101-Year-Old Former Royal Marine Receives Replacement War Medals After Theft

A former Royal Marine commando, aged 101, has received a new set of medals to replace his original ones, which were stolen. James Laughlin, who was among approximately 17,000 marines participating in D-Day, swam to Gold Beach, armed solely with a knife held in his teeth, to clear mines posing a threat to landing craft. Lt Col Ralph Assheton, a deputy lieutenant for Lancashire, presented Mr. Laughlin with his new medals at his care home in Accrington, describing the veteran as “quite something.” Mr. Laughlin, who characterized his service in Normandy in 1944 as “just a day’s work,” was awarded a 1939-45 Star, an Africa Star, an Italy Star, a Defence Medal, and a War Medal. D-Day stands as the largest military seaborne operation ever undertaken, signifying the commencement of the effort to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe. According to Mr. Laughlin, he detonated mines on the beach by throwing pebbles at them. Born in Leeds, he served from 1941 to 1945. He worked as a plasterer both before and after his service in the marines, eventually settling in Accrington. His medals had been displayed on a wall in his residence until a neighbor observed their absence prior to Mr. Laughlin’s hospitalization in October. The replacement medals were commissioned after Sid Sadiq, an Armed Forces veteran advocate support officer with East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, submitted an application to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for their replacement. Mr. Sadiq served 22 years in the Royal Army Dental Corps as a medical practice manager and currently provides support to veterans admitted as inpatients to the trust. Mr. Sadiq stated that upon contacting the MoD, it was discovered there was no official record of Mr. Laughlin having been awarded the medals, which allowed for the issuance of original medals instead of duplicates. “He was in Germany, Italy and Africa,” Mr. Sadiq remarked concerning Mr. Laughlin. “It’s an amazing thing to reach the age he’s reached and to achieve some of the things he’s achieved.” Listen to selections from BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and connect with BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story ideas can also be submitted to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk and via Whatsapp at 0808 100 2230. This content is Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.