A Kapiti Coast family are feeling devastated and angry after finding out the South Canterbury RSA don't know where their loaned war medals are.
Six medals belonging to the late World War Two veteran Walter Smith were loaned to the RSA in Timaru in 1996, at Mr Smith’s request for them to be taken back to his home town.
In 2015, widow Stella Smith contacted the RSA to let them know she would like to have them back as her grandson was going on an overseas army trip where he could wear them.
Mrs Smith was told the RSA didn’t know they were on loan despite clear indication when they were handed over, before a staff member said taking the medals would be difficult as they were part of a display.
"I should have picked up then that something was wrong but it never occurred to me," she told 1 News.
This year, with replicas made for the display, Mrs Smith’s daughter Sally Mundell contacted the RSA to retrieve the medals.
"I had a phone call back from a very nice gentleman who said, ‘I've got some bad news… They can't find the medals, the medals hadn’t been returned from the person who was keeping them in his safe,'" Mrs Mundell said.
She was also told there was never a display.
"It took a few minutes to realise that what he meant was dad's medals were gone. They had been in their care and they’re gone," she said.
"They're a part of Dad. They're a part of who he was and like a lot of these returned service men they were prepared to do everything, give their lives to protect the people they loved and the medals should be respected because of that."
Mrs Mundell had to break the news to her mother on Mother’s Day.
Mrs Smith said she feels angry that she was told a deliberate lie.
"I got a bit wild actually, I went out and had a dig in the garden," Mrs Smith said.
The family made the second attempt to retrieve the medals after hearing how another RSA had sold off medals without getting owners’ permission when they ran into money problems, Mrs Smith said.
Police have spoken to a number of people about the incident and say at this stage it is not clear if the medals have been misplaced or stolen.
RSA national president BJ Clark says he feels for the family, and takes full responsibility for what has happened, saying the association has let the family down.
"At the moment we're not sure where the process has fallen down, so therefore it's not for us to start accusing anyone of anything other than that the medals may have been displaced,"he said.
"If the case was found that someone has intentionally moved these medals and taken them into their possession the RSA would view that extremely seriously."
Mr Clark said he wasn’t shocked by what had happened but was disappointed.
He said it’s possible it could happen again with a lot of memorabilia stored at the 182 local RSA’s around the country, each entity with its own management team.
Mr Clark said the head office is limited in enforcing rules on RSAs due to this.
Mrs Mundell said she was surprised he wasn’t shocked by what had happened.
"Has it happened so often he's not shocked.
"How can that be?"
The family is calling for the association’s governing body to take more action to ensure RSA’s can be trusted with keeping war medals safe, Mrs Mundell said.
"If they’re a governing body, they’re a governing body; isn’t it their duty to make sure each of the RSAs are looking after the medals?" she said.
Mr Clark said the association will be contacting RSAs and telling them to ensure they have memorabilia records in place.
"We’ll use this situation to highlight the dangers of not having good processes in place and asking them that they look at their systems and if necessary to change them," he said.
The family is concerned the medals have been sold.
"Either someone has got them tucked away and they’re enjoying owning them… or they have been sold, and if someone has bought them in good faith I feel for them, I really do, but those medals belong here - they belong with this family and we'd really just want them returned," Mrs Mundell said.
Mr Clark said if the medals can’t be found, the association will talk to the family “to see if there’s any way we can repair the damage that’s been done.”
The medals have Walter Smith or W.J. Smith engraved around the rim.
"These men have fought overseas to keep our country and sister and brother countries safe, for goodness sake," Mrs Smith said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Timaru Police.
Mrs Smith and her daughter are urging other families to check loaned war medals are where they're meant to be.
SHARE ME