Faith in humanity restored - another D-Day memorial plaque taken from a West Country park has been returned while more than £1,300 has been received in donations.
Only days after one of the five brass-plated plaques was found by a canoeist next to Castle Park in Bristol, a second was posted anonymously to the Bristol Post today (September 5).
Hours later it was back in the hands of Paul Turner, secretary of the Bristol and Warmley Normandy Veterans' group, who described the public response to the theft as “overwhelming”.
The five plaques were ripped from their stumps in the Normandy Garden of Peace in Castle Park last weekend. They were only installed in June at the 75th anniversary of the D-Day launch.
Each had the name of a beach where the landings took place. The plaque with “Sword” inscribed on it was found by the canoeist on Monday, the plaque with “Ohama” was sent by post to the newspaper office today.
Mr Turner said: “It is nothing but awe-inspiring.
“The generosity of the people who have in touch with us has been overwhelming. When this happened you think what is with society today? But all this has given me faith again in our society.”
As well as the returned plaques, five people have contacted Mr Turner, also anonymously, offering up hundreds of pounds to the planned replacement of the plaques.
One woman from Temple Cloud in Somerset gave £1,000, a man from Hengrove in Bristol hand-delivered £250 to the group’s secretary.
The donations more than cover the £500 estimated cost of the replacement plaques and provide the group cash to pay for a Christmas lunch for its 15 veterans and family members.
It will pay for the meals, entertainment and presents.
Mr Turner said: “After we got the £1,000 donation I explained to each person that we had the money for the plaques, but no, they still wanted to provide us money.
“It is amazing, really.”
The new plaques will be made of steel and will be fixed to five silver birch trees in the garden, all above head height. Three signs will also be put up warning people against vandalism.
A previously-ordered display panel telling the story of D-Day will be installed at the same time the new signs are installed.
It is still not known who is behind the theft of the plaques.
Officers at Avon and Somerset Constabulary are scouring CCTV in a bid to identify the culprits and have appealed for information from the public.
Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said he was “saddened” by the theft of plaques.
He said: “This memorial remembers the bravery and sacrifice of our service personnel during a significant event in our country’s history, especially important in a week where the start of the Second World War is remembered.”
The Normandy Garden of Peace was opened in 1995.
Anyone with information about the theft should call 101 using the reference number 5219202087.
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