Op shop returns war hero’s medals

A Melbourne op shop has reunited a World War II hero’s family with his Distinguished Flying Medal after a five-month search that culminated in an Anzac Day dawn service in South Australia.

Jason Silverstein, who runs the Posh Op Shoppe in Melbourne, discovered a collection of seven medals and recognised their significance after researching them online.

All proceeds from the Posh Op Shoppe support the Jewish Children’s Aid Society, which helps Jewish children with special needs to attend mainstream Jewish schools.

The name engraved on the medals identified the recipient as Warrant Officer Kenneth William Peters, who was a tail gunner on Short Stirling bombers on multiple operations over Germany.

“He flew eight missions in 11 nights, and they had a mortality rate of 50 per cent,” Silverstein said. “Every time they went up he described it as a nightmare.”