Missing medals worth £250k 'returned anonymously' to Chelmsford Museum

Two Victoria Cross medals worth £250,000 each that have been missing from a museum since February have been "returned anonymously".

The rare medals were reported missing by Chelmsford City Museum after a routine inspection and subsequent search by staff confirmed they could not be found.

Initially, the museum staff said it was "keeping an open mind" about whether the medals might be missing within its own collections.

However, the medals' anonymous return confirms they were taken from the museum with police looking into the reappearance.

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration in the British armed forces with the two medals part of the Essex Regiment collection.

They were awarded to Sergeant William McWheeney in 1857, for his service during the Siege of Sevastopol, and to Lieutenant Francis Parsons posthumously in 1900, for acts of bravery during the Battle of Paardeberg.

The museum said once initial enquiries into the medals return are complete, the original crosses will replace replicas currently on display in the Essex Regiment Museum gallery.

Marc De’ath, Chelmsford City Culture Services Manager said: "We are extremely relieved to have these Victoria Crosses back at Chelmsford Museum.

"Although there has been a happy ending to this story, their removal should not have happened. We have learned valuable lessons already from this incident and remain committed to improving the management of our collections at Chelmsford Museum."

Dennis Vincent, Chair of the Essex Regiment Museum Trust said: "There have only ever been 1,358 Victoria Crosses awarded since their inception in 1856, and they are so much more than a small bronze cross; they represent the most inspiring and selfless actions by military personnel."

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