DUKE FINDS LOST V.C

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 520, 24 November 1928, Page 23

DUKE FINDS LOST V.C

N.Z. HERO’S DECORATION MISSING FOR 60 YEARS The courtesy of the Duke of York has enabled a New Zealand woman, the daughter of a Victoria Cross winner, to recover the decoration after it had been lost for 60 years. The cross was awarded to Captain Samuel Mitchell in 1864, when he was in command of H.M.S. Harrier in the attack on Te Renga Pa, Tauranga. Captain Mitchell, who rescued Commander Hay, who had been mortally wounded by the Maori fire, received the cross at Sydney. Eventually it found its way to England and for many years all trace of it was lost. When the Duke and Duchess of York visited New Zealand last year. Miss Mitchell, of Christchurch, daughter of Captain Mitchell, asked the Duke if he could help her in the quest. The Duke caused inquiries to be made and the cross was traced to a man who had purchased it in a London saleroom. He readily agreed to return the decoration to Miss Mitchell.