Bomber Command veteran loses medals on way to memorial event

About 300 of the remaining Bomber Command veterans attended the event

A World War Two Bomber Command veteran has lost his medals on his way to the unveiling of a new memorial to those who served in the squadrons.

The 31-metre memorial spire unveiled in Lincoln earlier displays the names of tens of thousands of air crew.

Event organisers sent a message out on Facebook asking for help in tracking down 93-year-old Donald Nicholson's five medals.

The message asked people to spread the word and help to get them back safely.

Mr Nicholson, from Houghton-le-Spring in Tyne and Wear, was attending the event which is part of the development in the creation of the International Bomber Command Centre.

The ceremony, presented by historian Dan Snow, was attended by 300 of the remaining Bomber Command veterans.

Nicky Barr from the International Bomber Command Centre said it was important the veterans were able to wear their medals at the event

Nicky Barr from the International Bomber Command Centre said: "He has kept those medals for 70 years and to have lost them today of all days is heartbreaking.

"We are pleading for anyone who might have found them to hand them back."

One of the missing medals is a Bomber Command clasp, pictured above

The medals may have been left at a service area near Blyth in Nottinghamshire.

The row of five medals are said to be very distinctive and include the European Service medal and a Bomber Command clasp.

The spire is 102ft (31m) high - the length of the wingspan of a Lancaster Bomber

The spire is based on two wing fragments, tapering as they rise towards the sky