Museum refuses to hand back hero's medal given to it in error
A family are locked in a battle with a history museum who are refusing to return a rare George Medal they insist was wrongly donated.
James Annis Scott was awarded the prestigious accolade at Buckingham Palace after his heroic action as a “human pillar” saved multiple lives when a café was bombed in hometown of South Tyneside during the Second World War.
The medal was proudly kept as a family heirloom for years and was meant to be passed down to James' grandchild George Scott, 17, after both he and his eldest son George Annis Scott passed away.
But instead the medal was donated to South Shields Museum & Art Gallery in South Tyneside, by George's uncle Colin, who had asked to borrow the medal before he died.
Retired garage door business owner George, 76, attempted to get the medal back but became too unwell with Parkinson's disease and now lives in a care home.
His wife Lynne has now taken over the battle, but despite spending over £300 on solicitors' fees fears she has hit a dead end.
Former company manager Lynne, 71, said: “The medal was presented to my husband George's grandfather and when he died it was to go to his oldest son - who was George's father.
“But he died very young at 56 and his younger brother Colin then borrowed it to take it on holiday to show some relatives.
“We never got the medal back and the next thing we knew was that Colin had donated the medal to South Shields museum but he didn't have permission to do so.”
Prior to his illness taking hold George visited the museum but officials refused his request to hand back the medal.
Lynne added: “They said Colin had signed a paper to say it could be donated and unless we had something written in a will to say it belongs to my husband then the museum would keep it.”
George Medals were handed out to civilians for special acts of bravery in the 20th century and were awarded for a wide range of non-military acts.
A spokesperson for Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums said: “We accepted this donation to the Museum in 1994 in good faith from the son of the person who was awarded the medal and still hold the original documentation recording the donation.
“When we receive gifts into the museum, we rely on the good faith of the person making the donation that they have the right to make the gift and would need proof evidencing otherwise before we could return a donation.
“It is on display in South Shields Museum & Art Gallery so the people of South Tyneside can learn about the heroism of the individual, and tells a story of an important moment in the Borough's history.”
