Army badges stolen from the late John McAleese – the ex-SAS soldier hailed a hero for his role ending the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London – have been returned to his family after being recovered by West Midlands Police.
The SAS and Parachute Regiment cap badges – stolen from Mr McAleese’s Hereford home during a burglary – were found by officers back in 2010 hidden in the boot of a drug dealer’s car.
But before PC Alan Reeves – the man who led the Erdington drug crime crackdown – could reunite him with his army insignia the 62-year-old tragically suffered a fatal heart attack while on holiday in Greece.
Alan made repeated attempts to contact his next of kin without success – including enquiries through the SAS base in Hereford – until a former army colleague responded to a Facebook message last year and put him in touch with one of Mr McAleese’s daughters.
And on Friday (April 8) PC Reeves ‘repatriated’ the badges to his former wife Joanna and 19-year-old son Kieran (pictured with PC Reeves) during a presentation at Sutton Coldfield police station.
“John was a colourful, larger than life character,” said PC Reeves, “and these cap badges for the two regiments he served represent a significant part of our country’s history, let alone being of sentimental value to the family.
“The drug dealer we arrested denied all knowledge of the burglary when we found them in his car so they were booked into a police property store – and when Mr McAleese died that’s where they stayed despite my best efforts to find a next of kin.
“Thankfully one of my messages reached an old army colleague of Mr McAleese’s and he gave me the family's contact details down in South Wales. I’m delighted we’ve finally been able to give them back to the family.”
John McAleese, who guarded three Prime Ministers during a distinguished career, became a national hero in 1980 after blasting open a window so his elite unit could storm the Iranian Embassy building in West London.
Five terrorist gunmen were killed during the 17-minute raid – which Margaret Thatcher said made her 'proud to be British' – and all 26 hostages were saved as millions watched the dramatic scenes on television.
Joanna, said: “We’re delighted to finally have the badges back…I know it’s been a bit of a mission of Alan’s to return them and we’re extremely grateful for his time and effort.
“It’s personal, sentimental items like these that people miss the most after a burglary: the badges were very dear to John’s heart and he was gutted to find they’d been taken.
“They will be returned pride of place in a glass display cabinet alongside other memorabilia from John’s time in the SAS.”
The cap badges were discovered on 25 May 2010 following the arrest of a drug dealer in Eagle Gardens, Erdington, where several wraps of heroin and crack cocaine were found hidden inside a 30-year-old man’s boxer shorts. He was later jailed for four years.
↧
