Last Saturday, the 89-year-old veteran was driving from Dunedin to Te Anau when somewhere along the way a badge from the Royal Egyptian Automobile Club came unstuck from the bumper bar of his 1951 MG TD.
He was not sure if the badge was rare or valuable, but it was worth a lot to him, Mr Hedges said, because he had bought it from the club in Egypt in 1942, while serving with the 20th armoured regiment attached to Allied Intelligence.
The 70-year-old badge was one of a prized collection of more than a dozen badges - others came from automobile clubs in Canada, Germany, East Africa, Bengal, Austria, including Trieste, England and Italy, including Venice - mounted about Mr Hedges' MG.
Mr Hedges, who has had a life-long passion for cars, and raced cars after returning home from the war, said the badge mainly had sentimental value to him, so much so that he wanted to offer a reward for its return.
"I only hope I get the old badge back."
Mr Hedges lost the badge while participating in the Otago MG Car Club's 2010 Further Afield Tour from Alexandra to Te Anau last Saturday.
He travelled from Dunedin to Alexandra via Lawrence before he joined the tour, which went from Alexandra to Te Anau via Ettrick; the Moa Flat Rd to Riversdale; State Highway 94 to Lumsden; State Highway 6 to Winton and then Wallacetown; The Riverton Highway to Riverton; out to the Riverton Rocks and along the Southern Scenic Route to Tuatapere; to Lake Monowai; then to Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau.
