A MONIFIETH pensioner who was honoured for his part in the liberation of Norway last night spoke of his relief at getting back his lost certificate of thanks.
Tom Peebles (86) last week uncovered the letter of thanks he received from the Scandanavian country’s Crown Prince Olav after the Second World War.
Mr Peebles had kept the signed letter tucked away in an old envelope for 67 years until he revealed it to The Courier.
Following an article in last week’s paper, he decided to finally get the letter framed for all his family to see but the prized parchment went missing when Mr Peebles stumbled.
“I had taken it in a big envelope into town to get it framed,” he said.
“As I was standing to get off the bus, it stopped and I fell forward a bit.
“When I got off I didn’t have it. It was very upsetting.”
Mr Peebles’ daughter-in-law, Lesley, frantically started ringing round bus stations but they resigned themselves to never seeing the letter again.
Then, Mr Peebles got a call from Stagecoach to say they had traced it and would put it on the next bus back to Dundee.
Lesley said: “I’m chuffed to bits. I had been in touch with the bus depots in Dundee and Arbroath and we had phoned the police, so it’s great to get it back.”
Now, Mr Peebles is determined to get the precious letter copied and framed for each of his children and he said: “It’s a great relief to get it back.
“I would like to thank the people at Stagecoach for getting it back to me.”