More than 300 medals will be presented to whānau of WWII soldiers in Rotorua

Sir Robert "Bom" Gillies served in B Company of the 28th Māori Battalion. Photo / Laura Smith

More than 300 medals, unclaimed since the end of World War II, are expected to be returned to descendants of Bay of Plenty 28th Māori Battalion soldiers.

They belong to 90 soldiers of B Company and will be passed to the whānau of those who served, almost 80 years later.

The men in B Company hailed from Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, Taupō, and the Thames–Coromandel areas, and many were Te Arawa soldiers.

Te Mata Law has been working to facilitate the return of the medals. Principal David Stone's own great uncle, Turi Dooley Swann, of C Company, was killed in Italy and was never issued his medals.

Stone then researched the company and found about 15 per cent of soldiers from Paki Paki (Hastings), Ōpōtiki and Motukaraka had not been issued their medals.

Of 900 files from Wairoa to Ōpōtiki, 134 soldiers did not receive their medals.

Stone travelled to Rotorua on Tuesday to help the whānau of those wanting to see their family member's medal given to them fill out the paperwork required.

He said there were a number of reasons why the medals were not claimed, including that soldiers may not have known, but it was mostly because they were sent through the mail.

"You don't send it in the mail, you present it face to face."

And so, as it was wished by many at the time, the New Zealand Defence Force will present the medals to whānau who apply in a special ceremony at Te Papaiouru Marae on December 3.

Sir Robert "Bom" Gillies served in B Company and said he thought the returning of his comrades' medals to whānau was "wonderful".

"The only thing wrong with it is they didn't get it themselves."

In his own words, he received his own medals quite a few years later in about 2000.

"Mind you, we weren't thinking of medals. But when we got them, we were quite happy to get them. We used to see all the First World War fellas wearing them."

He said the family members of soldiers deserved to have their ancestors' medals.

Jimi McLean was among those applying for the medals, which he called a taonga.

He was looking to receive his grandfather Taua's medal. After the war, he returned to Rotorua to farm, forest and work for the council.

"He's my namesake … it becomes a connection."

Five of his nan's brothers also served in the Māori Battalion.

"For me, it keeps the link to the whakapapa. It reminds us of the sacrifices they made."