A war hero fought back tears as the Scottish Government stepped in to replace his stolen service medals after heartless MoD bosses refused. Paul Houston was left heartbroken after his hard-earned medals – for service in the Gulf War and Northern Ireland –were stolen 10 years ago when his home was burgled.
Since that time, the 57-year-old war hero has been pleading for the Ministry of Defence to cast new medals for him but they refused to cover the costs. Now the Scottish Government has stepped in to pay for his new medals, which were presented to him earlier this week by local MSP and Justice Secretary Keith Brown, who fought for his country in 1982 in the Falklands War.
Brown also vowed to replace all lost or stolen medals for Scottish servicemen as part of a new deal for those who fought for their country. After receiving the medals Paul, who was a private in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) from 1987 to 1995, said: “It means the world to me to have them back. The sweat, the blood and the tears that went into earning them made the loss totally devastating.”
Brown explained that the Scottish Government had decided to intervene after the MoD Medals Office in London refused to pay for the silver to cast the new medals. Over a prolonged spell of wrangling, the Medals Office had agreed to waive an admin fee and VAT but would not budge on the cost of the medals.
Brown said: “If the state signs you up and sends you into conflicts, we felt it should also take responsibility for service medals in a case like Paul’s. You can argue and keep on arguing but after a time it felt right for us to deal with this in the proper manner and without any further delay for Paul and other veterans in his position.”
Paul said the Scottish Government’s intervention was appreciated – and almost came too late. The horrors he had witnessed during his eight-year Army career still haunted him and had driven him to alcoholism, which came close to killing him last year.
He said: “My liver is ruined by the years of drinking, which I fell into to try to escape the nightmares from the memories. I’ve been told if I have one more drink, it could kill me. I believe now I can cope without drink, and getting the medals back is hopefully symbolic of a new start for me.”
Paul’s mental scars are most severe from his time in Northern Ireland, which he felt had been far more intense than the conflict in the Gulf, as he felt under constant threat. His worst experience was at Derryard in December 1989, when an IRA unit opened fire from the back of a dump truck on a checkpoint staffed by the KOSB near the Irish border, north of Rosslea in County Fermanagh.
The attack left two of Paul’s colleagues dead and two others wounded.
Paul said: “Those things don’t leave you, ever. But you come out of the Army, back into civilian life and you’re expected to be OK.”
Speaking about the theft of his service medals 10 years ago, Paul said: “They took my settee, my bed, all my kitchen
equipment. I was gutted, but I could replace all that. My medals were only valuable to me and I couldn’t understand why they took them from me, and at that time they couldn’t be replaced.”
A man was caught and convicted of the burglary but the original medals were never traced. Paul’s case was taken up by Ally Gemmell of the Scottish Armed Services Advice Project, and by volunteers at the Wee County Veterans Hub, in Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, where he received his new medals.
Paul had gone to the club after being invited for breakfast by daughter Nicole, 22. But he was speechless to find the place packed for a surprise ceremony to honour him. Brown explained the Scottish Government had decided last year that it would pay for replacement medals as the MoD would not.
A new Scottish Government policy to replace lost medals for ex-servicemen was agreed by Holyrood late last year and Paul is the first former soldier to benefit. MSP Brown said: “Many of our veterans still bear the physical and mental scars from conflicts and their medals are an important symbol of their courageous service. This scheme is part of a wide range of support.”
An MoD spokesman said: “The Medal Office are in contact with Scottish Government officials on how payment for replacement medals for any veterans resident in Scotland are made.”
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