British forces veteran ‘devastated’ by theft of medals from Saskatchewan home

KINDERSLEY, Sask. – Nine medals issued for service in various theatres of conflict — including the Gulf War, Bosnia and Iraq — have been stolen from the apartment of a British Armed Forces veteran in Saskatchewan.

Jim Watson, who is 54, says he discovered the theft of the medals, military memorabilia and various household items from his main-floor suite in Kindersley, Sask., early Monday after returning from a weekend visit to his family's home in Medicine Hat, Alta.

The former staff sergeant, who now works as a general sales manager in Kindersley during the week, says the theft is devastating because he was planning to wear the newly remounted medals for the town's annual Remembrance Day ceremony.

Watson — a member of the Kindersley Legion — says he planned to leave the medals to his family in his will, but that may not be possible now.

The married father and grandfather, who immigrated to Canada in 2003 after a 24-year military career, he's trying to get the medals back through social media and is looking at offering a $500 reward.

Kindersley RCMP spokeswoman Meghan Mochoruk says no one has been arrested and investigators are not sure how many people were involved in the break-in.