Veteran coronavirus survivor reunited with stolen medals found in North Yorkshire

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The medals had been taken, along with other sentimental items, in a burglary at the man’s family home near to Barnsley at the end of January.

They were discovered by a dog walker at the side of a road near to Eggborough power station in North Yorkshire on Thursday, April 9. The same day, a North Yorkshire Police Officer returned to the area and discovered further items.

Amongst the recovered items was a small jewellery box containing a number of baby teeth, and a commemorative coin stating ‘Paige’s 1st teeth’, which belonged to the man’s daughter.

After North Yorkshire Police appealed on social media for anyone who recognised the items to come forward, a relative of the family recognised the items, and had made contact with the force in less than two hours.

The owner of the medals, who wishes to remain anonymous, had just been discharged from ICU after being treated for coronavirus when he heard that his medals had been found.

He said: “I am over the moon as I did not expect to see my medals again – they mean so much to me as they represent my 22 years of service with The Light Dragoons.”

Police Investigator Dave Pegg, one of the Burglary Coordinators for North Yorkshire Police said: “It was an incredible find by both the dog walker and one of our officers and within minutes of us sharing the appeal on Facebook, I was inundated with emails offering helpful advice on how we could help to identify the owners of the medals.

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“Luckily, a relative of the family who’d been burgled recognised the stolen items from the appeal on Facebook and within two hours they’d be in touch.

“It’s one of the best parts of the job being able to reunite victims of burglary w

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ith their belongings, especially when they are as irreplaceable and sentimental as a set of medals.

“The power of social media has once again been used for the greater good and I’d like to thank each and every one of our followers who took the time to comment on and share the post or provided information.

“In particular I’d like to give a big shout out to the fantastic community spirit and ‘brotherhood’ of The Light Dragoons as the vast majority of people who got in touch were either serving or veteran Dragoons – with one even offering to clean up the medals for the victim and another getting in touch all the way from Canada after seeing the appeal on a medal collector’s forum.

“Day in and day out our followers on social media help us to make a difference in North Yorkshire – we couldn’t do it without them.”

The appeal to reunite the remaining items with their owner is ongoing.

One of the items, a Rotary watch, has an inscription, reading: ‘To Thomas Love Dad 1.11.95’.

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If you recognise any of the items pictured, or if you have any information that could help with the investigation, contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and asking for David Pegg. You can also email [email protected]

Quote reference number 12200058415 when providing information.