I just want to wear my medals alongside my mates: 92-year-old veteran’s plea ahead of special reunion

HE earned them in aerial battle – and now all brave World War Two pilot John Galloway wants is his medals back.

Veteran John, 92, is desperate to be reissued with his war medals, so he can wear them at a reunion with other servicemen this summer.

For many of the former Bomber Command servicemen, it will be the last chance they have to meet up.

John lost his medals in a house fire that took place more than 50 years ago – and never got round to replacing them.

But now, John and his family are appealing for the Ministry of Defence to go through its records and issue replacement medals.

“This year’s reunion will be very special,” said the retired plumber.

“We get smaller in number each year.

“It would be perfect to be able to wear my medals when I meet up with the others.”

John was awarded a glut of medals for serving heroically as a warrant officer with 97 (Straits Settlement) Squadron, where life expectancy was perilously low.

In total the squadron lost 123 aircraft during the war – all of its airmen earning honours in battle.

John himself was awarded an RAF Aircrew Europe medal, a Trans Germany bar to place on the medal, a 1939–45 Star, a War Medal and Bomber’s clasp.

After enlisting in 1941 he completed 37 missions with RAF Bomber Command, including service with The Pathfinders, an elite forward attack unit that dropped flares on targets to better enable following bombers to accurately pick out their target.

However, John was dealt a cruel blow in 1964 when his home in Knightswood, Glasgow, was gutted in a fire.

He lost nearly everything, including his prized medals.

He said: “I am not the sort of person to make an issue of anything, but it would be nice to wear the medals to meet up with other Bomber Command airmen in at the reunion.

“I feel very privileged at having been an airman in World War Two and I’m lucky to have survived to live to 92.

“Many brave crew died and without them we would not be here today.”

Daughter Margaret Bannerman, a personal assistant, from East Kilbride, asked for her dad’s medals to be reissued for his 90th birthday but was told that because records of the fire no longer existed, it could not be proven they had been lost in the blaze.

The Royal British Legion, however, has succeeded in getting countless medals reissued to people who have lost them in burglaries and fires.

The key difference in John’s case is the amount of time that’s elapsed between the incident where they were lost and asking for new ones to be sent out.

“It would make me so happy to see dad wear them when he meets up with the rest of the surviving Bomber Command crew,” said Margaret. “We just need someone to help us and for common sense to prevail.”

John, married to Helen, remembers his war service “like it was yesterday”.

“We lived for the time not knowing if every day was our last,” said John.

“Everyone was terrified but we did what was expected of us and we had the huge German fighting machine to beat.

“Everyone played their part whether they were in the airforce, army or navy.

“If you got shot down you could only hope to survive.

“But some of the burns from blazing planes disfigured men for life.

“It was a long time ago but in many ways it seems like yesterday.”

Margaret is accompanying her dad to this summer’s reunion and knows how much it would mean to him to be able to wear his medals with pride.

“It would mean the world to all of us,” she said.

“We just have to overcome the red tape surrounding this to make dad’s dream come true.”

June’s reunion is taking place at RAF Staverton in Gloucester.

“I know it will rekindle some very special memories for dad and it’s a real honour to share them with him,” Margaret smiles.

“Everyone is proud of their dad but I feel the children of the Bomber Command have a very special reason to be so.”

A spokeswoman for the RAF Association said the family should get in touch with it.

“We would dearly love to hear from the family and would like to help them any way we can,” she said.

The MoD has urged Margaret to seek proof of the fire through any old insurance claims.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “We are indebted to all those who serve our country, which is why veterans can claim their original medals, dating all the way back to World War Two, entirely free of charge.

“Replacement original medals are only issued in exceptional circumstances, such as where confirmation is provided of a burglary, fire or theft.”