Offer to replace stolen medals

A Christchurch family who had war medals stolen are likely to accept a ‘‘generous’’ replacement offer.

Former Christchurch Memorial RSA president John Carpenter’s war medals were stolen from the home of his 93-year-old widow while she was in hospital last week.

Carpenter, who earned four medals for service in World War II, died in 2011.

Medal collector Tony Beard offered the family spares for three of Carpenter’s medals after reading about the burglary.

Carpenter’s daughter, Trish Hollis, said her brother was away but she would discuss the offer with him and her mother when he returned.

She said the family would most likely accept the ‘‘very generous’’ offer. ‘‘If we don’t get them back, of course we need something in the family.’’

Hollis said she had not heard from the police about the investigation since discovering the theft early last week. While her mother had ‘‘moved on’’, Hollis said she was still struggling to come to terms with the theft.

‘‘I’m so annoyed and devastated and really angry to think that the whole family have lost out twice.

‘‘I even looked around the garden in the hope that someone might have thrown them over the fence but I couldn’t see anything.’’

Hollis said the thieves had ripped the medals from their cardboard mount and left the ribbons. They had stolen about six metal photo frames and the handles of some furniture, leading Hollis to wonder if they had intended to sell the items to a scrap metal dealer.

Anyone with information on the theft or the war medals should phone the Christchurch police on (03) 363 7400 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.