[Help] Missing Medals

[Saladpack Seagull]

An ex-Sapper from East Grinstead has had his medals nicked from outside his home. This happened on Tuesday after the five medals were returned by DPD after mounting, but were not left in a secure place. They are mounted on black felt and have a large attachment pin. This guy served for eight and a half years, including in Bosnia and Afghanistan. He comes from a military family who have served our country for generations, and he is absolutely distraught at the theft of these hard-earned medals. He is not interested in having the culprit punished - he just wants them back. If anyone has any info, please contact the police or BBC Radio Sussex. They can be returned anonymously, no questions asked.

 

[Hampden Park]

That is so sad and upsetting. post it all over facebook and the other sites that people look at, twatter instagram etc. get this viral, thieving barstewards

 

[JJ McClure]

Shared on my social media the other day (for what its worth). Hope he gets them back.

Seems that with the increase on deliveries over the pandemic that couriers are now increasingly doing a dump it and leg it scenario, which will inevitably lead to an increase in porch pirates nicking things from doorsteps.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Unlike WW2 medals, these will be engraved so easily traced when the thief tries to sell them.


On a happier note, a veteran Wren sold her medals a few years ago, because she fell on hard times, which were spotted in a Weymouth charity shop. Another veteran Wren saw them, noted the name, and asked on the Wrens Facebook group if anyone knew her. She was in the same group, so we chipped in to buy them back for her.

 

[Gazwag]

Shared on my social media the other day (for what its worth). Hope he gets them back.

Seems that with the increase on deliveries over the pandemic that couriers are now increasingly doing a dump it and leg it scenario, which will inevitably lead to an increase in porch pirates nicking things from doorsteps.

Quite, the blame lies squarely on the lazy delivery drivers - if they did their job properly the opportunist thief wouldn't get the chance

 

[Hampden Park]

Unlike WW2 medals, these will be engraved so easily traced when the thief tries to sell them.


On a happier note, a veteran Wren sold her medals a few years ago, because she fell on hard times, which were spotted in a Weymouth charity shop. Another veteran Wren saw them, noted the name, and asked on the Wrens Facebook group if anyone knew her. She was in the same group, so we chipped in to buy them back for her.

Bravo Zulu, Jennies.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Quite, the blame lies squarely on the lazy delivery drivers - if they did their job properly the opportunist thief wouldn't get the chance

Still a ***** trick though.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It's worth keeping an eye out on Ebay.

 

[Sirnormangall]

Still a ***** trick though.

Yes and a hard and low paid job

 

[darkwolf666]

Quite, the blame lies squarely on the lazy delivery drivers - if they did their job properly the opportunist thief wouldn't get the chance

Think some of the blame lies with the delivery companies that expect drivers to carry out an often unmanageable workload, which leads to corners being cut!

 

[Pint of Ale and a Burger]

It's a bit unfair to blame the delivery drivers.
They've been very busy and been out there working during all these lockdowns.

Covid has changed the mindset a little bit too with all the"leave the parcel outside,knock on the door and standback until the customer picks up parcel"

I'm sure the delivery driver is gutted about the medals going missing the same as the rest of us.

The blame is on the theiving toe rag who nicked the parcel.

But as the owner of the medals has said,he is not interested in prosecution or who's fault it was,he just wants the medals back and that will be the end of the matter.
Hopefully the thief was just hoping for a smart phone or tablet and now they know they are medals will just return them at some point.

But if not then we need to keep an eye out for them.
Thunderbolt made a good suggestion about e-bay and I will pop in there to have a look now and then and I'm planning a visit to Arundel at some point so I will have a nose around but I imagine the police will message any legit dealers and give them a heads up.
Markets and carboots could be a likely sales point so keep our eyes open.

I have found a picture of the medals in radio Sussex Twitter page but I can't post pics here but if anyone here with tech skills could post it then it may help.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

[tweet]1403289064615428096[/tweet]

 

[Brian Fantana]

A friend of mine who runs an antique shop near Arundel believes there’s been someone touting them around in the area. He had someone in his shop yesterday asking whether or not he would buy military medals. He thought it a bit of a coincidence as he’s had no one asking that question for several years.

 

[Pint of Ale and a Burger]

A friend of mine who runs an antique shop near Arundel believes there’s been someone touting them around in the area. He had someone in his shop yesterday asking whether or not he would buy military medals. He thought it a bit of a coincidence as he’s had no one asking that question for several years.

That's interesting.
Definitely worth your friend mentioning it to the police or the radio sussex if he hasn't already.

 

[Brian Fantana]

That's interesting.
Definitely worth your friend mentioning it to the police or the radio sussex if he hasn't already.

Definitely. I believe he already has. He had actually only found out about the missing medals AFTER the visit from this person.

 

[spongy]

A friend of mine who runs an antique shop near Arundel believes there’s been someone touting them around in the area. He had someone in his shop yesterday asking whether or not he would buy military medals. He thought it a bit of a coincidence as he’s had no one asking that question for several years.

Does he have cctv in his shop and pictures of who it was?

 

[Brian Fantana]

Does he have cctv in his shop and pictures of who it was?

Unfortunately no CCTV as I understand it, but I believe he’s passed on a description to the police. It might be nothing, but it was the coincidence of the question that struck him when he subsequently saw the story online. That, and the fact that the person didn’t have the medals with them. He thought it unusual, even at the time, that someone would just come in and ask whether or not he’d buy a particular item but not actually said item to be appraised.

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

Adam Hole's theory was that the opportunist thief who nicked them may have thought they were a phone or some other desirable tech item. What worries me is that, having discovered what was in the package, they simply dumped them and therefore they could be lying around in a garden or bin close to where the theft occurred. Of course that's just assuming it was someone with no idea of the worth of these medals, financial or sentimental; not that "sentimental" adequately covers what they mean to their rightful owner.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

It’s sad when these things go missing. My great grandfather got killed at Passendaele and the medals and letters passed down the family. They were due to go to a specialist auction in Northumberland that would have enabled me to bid for them but they were put in a general sale some weeks previous and someone got a bargain and they moved out of the family. I was gutted.
Hope these ones find their way home.

 

[swindonseagull]

It’s sad when these things go missing. My great grandfather got killed at Passendaele and the medals and letters passed down the family. They were due to go to a specialist auction in Northumberland that would have enabled me to bid for them but they were put in a general sale some weeks previous and someone got a bargain and they moved out of the family. I was gutted.
Hope these ones find their way home.

Bit confused.....if they were passed down the family why were they going to be auctioned?