Delighted daughter reunited with late Doncaster soldier dad’s medals after Free Press appeal

A delighted daughter has spoken of her amazement after being reunited with her late dad’s Army medals thanks to a Doncaster Free Press appeal.
Amanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medalsAmanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medals
Amanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medals

Amanda Carr feared that she would never see her dad John’s medals again after they went missing in Doncaster a number of years ago and a previous appeal had drawn a blank.

But she has now been reunited with the prized medals after the Free Press carried a story pleading for their return – and a kind-hearted owner came forward to hand them back to her.

Amanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medalsAmanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medals
Amanda Carr has been reunited with her dad's medals
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Daughter's plea to find late soldier dad's Army medals in Doncaster
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She said: “It is absolutely amazing. I didn’t think I’d ever see them again so to have them back in my hands feels quite surreal.

“It was such an emotional moment when I saw them again for the first time.”

Amanda and her eldest brother Chris launched their search for dad John’s medals after realising they were missing in 2016.

John Carr's medals went missing after his deathJohn Carr's medals went missing after his death
John Carr's medals went missing after his death

Their dad John Carr, a Warrant Officer (Second Class) who served in Northern Ireland, died in October 2000 in a road accident at the age of 43 and the medals were among  a number of items put into storage.

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Added Amanda: “When he died, we had his funeral flowers dried and mounted with his medals.

“As my family moved around and relocated to various parts of the UK, my brother kept possession of these items.

“Sadly, in late 2016, my brother, who was living in Doncaster at the time, went to retrieve the medals from where he had stored them and they had gone. We have been searching for them ever since.”

She had original posted a message on Facebook in 2017 trying to track down their whereabouts and the trail went cold until earlier this month when her original post suddenly began being shared again and was picked up by the Free Press.

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The owner of the medals, who wishes to remain anonymous, came forward after seeing our story.

Added Amanda, 32: “He had bought them perfectly legitimately off eBay. He’s a medal collector and had looked after them, so it felt good that someone had been looking after them and not just pushed them in a drawer.”

The Free Press put Amanda in touch with the collector and she and her partner Jez drove up from their home in Gloucester to an address in Sheffield for an emotional reunion with the medals.

She said: “It was weird seeing them – a really emotional moment. 

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“I’d been searching for so long and to be honest, didn’t think we’d ever see them again.

“But it now feels like there’s a new chapter to the story. The medals have been on a journey and it adds to the story of them.”

“We are so grateful to the man who bought them and the Free Press for getting them back. We can’t thank everyone enough. It is wonderful the story has a happy ending.”

She now plans to put the medals – a service medal with Northern Ireland clasp and a Long Service/Good Conduct medal into a display case and will take pride of place in the family home.