Search for medals lost in Thames

[Kyt]

I sincerely hope the search is successful.

BBC NEWS | England | London | Search for medals lost in Thames

[Kyt]

BBC NEWS | England | London | Divers find medals lost in Thames

Scuba divers have recovered war medals lost by a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II after they fell into the river Thames.

Charles Brown, 93, lost the medals last Sunday as he boarded a boat during the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships cruise from Kingston to Weybridge.

The two rows of medals included an OBE, a Dunkirk and Normandy campaign medal.

Divers from Teddington Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) found them soon after beginning their search.

Scuba divers began their fingertip search near Kingston Bridge at about 1100 BST on Saturday.

Earlier attempts to recover the medals with magnets proved unsuccessful.

'No drama'

Mr Brown lost the medals from the breast pocket of his jacket as he used his walking frame to board a boat near Kingston Bridge.

Earlier Mr Brown had said: "I really hope they find my medals because one of them is an OBE and they only give one of those out - there's no second medal if I lose it."

Malcolm Miatt, operations manager at Teddington RNLI, said: "Our divers found them almost immediately, there was no drama at all.

"The medals are a bit muddy and dirty and we'd like to get them cleaned up.

"The old guy is a hero and truly deserved to get his medals back, the RNLI is delighted to have cheered him up."

Mr Brown is on his way to be reunited with the medals.

[Antipodean Andy]

A good ending. He must have felt horrible watching them fall into the river. Interesting career too, Dunkirk and Normandy.