A rare German firearm, a grenade, ammunition and military badges are among a cache of World War I relics uncovered during a Melbourne family’s garage clean-up.
Police went to a house in the southeastern suburb of Bentleigh East on Friday afternoon after being told a grenade had been found.
The explosive turned out to be just one of a trunk full of keepsakes collected by Sergeant John “Jack” Slatter from his time in World War I.
The truck was uncovered by his family during a garage clean-up.
Also inside the case was a rare German 1918 Luger firearm, war medals, bullets and all Sgt Slatter’s service documents, including records of injuries he sustained in battle.
The family has donated the firearm to the Australian War Memorial and the medals to the RSL. Australian Defence Force bomb specialists took the grenade, which was not believed to be active, police said.