Historian wants to return WWII medals to family of N.B. veteran George Mann

A Saskatchewan author and historian wants to return a set of Second World War medals to a New Brunswick veteran's family.

John Brady McDonald said the medals belonged to George Mann, who was born in Liverpool, England, in 1905 and moved to Canada after the war.

Mann served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which McDonald said was "kind of like the supply chain aspect of the Royal Navy."

Mann immigrated to Canada after the war and then married Alice Margaret in Saint John. McDonald's research doesn't say exactly where Mann resided but that he lived in New Brunswick.

McDonald has been searching for Mann's relatives since April.

He said Mann received the 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star for specific service in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Africa Star for being a part of the campaign in Africa.

McDonald said duty in the Atlantic Ocean meant "dodging German submarines and German aircraft trying to take out the convoys that were feeding Britain at the time."

Returning veterans' possessions is a project McDonald began in 2022 as a way of honouring military veterans.

"That's my way of saying thank you to these veterans and it's something that's very important to me to be able to ensure that our history is not forgotten any more than it already has been," said McDonald, who even covers the cost of framing and shipping the medals.

He has returned six sets of medals, a veteran's headstone and a family ration book. But to date, he has never returned anything to family in Atlantic Canada.

McDonald got the idea of returning veterans' memorabilia when he learned more about his late grandfather's service. He wants to give families that same experience.

"So many times when I've returned medals, not only did they not know that their grandfather served in the Second World War, they don't know what he did."

McDonald is a civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps and he wants to ensure the stories of sacrifices made by veterans are shared.

"We need to understand those ancestors of ours, those grandfathers, those great uncles, those fathers who stood up to fascism, who stood up to oppression, who stood up to the ultimate hatred that we had in the world at the time."

He is also concerned about medals being sold as antiques in pawn shops or estate sales. 

"I wanted to make sure that, you know, our veterans' sacrifices weren't in vain," he said.

McDonald said the majority of the medals he receives are sent to him by people who stumble across them.

The process of finding relatives can be as quick as days or more than a year. He starts with a name and uses online searches and social media to try and track people down.

A lot of his "cold" calls go unanswered, which he understands. But when there is an answer, McDonald said relatives have "immense gratitude and appreciation" for his work.

He said if anyone has any information about George Mann, they should reach out to him on Facebook or email him at johnbradymcdonald@gmail.com