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Eddie battles for dad’s WWII medal
THE son of a war veteran has launched a battle to get his father awarded the Second World War campaign medal he was apparently promised 65 years ago.
Eddie Power, of Ballasalla, has written to the UK Prime Minister calling for his dad to receive the Italy Star for his services with the Foreign Office’s highly secretive Political Intelligence Department.
Richard Power, 91, had worked as a engineer for the BBC before being asked to volunteer for the Political Intelligence Unit, which was based at Bush House in London.
Given the rank of Lieutenant, he was posted to Algiers where he set up transmitters on the front line to broadcast black propaganda to the enemy.
He went on to join 8th Army in the invasion of Italy and also served in Austria where he had a close shave with SS offices at one radio station where he stole their hats and badges.
Lieutenant Power was one of 30 members of the Political Intelligence Department who were informed after the war that were entitled to a medal for their war service.
But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office claims it has no record of this.
He has secured a copy of a letter from the treaty department of the Foreign Office dated August 1, 1947, which clearly showing that Richard Power was to be awarded Italy Star for his wartime service overseas.
That document had gone to the War Office but had come under the 50 year rule for classified documents, only surfacing recently thanks to the efforts of Hugo Swire, Tory MP for East Devon and currently a Minister of State for the Foreign Office.
Eddie, a Malew Commissioner, said he was ‘absolutely disgusted’ with the FCO. ‘They just don’t want to know,’ he said.
His father said from his home in Devon: ‘After what I have been through, why have I not had recognition?’
The FCO has since emailed his son in Ballasalla saying it will go back and search their records.
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Friday 24 May 2013
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