Heartless thieves steal war medals from 100-year-old RAF hero

Heartless thieves steal war medals from 100-year-old RAF hero

His first wife died in 2004 and he later remarried Jadwiqa, who is also originally from Poland.

Ms Stangryciuk described the incident and said: “Jan didn’t realize what was going on. We were both completely confused. The whole thing lasted maybe 10 minutes.

“It wasn’t until a few hours later that we realized what had really happened. I was so nervous I didn’t know what to do.”

The couple contacted the Metropolitan Police and also the Polish consul. A GoFundMe page is now set up to raise money to enable them to make their planned trip to Poland.

George Byczynski, a friend of Mr. Stangryciuk who set up the GoFundMe page, said: “We are all indebted to Jan and others like him who risked and gave so much during the war.

“It is extremely sad that in his 100th year he has been targeted in this way. But while this ordeal was horrific, the response from the public was tremendous.

“He and his wife had been saving up to visit Poland and people from both the Polish and British communities have gathered to hopefully make that possible. It shows that communities come together when needed.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that they had been called to a residence in Elizabeth Gardens, Ealing shortly after 1pm on 30 June due to reports of a break-in.

The spokesperson added: “Officers attended and spoke to the victims, an elderly couple.

“Investigations suggest that a man knocked on the door claiming to be from the water company before entering the property. He was followed by two other men.

“It was only after the group had left that the occupants discovered that money, jewelry and war medals had been stolen.”

The police are looking for witnesses and are calling on local residents to be wary of people who come to the door without an appointment.