SAS veteran who lost his medals dies aged 80 in Grantham Hospital

An SAS veteran has died aged 80 surrounded by his family in Grantham Hospital.

Peter Bennett passed away on February 27 in the hospice at the hospital. Mr Bennett hit the headlines at the end of last year when he lost his service medals on a train between London and Grantham.

Mr Bennett, who lived with his wife Kinga in Low Road, Barrowby, had visited London for the opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, when Prince Harry and the Duke of Edinburgh paid tribute to Britain’s fallen soldiers. The medals went missing on his return. Among the decorations were service medals from his time in Oman, Yemen and Malaya.

A number of items were later recovered including miniature versions of the medals and a bag at Leeds railway station, but Mr Bennett discovered medals and items of clothing were still missing, including his beret.

Mr Bennett was just 19 when he joined the SAS in 1954, after doing National Service with the 12 Lancers Royal Cavalry.

He regularly visited London and met up with his colleagues from the SAS. In November he told the Journal: “It’s great to see the old muckers and have a good laugh. But this is all a nuisance.

“The SAS have since told me that they will give me a new set of medals if they aren’t found which is marvellous.”

Mrs Bennett said her husband was ‘thrilled’ when he received a new set of medals and a beret.

She told the Journal: “He had a good life. He was definitely a character. He was a risk taker and a maverick.”

Mrs Bennett said a memorial service will take place in Barrowby church on April 22.

She said all four of their children had returned from abroad to be with their father when he was in the hospice.