Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood are delighted to have reunited a set of medals with their rightful owner.
Pte. J E Gilbert (right), the rightful owner of the medals, with Adrian Long, Chairman of the Northeast Somerset Branch of the Parachute Regimental Association. Image credit: Adrian Logan
During a marital separation in the 1990s, Private J. E. Gilbert's South Atlantic medal and UN Peacekeeping medal were taken by his partner, and sold at an auction in Yorkshire in 1997, where the current vendor purchased them in good faith. The vendor bought the medals to Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood late last year to have them valued and entered into auction. When Chairman of the Northeast Somerset Branch of the Parachute Regimental Association (NES PRA), Adrian Logan, saw the medals in the online catalogue, he wondered if the Pte JE Gilbert engraved on the side of each medal was the Jimmy Gilbert he knew.
'PTE J E GILBERT' engraved along the edge of one of the medals, which prompted Adrian Logan to contact Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
Coincidentally, in January of this year, Pte Gilbert lost his replica medals. Adrian contacted our managing director, Rachel Littlewood, to find out what exactly was going on. It was quickly established the medals held at Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood could not be the replica ones, as they were lost in January, and the original medals were bought to us in December of 2025.
Adrian then called the current owner of the medals who had brought them to us, Nigel Cooper, and explained the long history of these medals. A veteran of the Army Air Corps himself, Nigel has graciously agreed to return the medals to their true owner, in exchange for a pint! They are now waiting for a time to meet, return the medals, and have a pint and a chat.
Rachel spoke for all of us at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood when she said she is “So pleased they are going back to their rightful owner.”
