War medal returned to British Army vet who saw it for sale on Calgary website
Allan Marshall's 2003 Iraq Campaign Service Medal had been missing since 2006
A British Army veteran in Belfast has got his war medal back after he spotted it for sale on a Calgary-based website, some 10 years after it went missing.
"I am over the moon," said Allan Marshall in a release issued by Calgary police.
Marshall contacted the police in October after he saw his 2003 Iraq Campaign Service Medal for sale online through Calgary-based Arctic Medals.
He realized the medal had gone missing in 2006, shortly after he left the British Army's First Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Police in Calgary determined the medal had been purchased in good faith by Arctic Medals several years ago at an auction.
Arctic Medals turned the medal over to police, who returned it to Marshall.
"This particular medal holds tremendous sentimental value as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II personally presented the medal to me after my operational tour of Iraq," said Marshall.
"I want to thank members of the Calgary Police Service and Arctic Medals for helping me recover my medal."
Mike McMahon, owner of Arctic Medals, said he was happy to return the medal to its rightful owner.
"During this time of the year, and in light of recent current events, we all have to be appreciative for the valiant efforts and sacrifices of our young men and women serving overseas so that we can all enjoy our freedoms here at home and throughout the free world," he said in the release.