War medals often turn up in odd places — you may find them while moving house, in an op shop, or you may have bought something and they were hidden inside.

So what should you do when you find war medals and how can you get them back to their families?

Gary Traynor, who operates the not-for-profit website Medals Gone Missing, said connecting people to medals took research and time.

"Really the first thing to do is look at the medals and distinguish if they are World War I or World War II medals," he said.

"If they are World War I medals, then visit the WWI embarkation roll database; if it's a World War II medal, then log onto the WWII nominal roll."

A trio of World War I medals in good condition. ( Supplied: Australian War Memorial )

Where to find details

Each medal is different, but those issued to Australian personnel usually had the recipient's details impressed or engraved around the edge of circular medals or on the back.

Service numbers, given name initials and surnames were often included.

Mr Traynor said the databases gave people a starting point — you can enter the recipient's name and see details of their next of kin.

"This also helps you find their place of birth as well as their place of enlistment," he told ABC Radio Brisbane's Craig Zonca and Rebecca Levingston.

"Quite often families remain around the area where they were born, so by having the place of birth it gives a rough idea of where relatives may reside."

Once the basic details had been found, Mr Traynor said "old-school" detective work was needed.

"Going onto White Pages or the like and a few phone calls can assist in tracking down the family."

Mr Traynor said it was a wonderful experience to connect people with the lost medals but caution was needed.

"You get a buzz when the families get their medals back; you need to ensure the medal is going back to the right side of the family."

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How are medals lost?

There were usually many reasons why a medal became lost, Mr Traynor said.

"If a veteran marries for a second time, the medals go to another side of the family with no blood connection," he said.

"Other times they end up in deceased estates or sold on eBay.

"Often medals turn up at op shops; there are many reasons."

He said sometimes diggers had sold their medals or had given them away.

Remember to be thoughtful

The Australian War Memorial encourages people who have discovered medals to be sensitive.

On its website the AWM asks people to remember the medals' value:

"While most people could be excited to have an item returned to them or their family, you may need to be sensitive when contacting people," it said.

"Sometimes there's a reason the family no longer has an object. It is possible that the return of an item can cause distress to the person or their descendants.

"If you find more than one family member, it may cause or enhance divisions within the family if only one person can have the item."

Mr Traynor reminded those who were trying to solve medal mysteries to be patient.

"It's not a quick process," he said.

"You do need to make sure that the person you make contact with are direct descendants."