience in the RGA. He was posted to 13 Company and joined his battalion in the field on 19 Dec 1917. In June 1918 L/Cpl. Jones was promoted to Corporal, a Section Commander in charge of 12 men. Just two months later Cpl. Jones was wounded in both legs by shrapnel (non-life threatening) on 26 August as the battalion was preparing to engage in the Battle of Bapaume (31 Aug – 3 Sep 1918). Evacuated to No.1 NZ General Hospital at Brockenhurst in England, Jones was fit enough to be discharged from hospital to take local leave on 8 October. As the Armistice had been declared on 11 November 1918 there was no requirement for him to return to France and so he returned to the NZEF Base HQ at Codford. Cpl. Jones returned to NZ on the SS Ayreshire in Nov 1918.
Following the war, Joseph and Mary Jones Ann were occupying a house along the Great South Road at Westfield. Joseph returned to work as a Labourer, remaining in that occupation until he retired. By 1927 they had moved to Riverview Road in the Ellerslie-Otahuhu suburb and remained there for the rest of their lives. Joseph Jones’s wife Mary Ann (75) died at their Riverview Road home on 11 Oct 1945 and Joseph on 31 July 1950, aged 78. I later discovered that Joseph’s younger brother Edmund Jones, also a Labourer born at Stockport in 1875, had come to Auckland circa 1907. He had died in 1945, aged 72.
Medals: British War Medal, 1914/18 and Victory Medal + Silver War Badge (SWB #NZ13847) + King’s Discharge Certificate for having been declared permanently unfit for further war service on account of his wounds.
Service Overseas: 1 year 164 days
Total NZEF Service: 1 year 263 days (plus 12 years Royal Garrison Artillery, UK)
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Notes: ** Two of Joseph Jones’ younger brothers served with British regiments during WW1.
- 31865 Private Thomas JONES – The Kings (Liverpool) Regiment. Born in 1878, Thomas was 36 years of age when he enlisted. His service however was very brief lasting just three days before he was discharged with a number of medical ailments, the least of which was his requirement to have dentures!
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The youngest member of the Jones family, born in 1883, was Private Albert Jones, 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regt. Albert was Killed in Action during the 2nd Battle of Ypres on 9 May 1915 at the age of 32.
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14503 Private Joseph Harold TAYLOR – 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regt – 14the Reinforcements. Born at Binnington, Stockport, Cheshire in Lancashire on 15 Jan 1889, Harry’s father Joseph Taylor (1861-) originally hailed from Leek in Staffordshire while his mother Mary Ann DOYLE (1858-) was born and raised in Liverpool. Joseph Taylor Snr. had been a Railway Porter however by 1891 had become a Salesman for a Coach Painting business, hawking samples and products associated with this trade to other coach painting firms.
The Taylors had only two (known) children, sons John William and Joseph Harold, both born at Portwood, Stockport.** By 1901 the Taylors had moved temporarily to No.4 in the Pollards Building at Gorton, Ardwick in South Manchester. Here and subsequently at 56 Henry Street in West Gorton the boys spent the majority of their early years. Another move to Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester was just a few kilometers from the Salford Quays. The quays were situated in the uppermost reaches of the Irwell River which was connected to series of canals and locks designed to ferry goods to and from Manchester City to the Ports of Liverpool and Birkenhead. The Irwell and Mersey Navigation as it was called drained into the Mersey River basin at the southern end of the Port of Liverpool this providing access to the terminals on the south and north banks of the Mersey at the river mouth.
Note: ** Stockport and Portwood, Cheshire at this time were adjoining suburbs. Now simply known as Stockport, in practical terms they are just four minutes apart by car in what is now part of south-eastern Greater Manchester. This has some bearing on whether Joseph Jones and Joseph Harold Taylor actually knew each other?
John William Taylor (1886-), the elder of the two boys, had started labouring in the textile industry at age 12, later training as a Fitter & Turner at 14 with making metal rollers for the industry. By 1911 he was a fully capable Capstan Lathe Operator. Manchester was a manufacturing hub not only for textiles which was one of its largest outputs for the country and the world, but also for numerous metal products. All was well in the Taylor family until WW1 intervened.**
Around 1899, Harry was packed off to the Chorlton Union Workhouse (about 10kms from Stockport, later became Withington Hospital) which was a large complex that not only housed poor families but had a substantial hospital and school. Besides the resident children of these families, additional children were boarded at the school who otherwise would have remained at home. Harry lived at home and became a boarder at the school until 1901 when he turned twelve years of age. At that point he returned home and began his first paying job. The 1901 Census shows him to be employed as a ‘Port Messenger’ (a message boy). In due course Harry graduated to heavier labouring jobs around the Quays until becoming a Clerk.
On the 7th April 1911, Harry then around 20 years of age, left London on the SS Ruapehu for New Zealand and six weeks later disembarked at Napier. Prior to the World War 1 Harry Taylor had worked on a farm in Pukekohe for a couple of years before moving closer to Auckland City to take up a position with the NZ Railways at Manurewa. Having volunteered for war service it was here he received orders to proceed to Wellington to begin training for the NZ Expeditionary Force (NZEF).
Note: ** Harry’s brother John Taylor also served.
204903 / 503564 Sapper John William TAYLOR – Royal Engineers (IW & DC), Inland Waterways and Dock Companies. John was 29 when he enlisted in Oct 1916. He arrived in France in December and survived the war without major incident, discharging from the Royal Engineers in October 1918.
John Jones had married a Stockport girl, Clara ROYLE, before the war and left the Jones family’s Henry Street address for their own house at 9 Savoy Street on Hyde Road, West Gorton. Harry listed this address for his UK Next of Kin (his father) on enlistment into the NZEF which assumes John and Harry’s parents had also moved to West Gorton by 1916. Their move to West Gorton is confirmed by subsequent census entries.
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Harry’s WW1 service
At 27 years of age, Private Joseph H. Taylor began his military training on 7 Mar 1916 at Trentham Camp. Following his Attestation to serve for the duration of the war, 10 weeks were spent at the Featherston Training Camp in the Wairarapa where all infantry soldiers learned their basic skills. Aside from a minor indiscretion while at Featherston for Failing to Obey a Lawful Command by an NCO which netted Harry two days CB (Confinement to Barracks, this simply meant he was not allowed to leave camp and would be worked and paraded multiple times after hours by way of corrective punishment), the 5′ 4” soldier whose left leg was two inches shorter than his right (the result of a broken thigh bone when he was a teenager; “no handicap” said the Medical Officer) was deemed ready to embark for overseas service by June 1916.
Citing a friend (Mrs Hawke) of King Street, Pukekohe as his NZ Next of Kin (his primary NOK was his father Joseph in West Gorton, Manchester), Harry embarked on the troopship HMNZT 57 Tahiti with the remainder of the 14 Reinforcements and departed Wellington on 26 June for Devonport, England via the Suez Canal. Another indiscretion during the voyage to Suez – Failing to Obey Ship’s Orders – cost Harry a fine of 8 shillings (80 cents) plus a Forfeiture of Pay to the tune of two shillings and sixpence (25 cents) – obviously worth much more to a soldier in those days. Harry’s pattern of behaviour might have suggested to some that he had become a less willing soldier than when he had volunteered?
On arrival at Devonport on 22 August, the Reinforcements were entrained to Sling Camp for further training. Posted to the Otago Company of the 2nd Training Battalion, Harry soon found himself in more strife. Another two shillings and sixpenny fine for Untidy Quarters was a precursor to a more serious infraction at Christmas 1916. Harry was charged While On Active Service, Overstaying Leave from midnight 26 Dec 1916 (Boxing Day) until 1045 a.m. on 29 December – 2 days and 22.75 hours. I would bet money he was not the only one AWL at that time of year! For this Harry received 168 hours (seven days) in the cells. But things got worse.
On 17 January 1917 Pte. Harry Taylor was up on a charge again! This time however he had gone too far. Charged with, While Being On Active Service, Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Military Discipline, Harry had taken the unprecedented step of writing a letter directly to the NZ High Commissioner in London asking to be Discharged from the NZEF. His actions clearly ruffled sufficiently high ranking feathers at the NZEF Headquarters in London to ensure retribution for such temerity would be swift and decisive. Following seven days of Detention (in the cells), Pte. Taylor was given 14 days of CB. In addition he was fined and forfeited 31 days pay. To say that Harry Taylor’s future in the NZEF was tenuous at best was an understatement.
By 5 February, Private Joseph Harold Taylor had been medically examined and found to be “permanently unfit” for continued service. Being a native of the United Kingdom, he was dispatched to London the next day to be Medically Discharged. On the 7th he was Struck Off the NZEF establishment. With no details on his file to indicate the nature of Harry’s lack of medical fitness, given the High Commission letter episode it could be proffered Harry may have been suffering from some form of dysfunction or neurasthenia (nerves) making him unemployable, had become a disciplinary problem likely to cause further embarrassment to the NZEF or, he had found a way to ‘work his ticket’? The speed of his discharge indicated there was clearly a desire by NZEF HQ London to be shot of Pte. Taylor from the Army – and quickly! For all that was not written about Harry’s service in England, he would still be entitled to a medal after the war.
Medals: British War Medal, 1914/18 (full entitlement)
Service Overseas: 226 days (UK only)
Total NZEF Service: 337 days
Why Harry Taylor did not get the Victory Medal? Harry’s medal, the 1914/18 British War Medal was awarded to any service person in uniform mobilized for war service whether serving in their home country or overseas. The Victory Medal which generally accompanied the British War Medal was only issued to those persons who had entered a theatre of war, e.g. Gallipoli, France or Belgium. The 1914/18 Star was only awarded for service by someone who was mobilized and had entered a theatre of war before 31 December 1915. This was most frequently awarded to NZEF personnel who had been in Egypt or Gallipoli. Since Harry Taylor had been discharged in England before getting to France, he was only entitled to the one medal.
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Return to NZ
In retrospect, maybe there had been a good reason (in Harry’s mind) for his taking his chances by going AWL irrespective of the punishment – a girl? While visiting his parents in West Gorton, Harry married local girl, May HOWARTH (1897-1961) in Dec 1916. May had lived not far from the Chorlton Union Workhouse where Harry had gone to school. For the next eight years Harry and May lived at 90 Thomas Street off Clowes St, West Gorton however no children eventuated from their marriage. Harry continued in labouring work for some years before becoming a Warehouse Man while May worked as a Laundress. Despite his truncated military service with the NZEF, Harry must have liked his NZ experience before the war. Perhaps thinking it could offer a better future than post-war England, Harry (34) and May (28) emigrated from Liverpool to New Zealand aboard the SS Suffolk on 7 June 1924.
On arrival in Auckland the couple soon established themselves in a residence at 9 Kitchener Road, Takapuna where Harry again took up labouring work. Sadly their only attempt to have a child in 1927 resulted in a still birth. From 1928 onwards, the Taylors resided at 124 Panama Road in Otahuhu, Harry being employed at the Mt Wellington Railway Workshops as a Clerk. It was at their Panama Road home on 27 October 1952 that Joseph Harold Taylor died at the age of 57, his occupation listed as “Civil Servant”. Harry Taylor was cremated and his ashes interred in the Soldiers’ Section of the Waikumete Cemetery. May Taylor remained at Panama Road for several more years before moving to Whangarei at some point after 1954. May lived alone at 129 Onerahi Road until passing away on 23 August 1961, aged 65.
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Joining the JONES & TAYLOR dots . . .
On the face of it Joseph Jones and Joseph H. Taylor simply appeared to have been two Stockport men who had come to NZ pre-WW1 for no particular reason other than for one of them, Jones, it was circumstances of employment (Jones, the ship’s steward who appeared to have been recently arrived on a ship’s crew proximate to the outbreak of war), and for the other, Taylor, a returning pre-war visitor from the UK who later emigrated to NZ permanently after the war.
The question of how their medals came to be found together was also a curious aspect of this case for which I had no immediate answer. In analysing the information I had gathered about the two men, there were a number of common denominators. For instance, both men had been born in Stockport, Cheshire which borders Greater Manchester and Merseyside – Joseph Jones in 1873 and Joseph H. Taylor in 1898 with 25 years the difference in their ages.
Both men had enlisted in the NZEF – Jones in 1917 and Taylor a year earlier in 1916, albeit Jones had fought in France and served until the end of the war, while the younger Taylor had been medically discharged in 1917 after just 10 months of service in NZ and England. The Census records showed that after Harry Taylor returned to NZ in 1924, both men had been living in adjoining suburbs of Auckland, their houses being less than a kilometer apart, Jones living in Riverview Road, Mt. Wellington and Taylor at 124 Panama Road, Mt. Wellington – less than 800 meters apart. Both men were married however neither had children. The burning question in my mind was – did they actually know each other or was a coincidence?
Theorising a few possibilities to support either a they ‘did know’ or a ‘did not know’ each other I considered the following – could it be that Joseph Jones in being the elder of the two men, may have simply befriended a fellow countryman after learning both had originated from the same town in Cheshire? If they had met and given Taylor’s youthful age, was it possible Joseph Jones might have considered Harry perhaps as a ‘son’ he had never had? Given they had come from the same town, was it also possible the Jones and Taylor families actually knew each other?…. and that Joseph Jones may have had a responsibility for caring oversight of the younger man, at the request of Harry’s family? None of these circumstances could be discounted at this stage.
Additional to these suppositions was the fact that there were obvious opportunities that may have caused both men’s paths to cross. As both were considered “returned men” following the war, it was highly likely in those heady post-WW1 days of euphoria and celebration of peace, that both men were members of an Anzac Club (precursor to the formation of the RSA) or an RSA branch (started in 1916), or indeed any other grouping returned soldiers wanting to maintain their comradery and bonds begun as a result of their war service. There was the possibility both men had also been members of a club or fraternal lodge – the Freemasons, Buffaloes, Oddfellows, Foresters Lodge etc which were very popular in England. Most had established brother chapters in NZ in most countries of the Empire with an English Constitutions as their charter. Given that both men had for the best part of forty odd years lived in close proximity, even if they were not disposed to joining a veteran’s organisation, a fraternity or were not frequenters of hotels, the chances of both men meeting on a commemorative occasion such as Armistice Day (11 Nov) and Anzac Day 25 Apr), being introduced by a colleague or friend, a meeting through employment, recreational or sporting club membership, whilst out shopping or simply taking a recreational stroll about their suburbs all presented distinct possibilities for the men to hav known each other. However, there was as yet no proof of this.
Answers in the detail …
In seeking any sort of affirmation for any of these possibilities, my musings (and more) were answered whilst examining the death documentation of both men. The Last Will and Testament are often included with Probate documents publicly available from Archives New Zealand.
The first thing I discovered was Harry Taylor who died in December 1952, died Intestate (without a Will). Without a Will (or children) his wife would automatically inherit his possessions if he pre-deceased her. There was little else of use in Harry’s document to advance my search for descendants. Joseph Jones on the other hand (and fortunately) who died in July 195o, had died Testate however his wife had predeceased him. He had been a Widower also without children. My immediate thought was that this is going to be a problem – no wife (no legatee), no children …. but Joesph’s Will contained two revelations that allowed me to pull many of the inconclusive strands of this case together and a way forward.
Joseph Jones had made his Will in 1947 five years before his death and the Courts had duly declared Probate for his estate shortly afterwards. The first revelation was that Joseph had family in New Zealand. In Joseph’s Will was the reference to a monetary legacy (£370/-) which had been “bequeathed to him by his late brother, Frederick Jones, late of Howick, Retired Farmer, deceased who died on or about 22nd day of September, 1942.” This was a breakthrough as it meant there might be a chance Frederick Jones had living descendants in NZ.
My research of Frederick Jones (1868-1942) showed he also had been born in Stockport, the third eldest of the Jones’ siblings, who had emigrated to NZ sometime around 1890. Initially settling at Warkworth, in 1903 he acquired some land at Matamata and established what became a prosperous sheep and cropping farm. In December 1896, Frederick married an Irish woman from Co Tyrone (Carricklongfield, Aghaloo, Dungannon), Isabella ANDERSON (1872-1950) whose family lived at Flemington, Ashburton. Frederick and Isabella did not have any biological children however had adopted a nine year old girl named Edna Audrey Brooking JONES (b1948). The circumstances of Edna’s adoption are unknown but her existence has a significant bearing on the conclusion of this case.
The clincher was the second revelation – proof positive Joseph Jones and Harry Taylor knew each other, whether before or after coming to NZ is not known. Joseph Jones had appointed Joseph Harold Taylor to be the “sole Executor and Trustee of this my Will.” From this it was evident how both men’s war medals had ended up together. Harry as the sole beneficiary had kept Joseph’s medals with his own.
BUT ! …. isn’t there always a but ?
Although Harry had been present when Joseph signed his Will making Harry his Executor and Trustee, after Joseph’s death a document was placed on the file showing that Harry must have either got ‘cold feet’ for some reason, or had been advised by the Will’s administrator, as he had signed a document withdrawing his responsibility as Executor and Trustee of Joseph’s Will. These he relinquished to the Public Trust(ee). Nothing particularly sinister in this but rather a case I think of Harry agreeing to be Joseph’s Executor and Trustee on the spur of the moment while not fully comprehending what was involved until Joseph actually died!
A document on Joseph’s Probate file explains to some extent why he did this ….“I, Joseph Harold Taylor, appoints the Public Trustee as the sole Executor and Trustee of the said Will in my place and stead as if the said deceased had himself made such appointment himself AND I DECLARE the reasons influencing me in making such appoint are as follows:
- That I desired to obtain the protection given to estates administered by the Public Trustee;
- That I desire to obtain the special facilities available to the Public Trustee in the administration of estates
- That I do not desire to undertake the work and trouble involved in assuming the duties of Executor on account of my lack of business experience.
This would have no impact upon Joseph’s wishes for Harry to be his beneficiary. Joseph’s medals would still have come to him.
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Finn’s Gt-Grandfather and the medals
When Harry Taylor (63) died in 1952, it could be logical assumed that his own and Joseph’s medals would still have been retained by Widow May Taylor until her death. The fact that Harry Taylor had died Intestate was no impediment to May automatically assuming ownership of Harry’s possessions. By virtue of their marriage it was a wife’s legal right to consider her husband’s possessions to be her own unless specifically excluded by some prior written direction or there is an overriding legal impediment, such as possessions that are proven to be stolen goods. But ownership of the medals did not stop there. In 1961 when May Taylor died in Whangarei, it was discovered that she also was Intestate!
The estate of persons who die Intestate with no children or known descendant family to consider becomes the responsibility of the Public Trust. The Trust is a government agency entrusted to wind up a deceased’s estate by disposing of the assets and paying all debts, including the Trust’s own statutory costs which may include the arrangement of a pauper’s burial/cremation (no headstone/grave marker) where no prior arrangement has been made. The money to cover these costs is gained by the sale of the deceased’s assets at public auction, the proceeds being part of the estate.
Assuming May Taylor’s estate was auctioned, the three medals if not previously gifted to Finn’s great-grandfather Fred Marten by either Joseph Jones personally or some other who may have had ownership prior or after Joseph’s death, the medals conceivably could have been acquired by Fred by attending an estate auction that had included them – we will never know. Irrespective of how Fred acquired the medals, his guardianship of them had ultimately resulted in his great-grandson Finn inheriting them.
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So, where to now ?
Having established the background to the men behind the medals, the next step was to ascertain if there were any living descendants in NZ to return them to. Knowing that both men whilst married had not children, the prospect of finding a family link in NZ seemed slim. The answer came from studying the family of Joseph’s brother Frederick Jones. In constructing Fred’s part of the Jones family tree and developing each branch of its various members, it became evident there was only one line to follow that could provide a link. Remember nine year old Edna Audrey Brooking Jones who Fred and Isabella adopted? – whilst Fred and Isabella had not had any biological children of their own, it was through adopted Edna’s descendant family I was able to reach a conclusion.
Edna Jones had married Englishman Joseph Alexander “Alec” BOYES and together they had a family three children born in the Matamata/Cambridge area of the Waikato, the eldest being a daughter Eileen Audrey BOYES. In due course Eileen married Putararu born George Rothwell WHITE, a Shop Manager, and they also had three children – Brian, Jan and Phillipa. The most recent address associated with George and Eileen White had been 75 Coronation Street, Morrinsville where they had lived most of their married lives since 1959 after leaving Te Aroha. George eventually moved into a retirement home back in Te Aroha where he sadly passed away in 2014. His obituary published in the NZ Herald gave me some key clues for family points of contact, and read in part: “… Father of Brian & Bev White, Jan and Harley, Philippa and Aaron and grandad (Poppa) of Kelly & James, Nicole and Kyle and Olivia”. This was good news for me as it isolated a geographic area and a number of associated persons who appeared not to have been itinerant.
This information also did away with the need to seek information from the officiating funeral company of George White’s funeral (Sadliers of Morrinsville). I was now able to search for links to the eldest family sibling – Brian White. Brian’s mum, now Eileen Audrey Brooking WHITE (nee Jones), is the grand-niece of Joseph Jones thus Brian is Joseph’s great-grand nephew. After a search of the Bay of Plenty and Waikato census records together with a few trial and error phone calls, I managed to trace Brian in rural Waikato. I related the circumstances of the medal find to Brian and advised him he would shortly be contacted by a television producer from WBITVP to discuss a proposal (providing he was agreeable) for him to be personally presented with the medals (on camera). Brian agreed and so it was over to the producer and her crew to do their stuff to “get it in the can” as the film makers say, for this particular episode of My Family Mystery.
While it had been Joseph Jones’ expressed wish for his fellow countryman Joseph Taylor to have his estate (incl medals), irrespective of the circumstances Finn’s great-grandfather had acquired the medals, he unknowingly became an invaluable link which ensured the medals not only survived but remained together for more than six decades after the death of both the soldiers and their wives.
Finn recently had the pleasure of meeting with Brian White, fittingly at the Auckland War Memorial Museum which was the venue chosen by the show’s producers for the medals to be handover to Brian, thus bringing to an end Finn’s historical family mystery.
As the newest custodian of the medals, Brian will be able to ensure a continuous succession of guardianship into the foreseeable future for Joseph and Harry’s medals, as he has both a son and grandson who in due course will inherit responsibility for the safekeeping of the medals.
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My thanks to Ella, Sarah, Gail and Sonia for inviting MRNZ to collaborate in solving this mystery and sharing our work with New Zealanders.
My Family Mystery screens on TV1 from 21 July 2024 …. tune in for this episode scheduled to go to air on 28 July.
The reunited medal tally is now 512.