Mean thieves steal man's Army memories (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Mean thieves steal man's Army memories

7:00pm Monday 16th June 2008 in Bradford By Paddy McGuffin

A former soldier has been left shattered by the loss of irreplaceable images of his service in Iraq and Afghanistan after a laptop computer was stolen from his family’s home.

Emma and Tony Buckton were watching television at their home in Thornsgill Avenue, Dudley Hill, when burglars sneaked in and stole the laptop, as well as Mrs Buckton’s handbag, several mobile phones and a set of car keys.

The images of Mr Buckton’s time in the Army in the Royal Engineers were part of the huge collection of the family’s cherished photographs, including pictures of his tours of duty.

Mrs Buckton said the loss of most of the items was inconsequential compared with the missing images.

“They stole quite a few things, but the most upsetting was the lap top with all our pictures on it,” she said.

“We had all the pictures of our four children on it, our wedding pictures and pictures of my husband’s time in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had pictures of his Army friends, some of whom have since died, and they are the only pictures he has to remember them by.

“To be burgled is upsetting enough but to have lost all of those memories is heart-breaking.

“There is ten years of Tony’s life on that computer, and years of our lives together. I don’t care about the handbag or any of the other stuff really, but we are desperate to get those pictures back.

“I would like to appeal for anyone who receives the laptop and finds the photos on it to put them on a disc and send them to the T&A, anonymously if necessary, so they can be returned to us. They wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else but they mean the world to us.”

Mrs Buckton said she believed they had been specifically targeted in an attempt by thieves to get the keys to a courtesy car in their driveway.

The following day, she reported having seen several people loitering close to her house and eyeing the Volkswagen Golf, which is a temporary replacement for their own car which was being repaired.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police confirmed that investigations into the burglary were ongoing, but no arrests had so far been made.