Paddy Teakle - Stolen Medals

[John Nichol]

I'm sure many of you will know Air Cdr Paddy Teakle:

Last week, someone broke into his flat in Belgium where he is serving with SHAPE and stole, amongst other stuff, his medals including his DSO, OBE & campaign medals ranging from Falklands 82 through to Afghanistan.

There is a bit of a campaign to see if they can be recovered with some good coverage across social media and now some more mainstream press:

Campaign To Find Senior RAF Officer's Stolen Medals | Forces TV (http://forces.tv/46750913) (ignore the usual media description of little old me!)
&
Thieves steal senior RAF man's medals - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11831757/Thieves-steal-senior-RAF-mans-medals.html)

If anyone has any Belgian media contacts, or the required language skills, it would be great to get their press to cover this story and hopefully recover these irreplaceable items.

[Tankertrashnav]

John, that is a serious group of medals and would attract attention anywhere if they came onto the regular medal market via a dealer or auction house. The publication Medal News has a monthly section for listing stolen medals to alert collectors and the trade, which I think is a free service. If not already done it would be a very good move for Air Cdr Teakle to contact them. Here's a link

Coin, Banknote and Medal Collector’s Magazines. Token Publishing – Numismatic Interest (http://www.tokenpublishing.com/medals.asp)

[John Nichol]

Many thanks TTN; very useful info which I will pass on today.

Unfortunately, the Belgian police assessment is this was a pretty simple opportunity burglary and they suspect the medals might just get dumped somewhere. That's why the other avenue is to alert the Belgian media in the slim hope some good citizen there might come across them.

[baffman]

John, have you managed to get media coverage in Belgium? If not, no guarantees but we can try contacts in that country.

[John Nichol]

Thanks Baffman - please use your best efforts to get some coverage.

Media coverage over there will be the key to recovering the medals so all input/help/advice/expertise/contacts will be truly appreciated.

best to you and yours.
JN

[Finningley Boy]

Of course if the originals can be found so much the better. However, in the event they're not, surely they can be replaced!?:confused:

FB

[baffman]

True FB but not the same though, especially stamped on the reverse with an "R" to show they are replacements. I would hate to lose mine and they are far less impressive.

John, I have emailed a contact in Belgium and will let you know the response, but don't hold off any other efforts you are making.

[Whenurhappy]

I attended a conference last year with Paddy Teakle; we were both spilling out of our no 1s. I was amazed seeing his array of ribbons - there would be few serving who could rival them. I hope he gets them back.

I had my modest collection stolen whilst serving at Aldershot. I sought a valuation for insurance purposes and was astounded how much they were worth. Particular ones, such as GSM (Air Operations Iraq) are particularly collectable, and thus worth a bit as part of a wider collection. Luckily for me, the medals were recovered (stolen by a drunk PTI who broke into the mess one weekend to pursue a Nursing officer...). When not wearing them, I now keep hem in the office safe.

[Wensleydale]

A visitor the Waddington Heritage Centre brought his father's WW2 medal group for us to look at...he had spent a week in Lincoln and had left the medals, a DFC group, and his father's log book openly in the boot of his car overnight. His father had been a IX Sqn pilot who flew on the final Tirpitz raid....I hesitate to think how many thousands that group was worth!

[John Nichol]

Thanks FB - of course you are right; they can be replaced but as others have said, they are not the originals. The value factor may clearly be important in the long term, but it is the personal heritage which is the driving factor today.

On the subject of stolen medals:

Some years ago now, whilst on IX Sqn at Leeming and living in a flat in Ripon (I know a few of you enjoyed a beer or 6 there) - I had a late night gathering after the pub. This was a fairly normal occurrence back in the day.

There must have been 20 or so friends, friends of friends (all RAF), wives & girlfriends milling about.

My own meagre collection of a medal from GW1 always sat in my bedroom in a misplaced mess dessert bowl - the ones with the gold rim (still have it actually).

Late the next day, I found an envelope on my doormat with said medal enclosed along with a note saying "sorry I took this - it seemed a good idea at the time". I hadn't even noticed it had gone, nor would I have until many months later when it was required for a No 1 type occasion.

I didn't take it any further, nor ever found out who the miscreant was (I am told that my GW1 medal is fairly valuable) & never really thought about the incident again until now. Funny old world isn't it.

& many thanks to you Baffman - any help with Belgian media at all is truly appreciated.