Former Rolleston RSA President Bruce Blackburn accused of medal fraud

The little-known criminal act of medal fraud is a “despicable practice,” he told the Heraldand “a national disgrace”.

“It undermines the value of the medal, the reason it is awarded in the first place and the mana associated with it,” Martyn said.

He told the Herald that in his experience only a few perpetrators were civilians.

“In the cases I have worked on over the last 30 years or so, most of the perpetrators were veterans.”

Traditionally, medals belonging to relatives are worn on the right side, while medals awarded to the wearer are worn on the left side.

Blackburn could not be reached by the Heraldbut in an apology on his private Facebook page, he said that “embellishments of any kind are not acceptable in any area. I have made a serious error of judgement + irrevocably [sic] excuse my stupidity.”

A spokesperson for Rolleston RSA confirmed that they were aware of the allegations and that disciplinary action was pending against Blackburn.

“Mr Blackburn has already resigned from his position as a member of the Executive Committee pending disciplinary action regarding the impact of the allegations on the integrity of the Rolleston RSA and its members,” the spokesman said.

They stated that they consider the matter serious and are following their constitutional procedure.

“The outcome of the disciplinary proceedings will be published as soon as they are completed,” the spokesman said.

Blackburn is not the first former RSA president to face such allegations. In 2017 Herald reported that Bill Kerr (Hakaru RSA) of Mangawhai was convicted under the Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges Act 1918. He was fined $250 for representing himself as a Vietnam veteran, even though he never served there. The maximum penalty under the Act is $500 per offence.

Martyn, a veteran of 36 years of service in several armed forces, believes the current penalties are inadequate.

“They are completely ineffective. For one or the other, an indictment is probably enough. But the likelihood of an indictment is low, and that is shown by the number of indictments we have initiated so far.”

Under Australian law, the maximum penalty for fraudulently wearing a medal is a fine of 5,400 Australian dollars (US$5,867) or six months in prison – or both. In France, the maximum penalty is even higher: a fine of 15,000 euros (US$26,500) and one year in prison.

Martyn would like a harsher punishment here.

“I think it should be coordinated with Australia – because there are a large number of [NZ] Veterans living in Australia. Australians are particularly vocal about medal cheating,” says Martyn.

At the other end of the scale is the UK, where it is no longer an offence to wear medals you are not entitled to. However, that could change, with newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently hinting that he believes there should be sanctions for “stolen bravery”.

While Martyn says he would prefer to see official organizations monitor and prosecute the practice, he will continue to take action against medal cheaters on social media.

“The public has very strong opinions about war veterans and respects the fact that veterans wear medals. The fact that they are disrespected and dishonoured by people who hang medals that are worthless or that they don't deserve on their walls makes the whole thing completely absurd,” Martyn said.