Kaitaia Ex-Serviceman’s Turkish Star

Northern Advocate, 12 July 1939, Page 4

Kaitaia Ex-Serviceman’s Turkish Star

.Found in a Turkish knapsack after the first battle of Aman, a Turkish Star; in the possession of Mr John Gill. Kaitaia, is believed to bo a rarity in New Zealand. When hostilities broke out, Mr Gill, then of the Bay of Plenty, joined up with‘the Waikato Mounted Rifles, and proceeded first to Gallipoli, where he served against the Turks for six

weeks. After the evacuation the regiment moved- to Palestine,. and it was here that the , first battle of Aman took place , in early 1918. The Turks, were forced into retreat, and'"after the battle was over the New Zealand troops entered the area they had occupied. . It was then, foraging among equip-

ment which had been dropped by the enemy, that Mr Gill found the modal in an enemy pack. Although the inscription is indecipherable to, the lay mind, it is understood that the medal was struck for issue to Turkish troops participating in the Gallipoli campaign. If that was the case, the New Zealanders in Palestine wore fighting the same troops they had earlier engaged on the Peninsula. “I was fighting against the Turks for nearly four years,” stated Mr Gill yesterday, when showing the medal to a “Northern Advocate” reporter. “During that time I did not see another medal like this one.” Almost three inches across, the star is .silver, finished in bright red, and bears the crescent moon of Turkey in the centre. It is attached to a red and silver ribbon.