‘Very rare’ war medal stolen
Several medals from Second World War taken in morning burglary
Toronto police are investigating after several Second World War medals were stolen from a private residence Saturday — one of which is extremely rare, according to an assistant professor at the Royal Military College of Canada.
Michael Boire, who teaches Canadian military history and is a retired soldier, reviewed the stolen medals for the Star after police issued a news release Monday.
Police said a suspect or a group of suspects entered a building in the area of Jarvis St. and Mt. Pleasant Rd., and stole numerous items from a home in the early morning hours of Jan. 12.
The most notable was a box containing six medals: the War Medal 1939-1945 the 1939-1945 Star the France and Germany Star the Defence Medal the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal the Military Medal Boire said the most valuable “by far” is the Military Medal.
“The Military Medal, like all of the other medals for bravery, are the kinds of things thieves are really looking for,” Boire told the Star. The Military Medal was awarded to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members for specific acts of bravery. The award must be recommended by a commander-inchief in the field.
The Military Medal is a collector’s item and it’s worth a significant amount of money on the black market, Boire added.
“It’s very, very rare,” he said — adding that only a number of them were given out during the Second World War.
“Now remember, hundreds of thousands of guys earned (medals), right? But less than 100 would have earned the Military Medal,” he said. “So, it gives you an idea. I mean, it’s just a drop in a huge ocean.”
The stolen box itself was located a short distance away from the residence, but the medals were nowhere to be found.
According to Toronto police Const. David Hopkinson, police can’t say if the medals were stolen from a collector or from the person who earned them.
Boire said that if the collection was from one person, he would have been a foot soldier with a significant military history.
“It’s an army collection because the North Atlantic medals and the aircrew medals aren’t part of it,” Boire said.
“So, this is a guy who fought on land and he fought all through the French Germany campaign. He also joined early enough in the war to receive the Defence Medal, the defence of Great Britain. And he fought most of the war — that’s a long service as well. So this guy’s been around.”
Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said the medals in the photos that police provided are the same ones that were stolen. Judging from the photos, some of them look like they were brand new — particularly the 1939-1945 Star.
Therefore, Boire believes it’s less likely they all came from the same person as not all of them are in the same condition.
The War Medal 1939-1945 was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines for serving at least 28 days during the war, according to Veterans Affairs Canada. The1939-1945 Star was awarded to people who served at least six months for the Army and the Navy, and two months for active aircrew.
The France and Germany Star was bestowed to servicemen who served at least a day in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany after D-Day.
The Defence Medal, according to the federal agency, is usually conferred to Canadians who served six months in Britain at some point during the war. In addition, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal is granted to anyone in the Naval, Military or Air Forces who voluntarily served 18 months during the war. Boire said that some of the stolen medals may still have the original owner’s names engraved on the side.