The British War Medal from World War 1 was presented to Pte Philpott, who during his life had been a resident of both Dunedin and Invercargill
The medal was now in the care of Evan Thomas, in Western Australia.
Mr Thomas contacted the Otago Daily Times to try to find descendants of Pte Philpott, to put the medal back in his family’s hands.
The British War Medal was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in WW1.
How the medal ended up in Australia was unknown, but Mr Thomas inherited it from his brother Peter who, he believed, had either found it or bought it while in Melbourne.
Records show Reginald Victor Philpott was born at West Plains, on the outskirts of Invercargill, in 1895 to Emmeline (Emily) Louisa and Daniel Philpott.
At the time of his enlistment in October 1915, his father lived in McQuarrie St, South Invercargill, and was listed as next of kin until his death in August of 1917. His mother died in 1932 and both were buried in Invercargill’s Eastern Cemetery.
Pte Philpott’s army records state he had blue eyes, brown hair, was five feet, six inches tall, and was employed as a teamster (a person who drives a team of draft animals, such as bullocks or horses which pull a wagon) for Murdoch McKenzie, of Dunedin, at the time of his enlistment.
He served with the 9th Reinforcements Otago Infantry Battalion D Company, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and the New Zealand 2nd Battalion, and spent time in Egypt and France.
As was common during the world wars, lists and sometimes photographs of local people who were wounded or killed were reported locally. In the Otago Witness, Issue 3266, October 18, 1916, Private R.V. Philpott, of Invercargill, was reported as wounded.
According to Mr Thomas’ research, Mr Philpott was wounded in a trench in the Somme, France, in September 15, 1916.
"The Battle of the Somme started at 6.20am on September 15. It was the start of a battle lasting 23 days and the New Zealand Division advanced only two miles [3km] and captured 1000 German prisoners.
"On the first day, 603 New Zealanders were killed.
"Reginald Victor Philpott was lucky not to be killed," Mr Thomas said, "but on that day, he was wounded while in a trench."
Mr Thomas said the casualty report stated that while Pte Philpott was in a dugout, a shell landed on the parapet and fragments struck him in both legs.
He was taken to the No 2 Canadian General Hospital Etaples, France, on September 16, 1916, where he remained for two weeks, before he travelled to England aboard the hospital ship, Brighton, on September 29, 1916. He was admitted to the No 2 New Zealand General Hospital Walton on Thames, the first hospital in the United Kingdom used specifically for soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, on October 11, Mr Thomas said.
Pte Philpott embarked on HMHS (His Majesty’s Hospital Ship) Maheno, which had been converted into a hospital ship, to return to New Zealand in March 1917, before being discharged in June 1917 due to his wounds. Maheno was eventually due to be scrapped and was being towed to Japan in 1935 when it was caught up in a cyclone — it washed it up on Queensland’s Fraser Island in Australia, where its decaying wreck can still be seen.
Pte Philpott married his first wife, Lily Martlew, in 1919, and they eventually lived in Dunedin. Lily died in 1942.
He and his second wife, Elizabeth, also lived in Dunedin.
At the time of his death, he was recorded as working as a signalman and predeceased his second wife by less than a year in 1968, aged 72. Both were buried in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery in Dunedin.
Mr Thomas wrote, saying, "as Anzac Day approaches, I would like to make contact with any relatives if possible" with the hope of returning it to a relative of his.
"We in West Australia have been asked to stand at the end of our home driveways at 6.30am for personal commemorations, and if nobody replies before, I will wear Reginald’s medal alongside my grandfather’s World War 1 medals."
