A WAR veteran who suffers from dementia is devastated after losing his service
medals at a Remembrance Service event in London.
Peter Bennett, who was the youngest serving officer in the elite SAS unit,
lost his beret after travelling to London from his home in Grantham for the
opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.
But the 80-year-old lost his overcoat, bag and nine medals between the service
and his journey home the following day, his family said.
Thankfully, some of Peter’s medals were found by rail workers – but many are
still missing, mostly large ones, along with his coat and SAS beret
Among the decorations were service medals from his time in Oman, Yemen and
Malaya.
Mr Bennett took part in a local Remembrance service this morning, carrying a
banner for the Royal British Legion, and kept wondering where his medals
were, his daughter Giulia said.
She added: “He is obviously asking for them, and he gets a bit upset when he
remembers and realises he doesn’t have them.
“We are just more upset for him really, and angry with ourselves that he was
on his own without care.”
The war veteran was just 19 when he joined the SAS in 1954 and spent his 21st
birthday in the jungle of Malaya and went on to serve in the Gulf for a
number of years.
At one point, Mr Bennett told his family, he knew Sir Ranulph Fiennes – and
helped him get out of trouble “a couple of times”, before finally coming
home in 1967.
His family are unsure when exactly he lost his medals, He stayed with his
daughter in London the night before the service, and checked into Victory
Services Club near Hyde Park, a hotel for retired members of the Armed
Forces, before going to the ceremony with an old friend.
Giulia said: “They got very excited, as you would. He is 80-years-old, saw his
old friend and got caught up in the moment of Remembrance.
“I imagine he had a few drinks somewhere and that is where it would have gone
downhill, really.”
The pair had lunch at an army barracks after the service and later went to a
white tie dinner at the Royal Victoria (Artists) Rifles headquarters in
Mayfair.
By the time he left King’s Cross station to return to Grantham at 6pm on
Friday he had lost all his belongings, including his wallet, and was put on
a train by kind staff.
Giulia is now appealing for help finding her dad’s medals and beret, and
believes he could have lost them anywhere from the taxi, to the station or
on the train home.
She added: “An old man would be very happy if he could get them back.”