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Home Sittingbourne News Article
A 95-year-old veteran has finally received his Second World War medal – more than 70 years after his service.
Albert Gear, from Sittingbourne, was in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war but, upon leaving, never received a medal.
His son Michael, 57, said: “My dad left pretty soon after the war so he missed out on getting any medals.”
Wanting to rectify the situation, Michael and his brother Geoff emailed their father’s service record to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in January.
They were subsequently told he was entitled to a War Medal for his services and, about a week or so later, it arrived.
On Saturday last week, Albert’s family awarded him the medal at Hanningfield Retirement Home in London Road, where he lives.
Geoff, 71, said: “We explained what the medal was for and he had a smile on his face.”
Michael added: “We will be contacting the MOD to find out if he is entitled to any other medals – I’ve got a feeling he is.”
Albert joined the RAF in 1941, when he was 17, as a trainee navigator bomb aimer. He completed his training in 1943 and went into active service with the RAF in its Lancaster bombers.
Geoff, said: “He hardly ever talked about his missions, other than to say if felt very uncomfortable with flak being fired at the aircraft and not knowing if they would take a hit.”
“Living in London, at the time, he would take every opportunity to come home on leave, even if it was just for a day. He would have his full flying kit on including three pairs of gloves, leather gauntlets, furlined sheepskin boots, helmet with goggles and a one piece flying suit with wires protruding from it. Once in the aircraft these wires would be plugged in and would provide a degree of warmth.”
After leaving the RAF in 1946, Albert married his sweetheart Rita in 1947 and they went on to have four children: Geoff, Trevor, Michael and Sue.
The couple had relocated to Sittingbourne’s Merlin Close from Surrey about 15 years ago, before moving to Hanningfield in 2014. Rita died later that year.
