A widow from Three Rivers has been reunited with her late husband’s war medals in Remembrance week following a “despicable” burglary from her home five years ago.
The medals, which were awarded to the victim’s late husband for his service in the Navy during the Second World War, were stolen from a property in May 2009.
They included a Distinguished Service Medal, awarded by King George VI for her husband’s bravery and resourcefulness on D-Day, and an Atlantic Star Medal for service in the Battle of the Atlantic where German U-boats attacked convoys transporting valuable supplies from America and the colonies to Britain.
The victim expressed her gratitude to “tenacious” PC Bill Braisher, who recovered the collection this month and handed them back to her on Wednesday.
She said: “It is most despicable that someone could steal a sailor’s medals. It is only through Bill’s sheer tenacity they have been returned and I thank Bill for what he has done.”
In addition, PC Braisher traced her husband’s Italy Star Medal awarded for his service at sea in the Mediterranean, his 1939-1945 Service Medal and Defence Medal.
He said: “It was a very emotional moment handing the medals back to the victim.
“She thought she would never see the medals again and was thrilled to have them returned. It’s also particularly poignant they were recovered now because of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings and both Remembrance and Armistice Day commemorations.”
At the time of the burglary, PC Braisher contacted the Ministry of Defence to enquire about getting a replica Distinguished Service Medal made with the woman’s husband’s service number and name engraved on it as it was on the original.
The medal had to be specially minted by the Royal Mint and PC Braisher presented it to her a short time after the burglary.
But in October, PC Braisher reviewed the crime again and made investigations to see if the items had been offered for sale on any online auction sites.
Trawling eBay, he noticed medals matching the description of the ones stolen had been advertised for sale in 2013.
PC Braisher made enquiries with eBay and was able to identify and speak to the man who had attempted to sell them.
He said: “I spoke with the man, who was a keen collector of war memorabilia, and found out that he had bought them from a second hand shop in Pinner just after the burglary in 2009.
“Having had them in his possession for a couple of years, he had decided to sell them on.
“At the time of carrying out the investigation I notified a number of specialist publications and gave them details of the medals, including his service number.
“While the items were up for sale on eBay, someone who had seen the article contacted the seller to say they had been stolen.
“He was shocked to know they were stolen property so he handed them into his local police station in Harrow and I’d thank him for his actions.”
The Metropolitan Police was unable to trace the rightful owner and they had been left in the police’s property stores at the station for the past 18 months.
PC Braisher continued: “Sadly we were never able to arrest the offender responsible for this crime and I would urge anyone who knows who was responsible to please contact me.”
PC Braisher can be contacted by calling the ploice non-emergency number 101.
Alternatively, to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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