D-Day veteran reunites with WWII medals after 81 years

By Charlie Fenton

A 103-year-old British D-Day veteran has been reunited with his WWII medals on Remembrance Day after an 81-year wait.

Courageous Douglas - Doug - Halley served in the Royal Artillery and landed on Normandy Beach during Operation Overlord as part of the second wave of troops.

Hero Halley, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire., was awarded three medals - the 1939-45 Star, the France and Germany Star, and the War Medal 1939-45 - for his bravery.

But sadly, the serviceman's medals went missing when he accidentally left them on his uniform, which he returned at the end of the war in 1945.

Doug's family worked alongside amateur WWII researcher Joseph Smith, 27, to trace the missing honors.

And last night (Nov 10), after over eight decades, the great-grandad received them in the post from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and said he is "chuffed" to finally be able to proudly wear them on his chest again.

The proud veteran said: "I am delighted to have them back for myself and my family after everything I went through.

"It is especially great to have them in time for Remembrance Day.

"They may be just a piece of metal but the medals are something that I hold very close to my heart.

"They remind me of all my brothers in arms who I was with who helped me get through in the war.

"I am also thankful to Joseph for tracing them down and ensuring they got back to me in one piece."

Doug was training to be a butcher when he was called up to serve in the world's most deadly war at the ripe age of 20 in 1943.

His job was to operate the Bren light machine gun, which he said is the "reason he is losing his hearing".

After the war Doug stayed in the forces as a soldier until he left in the 1950s.

He then went on to become a butcher for over 70 years with shops in Gleadless and Stradbroke, in Sheffield, South Yorks.

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In January 2026, Joseph contacted Doug's grandson Luke Halley, 28, after he posted about his grandad's story on Facebook.

Joseph, from Hasting, in East Sussex, has been travelling across the UK documenting veterans' stories for a project titled, The Last of The Greats, he is working on alongside three other friends.

They hope to document as many veterans' stories for the younger generation so they can learn and remember the sacrifices they made.

When researching about Doug he found information about his medals and asked Luke if they had them.

According to Luke, his grandad had lost his medals after returning his uniform with them still attached.

Joseph then contacted the MOD and helped Luke and his family fill out the relevant forms needed by the department to get them back.

The MOD successfully located his medals and agreed to mail them back to Doug.

Joseph said: "If I can help a veteran or their family in any way, be it getting hold of medals or finding out further information, it is the least I can do. It is an honor, really.

"Ultimately, I’m just happy that Luke’s family will now have something to pass down through the generations.”

Luke says his family plans to put them in a display alongside photos of him in his army uniform.

He said: "It is wonderful for the family that we are getting his medals back.

"It means now we have something we can share with family members to remember grandad.

"It is a lovely keepsake which we will proudly display. We are just very happy he has been reunited with them."

Recalling memories from D-Day, Doug says he remembers slipping on the rope ladder as he descended from his ship, falling “petrified” into the water.

Then the bodies of fallen soldiers, and running for cover to avoid the machine gun fire.

When he closes his eyes at night, he said, he can still see the blood and the bodies in the water.

He says he still thinks about that day when he goes to bed every night.

The MOD have been approached for a comment.