HONOURS EVEN
War hero receives replacements for lost war medals
A D-DAY hero who lost four war medals at a service station has been given a replacement set.
Blind veteran Alfred Barlow, 96, said he was “overwhelmed” by people’s efforts to help him. Several rewards, including £5,000 from Crimestoppers, have so far failed to find his medals or catch whoever took them.
But his plight moved fellow blind ex-serviceman Alan Walker, 58, to buy four more for him from a dealer. Mr Walker pinned them to his chest at a special ceremony in London.
The originals vanished as Alfred returned from a pilgrimage last month to D-Day beaches in France. His family noticed they were missing after a stop at Norton Canes services on the M6 Toll in Staffordshire.
Alfred, from Stockport, was heartbroken by the loss of his 1939-1945 Star,
I am very grateful to all those who have been so kind to me ALFRED BARLOW D-DAY HERO
France & Germany Star, 1939-1945 War Medal and Palestine Medal.
After his presentation yesterday by Mr Walker, of Hassocks, West Sussex, he said: “I earned those medals for my part in the war. Now I have replacements.” He admitted: “It’s not quite the same as having the originals. If someone finds those they’d probably mean nothing yet, to me, they are everything.
“But I’m very grateful to all the people who have been so kind to me.
“I’m overwhelmed by the attention I’ve had over the missing medals. It’s amazing that people offered rewards for their return.”
The chief executive of Blind Veterans UK, Nick Caplin, said: “People across Britain got in touch wanting to help Alfred. It was wonderful looking at his face when he had his medals on his chest again and talking to him about how much they mean to him.”