THEY were meant to be a private, personal gift from the master of Queen Elizabeth 2 to commemorate the liner’s 40 years in Southampton.

So Captain Ian McNaught was stunned when scores of the surprise presents went missing, only to reappear for sale on the Internet for £100 each.

Captain McNaught and his wife Sue were keen to mark QE2’s final, historic voyage and so the couple ordered 1,200 highly collectable badges to be given to each crew member as the liner leaves Southampton for Dubai next Tuesday.

Shipping memorabilia, especially anything connected with QE2, is greatly sought after by maritime collectors around the world. One inquiry listed on the auction website was from a collector in Melbourne, Australia.

Hampshire police have now issued a warning to anyone tempted to buy one of the specially designed pins over the Internet that they risk having to forfeit the item and also lose any money paid to obtain the badge.

The Internet site offering the badges together with a certificate of authenticity states: “This is your chance to own a certificate of the QE2’s last ever cruise along with an enamel lapel badge which reads ‘QE2 Final Voyage with Captain McNaught’. The certificate reads ‘Final Voyage to Dubai’ also has the above dates and ports of call’. This is authentic 100 per cent.’’ Mrs McNaught said: “It was obvious when the box of badges arrived that sometime between leaving the manufacturers and arriving on QE2 it had been opened and then re-sealed.

“When we looked inside the box we discovered 100 badges, which are in the shape of my husband’s epaulettes showing the rank of captain, had disappeared. Then when we heard that they were being offered on eBay for anything between £75 and £100 I immediately contacted the police in Southampton.

“It is so disappointing as we wanted to give all the crew something with which to remember their time on QE2 but now it has all been spoiled.”

Hampshire police confirmed that they were actively investigating Mrs McNaught’s complaint about the missing badges.

A spokesman said: “As part of the investigation we shall be contacting eBay’s fraud section and we would urge anyone using the Internet not to buy the badges. If people are found in possession of stolen goods they could lose both the item and the money used in payment.’’ One potential buyer queried the authenticity of the badges and was told they were part of a gift pack.

An eBay spokesman confirmed the company would take action against any site users suspected of selling stolen goods once they were contacted by the police.