Help locate service badge plea

By JESSE GRAHAM

A FORMER Healesville soldier is calling for help to find a 50-year-old service badge, lost at last week’s Remembrance Day ceremony.

On Wednesday 11 November, Edwin (Ken) Williams attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at Healesville RSL, with about 100 community members.

When he returned home after the event, Mr Williams noticed that his Returned from Active Service badge had come off of his jacket and was missing.

Mr Williams told the Mail that the badge was roughly an inch in size, diamond shaped and bronze in colour, with a crown, anchor and wings emblazoned on the front.

The front of the badge reads, “Returned from Active Service”, while the reverse of the badge has his name, Edwin Williams, and an individual badge number of AF 12458.

He said the badge had been given as recognition of his work in Vietnam, and was awarded to him in the mid-60s.

“It’s just an important item in my service career,” he said.

Mr Williams said the RSL staff had helped him search the grounds and his car for the missing badge to no avail. He said it could have become lodged in a tyre, or ended up in the grass.

On Thursday 12 November, Mr Williams reported the badge missing with Healesville Police.

Though Returned from Active Service badges are still given out to defence officers, the design has changed since Mr Williams received his medal.

Anyone who may have spotted the medal or who has any information is asked to call Healesville Police on 5962 4422.