St. John Ambulance members and police are hoping to recover military and civilian service medals stolen from Nanaimo brigade’s building.
The medals, donated by Maj. Charles Whiskers, a long time member of St. John Ambulance, were displayed in a shadow box in the building, located on Labieux Raod and were likely stolen sometime in early September.
Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said it appeared there was no sign of forced entry into the building and that the shadow box had been simply ripped off the wall.
The medals commemorated Whisker’s military service with Canadian army and years of service with St. John Ambulance.
Jack Patten, St. John Ambulance area commissioner, said he reported the theft to police Sept. 11, the day he noticed the medals were missing.
Whiskers had no family locally, Patten said, so he donated his medals for display at the Nanaimo St. John Ambulance branch and they have significant sentimental value to staff and volunteers.
“He was a great supporter,” Patten said. “For many, many years he was there all the time and that’s why we had his medals on display. He was such a diligent, dedicated supporter.”
The stolen medals include: Commander in the Order of the St. John Ambulance (white cross with a black ribbon), Military Long Service (red ribbon with gold medallion with “Major Whiskers” inscribed in the back), Order of the St. John Ambulance (black ribbon with silver star), Queen Elizabeth 50th Jubilee and Officer of the St. John Ambulance (four pointed silver star).
The shadow box is made of dark wood and measured 46 centimetres by 38 cm. The shadow box also contained a picture of Whiskers in his Canadian Scottish Regiment mess kit.
Anyone with information about the medal’s whereabouts or the theft is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.