In the late 1980’s I met a gentleman called Bill Hackney who contacted me when he saw my ad in a local paper regarding a search for my grandfather’s wartime friends. My grandfather was a regular in the South Wales Borderers alongside this man until they went separate ways to fight. Bill ended up as a commando possibly 1 Commando and told me about his harrowing experience liberating Belsen. I believe they arrived prior to others and tanks etc. Having written regularly he caught up with me in Scarborough whilst I was there briefly and brought me his medals to see. Notably he had served in Norway 1940 with my grandfather but unlike my grandfather’s medals Bill had a bar on one of his which said ‘Norway’. I cannot recall his explanation of how he came to have this. To my horror when he and his wife left for home he later told me he lost his medals. The B and B I was in was searched as was the area he parked which happened to be close to a medal shop. They knew nothing at all and nothing was handed to police nor was there a response to my ad in the paper hoping to locate Bill’s medals. After all these years it still bothers me about where they went. He was devastated. Sorry for the long winded account but can anyone tell me if his medals have turned up for a collector/sold on etc? I tried to look but am unsure quite what to try next.
