Post by flyjoe180 on Dec 8, 2007 14:59:22 GMT 12
As police continue their hunt for the Waiouru medal thieves, a Hamilton man tells Bruce Holloway about the symbolism of Victoria Crosses for recipients' families.
Hamilton author David Mitchell and his family understand the sense of loss that goes with having a Victoria Cross medal go missing more than most.
On Sunday nine Victoria Crosses and other medals worth millions of dollars were stolen from the Queen Elizabeth War Memorial Museum in Waiouru.
Mr Mitchell's great grandfather, Samuel Mitchell, had his own medal drama in the 1860s, and it took his extended family 58 years, the assistance of the Duke of York, and a public collection on the West Coast, to finally regain possession.
"As a family we take immense pride in Samuel's achievement to the point of holding regular reunions," Mr Mitchell said.
"That kind of pride would not be completely shattered by the loss of a medal, but the symbolism of the cross and all it means does have a great impact emotionally for living descendants.
"For people even closer to medal winners, it must have been genuinely shocking."
The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy, which ranks higher than any other medal, and because of its rarity has great value.
As a 23-year-old, Samuel Mitchell, Second Captain of the Foretop on HMS Harrier, showed great bravery under fire during the battle of Gate Pa, near Tauranga, on April 29, 1864.
Despite overwhelming superiority in numbers and fire power, the British forces suffered an ignominious defeat after 800 combatants, including 150 marines and seamen, stormed the pa.
During the battle Commander George Hay was mortally wounded but, under heavy fire, Samuel Mitchell carried him to safety, despite orders to look after himself.
He was duly awarded the Victoria Cross at Hyde Park, Sydney, by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir William Young, in front of the largest crowd the city had seen, with a half-day holiday declared to celebrate the event. But after he was discharged from the navy the following year, Mitchell left his sea chest containing his VC in a boarding house run by the Goodman family and returned to New Zealand.
When he finally sent for his chest in 1870 there was no response, with the Goodmans having disappeared.
His VC was duly sold at Glendinnings, London for 50 in 1909, an enormous sum at the time.
In 1927 Mr Mitchell's Aunt Edith wrote to the Duke of York (later George VI), who was then visiting New Zealand, asking him to help with the VC's retrieval. The Duke personally asked Colonel Gasgoine, the medal purchaser, to return it to the family.
About a year later Col Gasgoine informed Edith he had sold the VC to his son, who would accept 70 for it. That money was raised by residents of the West Coast, with Edith lodging the medal with the West Coast Historical Museum in Hokitika.
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/4316143a6579.html
Hamilton author David Mitchell and his family understand the sense of loss that goes with having a Victoria Cross medal go missing more than most.
On Sunday nine Victoria Crosses and other medals worth millions of dollars were stolen from the Queen Elizabeth War Memorial Museum in Waiouru.
Mr Mitchell's great grandfather, Samuel Mitchell, had his own medal drama in the 1860s, and it took his extended family 58 years, the assistance of the Duke of York, and a public collection on the West Coast, to finally regain possession.
"As a family we take immense pride in Samuel's achievement to the point of holding regular reunions," Mr Mitchell said.
"That kind of pride would not be completely shattered by the loss of a medal, but the symbolism of the cross and all it means does have a great impact emotionally for living descendants.
"For people even closer to medal winners, it must have been genuinely shocking."
The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy, which ranks higher than any other medal, and because of its rarity has great value.
As a 23-year-old, Samuel Mitchell, Second Captain of the Foretop on HMS Harrier, showed great bravery under fire during the battle of Gate Pa, near Tauranga, on April 29, 1864.
Despite overwhelming superiority in numbers and fire power, the British forces suffered an ignominious defeat after 800 combatants, including 150 marines and seamen, stormed the pa.
During the battle Commander George Hay was mortally wounded but, under heavy fire, Samuel Mitchell carried him to safety, despite orders to look after himself.
He was duly awarded the Victoria Cross at Hyde Park, Sydney, by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir William Young, in front of the largest crowd the city had seen, with a half-day holiday declared to celebrate the event. But after he was discharged from the navy the following year, Mitchell left his sea chest containing his VC in a boarding house run by the Goodman family and returned to New Zealand.
When he finally sent for his chest in 1870 there was no response, with the Goodmans having disappeared.
His VC was duly sold at Glendinnings, London for 50 in 1909, an enormous sum at the time.
In 1927 Mr Mitchell's Aunt Edith wrote to the Duke of York (later George VI), who was then visiting New Zealand, asking him to help with the VC's retrieval. The Duke personally asked Colonel Gasgoine, the medal purchaser, to return it to the family.
About a year later Col Gasgoine informed Edith he had sold the VC to his son, who would accept 70 for it. That money was raised by residents of the West Coast, with Edith lodging the medal with the West Coast Historical Museum in Hokitika.
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/4316143a6579.html
