A Whangārei father and son are searching for an irreplaceable heirloom stolen in a burglary in May.

A Gurkha knife Albert Griffiths carried in World War II, which saved his life by stopping a bullet from a Japanese sniper, was stolen from his grandson’s Kamo home in May.

Albert, who has since died, served in the SAS during the war, where he fought alongside Gurkhas – Nepalese soldiers recruited by the British Army – and carried two of their traditional kukri knives.

The weapons are carried in pairs, but just one of Albert’s had a mark on it where it was hit by a bullet.

“My father was behind enemy lines and he got shot by a Japanese sniper and the bullet hit the steel of the blade,” Albert’s son Trevor Griffiths said.

“It’s got a big ding in it. You can see where the head of the slug’s hit it.”

Both of Albert’s kukris had been on display in Trevor’s son Dominic’s home, along with other military memorabilia, when it was burgled in May.

“My son is really into his granddad’s history – he had a lot of war memorabilia, his medals and stuff like that on show in his house,” Trevor said.

Both kukris were stolen – along with many other items including a motorcycle – but one kukri, along with some other items, was returned by police. The one that saved Albert’s life remained missing.

Trevor and Dominic…