Warragul resident Ewan Slater now has proudly in his possession medals of an uncle killed in France during World War 1 that were missing for many years which he has mounted along with details of the service of Private Herbert Livermore Slater, a colour patch of his unit the 46th Battalion AIF and photograph of the headstone on his grave. He now also has the disc known as “Dead Man’s Penny” sent to the families of soldiers killed during the war
Anzac Day, that has just passed, and other commemorations have many families reflecting on their connections with Australia's war history.
For Warragul resident Ewan Slaughter a major part that was missing for him was the medals awarded posthumously to an uncle killed fighting in France during World War 1.
Mr Slaughter doesn't know how or when the medals of his uncle Herbert Livermore Slater went missing, whether they were simply lost or sold to a collector of war memorabilia, but hoped there was a remote chance they could be found.
Just a few weeks ago they arrived in his mailbox at Warragul after string of chance connections and coincidences that stretched from Port Fairy in Victoria, to France and Brisbane.
Private Slater, who was awarded the Victory Medal and Great War Medal, was killed on the first day of two bloody battles known as the Battle of Bullecourt in 1917, aged just 20 years and four months, on service with the 46th Battalion AIF.
He was buried in a cemetery in France.
There were massive casualties among the allied and enemy forces at Bullecourt; among them 10,000 Australians killed or wounded and another 1700 taken prisoner. Mr Slaughter's story of how he has managed to recover the medals began last year when he just happened to read an article about a researcher and historian from Port Fairy, Marie Cameron.
He thought contacting her might provide some remote hope of how he might begin his search for the medals.
By chance, Ms Cameron knew of a farmer in Bullecourt, Didier Guerle, that had a keen interest in preserving and honouring the memories of those who died in the battle.
Mr Slaughter sent a letter, in both English and French languages, to Mr Guerle seeking some details that might further progress his hunt.
Through another chance happening a Brisbane man Len Kelly, who collects medals, had visited Mr Guerle at his farm at Bullecourt only a few weeks earlier and was shown the letter he had received from Mr Slaughter.
To complete the most unlikely of the links in the chain of chances and coincidences Mr Kelly wrote to Mr Slaughter in March this year saying "against an extremely low probability" he had the medals awarded Private Slater.
The medals were identifiable by the soldier's name and regimental number engraved on their edges.
Mr Kelly had bought them at an auction in Brisbane about 15 years ago and offered them to Mr Slaughter for the amount he paid for them.
A further irony to a remarkable series of events was that the medals reached Mr Slaughter on April 11, the 105th anniversary to the day when Private Slater died.
