Thieves nab hero's medal

Kyt · Nov 16, 2008

Medal stolen from WWI hero's family near Lichfield, Staffordshire

CALLOUS thieves broke into an Alrewas bungalow over Remembrance weekend and stole a Military Medal awarded to a First World War hero.

The culprits prised open the front door of Anna Houghton's home in Deepmore Close sometime between Thursday and Sunday last week.

They also made off with family jewellery, a 42-inch television and two campaign medals – but thankfully did not take any of the citations.

Widowed mum-of-four Mrs Houghton, a healthcare assistant, this week appealed for the medals' safe return.

They were awarded to her father-in-law, William Houghton, in July 1918, after he crossed enemy lines to rescue an injured comrade.
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A sergeant in the King's Liverpool Regiment, he had signed up as an underage schoolboy at the outbreak of war in 1914 and – miraculously – emerged relatively unscathed after the conflict ended.

When he died in 1963, the medals passed to his son Alan, Mrs Houghton's late husband.

She said it was his 'dying wish' that their son Richard should inherit the treasured heirlooms.

"Now I feel I've let them both down by losing them. It's heartbreaking," Mrs Houghton told the Mercury's sister title the Daily Mail.

"I don't know how much the medals are worth – I never had them valued.

"But they have massive sentimental value to me. I just want them back."

Coming days before the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the callous theft of medals presented to one of the heroes of that conflict has left residents disgusted.

And the cruel irony that the crime happened in the same village as the National Memorial Arboretum has not been lost on Mrs Houghton.

The Military Medal was awarded for 'acts of gallantry and devotion to duty performed by non-commissioned officers and men of our army in the field'.

Police are urging anyone who may be offered a Military Medal to contact them – officers believe it could be touted to a collector or a second-hand dealer.

"This was a callous theft which has left the family devastated," said PC Wayne Rogers.

"The medal is only given for exceptional acts of bravery and I would appeal for anyone with information about the theft to contact police as a matter of urgency."

Police are urging anyone with information to contact PC Rogers on 0300 1234455 or call Crimestoppers, free and in confidence, on 0800 555111.
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