AN ECHUCA woman has been left gutted after her late father and father-in-law’s war medals were stolen from her home while she was on holidays.
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The resident, who does not wish to be named, arrived home to her Hopwood St property today to find the 10 Australian and British World War II medals, as well as her dad’s gold watch, her grandmother’s brooch, tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of fine jewellery and an iPad missing.
‘‘Nice way to end a 13-week holiday,’’ she said.
It appears the burglary occurred on Saturday night after a friend looking after the house found the door open on Sunday.
‘‘Every drawer was open and they took the box with all the medals and my dad’s 60-year-old Longines watch which had a date inscribed on the back,’’ she said.
‘‘That was particularly significant to me as were the medals.
‘‘They would have no value to anyone except our family. They're purely sentimental.
‘‘I’m utterly cheesed off.’’
The woman said her dad, who died in 2005, was serving in Darwin when it got bombed, while her English father-in-law was a Rat of Tobruk.
‘‘These were the medals they received as service men,’’ she said.
The woman said her jewellery was irreplaceable as the pieces had been collected from around Australia over many years.
‘‘They’re very significant pieces to me,’’ she said.
‘‘I picked them up when I was on holidays at places like Coober Pedy and Emerald. One of them was a pearl I had made just for me.
‘‘Someone obviously knew what they were doing.’’
The woman is pleading for the return of the medals and urges anyone who has seen them or has information to contact Echuca police on 5483 1500 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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