Tony Bell with the war medals of his great-great-uncle, Norman Matau Bell. Photo / Paul Brooks
Tony Bell with the war medals of his great-great-uncle, Norman Matau Bell. Photo / Paul Brooks
"One morning, I got a phone call, out of the blue, from a man who said he was from Karori Cemetery," says retired Whanganui Methodist minister Tony Bell, as he starts to tell the story of a framed collection of medals.
Tony wondered if he was touting for business, butthe man had an inquiry.
"The man at the cemetery had been contacted by a woman who was trying to track down relatives of Norman Bell."
This woman, Monique O'Malley, and her husband had bought the house where Tony's mother and stepfather lived and where Tony himself boarded when he worked in Wellington.
"This couple is doing the house up, had gutted the interior. They found, buried in the wall, behind what was once a wardrobe, this [set of medals] along with family photos, and they wanted to return them to the right person."
The medals had been awarded to one Norman Matau Bell, who served with the NZ Armed Forces at Gallipoli in World War I. He died on the hospital ship Sicilia in 1915 and was buried at sea.
"I'm the last one bearing the Norman name, after that fellow. I'm Anthony Norman Bell."
"He was a Sergeant Trumpeter; he had never been married, and he died of dysentery. Apparently that was common."
Tony says his great-great-uncle's name is on the memorial gates of Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin.
The medals were a mystery to Tony, but local military historian Kyle Dalton explained their significance and why one was particularly large.
"So it wouldn't get lost."
Norman's military records mention the fact he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Norman Matau Bell.
Norman Matau Bell was born in Kaitangata in South Otago on October 24, 1890 and was employed as a law clerk when war broke out.
He was registered in Dunedin for compulsory military service.
He was declared fit for duty after a medical examination in August, 1914, which also registered his height (five feet four and a half inches), weight (141 pounds), vaccination history, identifying scars and the fact that he was healthy and had good teeth. On August 13, 1914 he enlisted with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and, on October 16, sailed from Lyttelton on the Tahiti, bound for Suez, Egypt. He died on July 20, 1915.
Tony is so grateful that Monique and her husband Jonathan made the effort to trace him and thus find a home for the medals and photos. Tony's researches into his long-dead relation are ongoing.
