2016-09-24 Sat

On 2nd September, a 91-year-old retired navy officer named Edgar Hughes received a very good good news! He got his valuable coin replaced which was stolen from his car when he was travelling to Cornwall, Ont. The Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from the Cornwall Legion presented the stolen coin to him personally.

He had got the coin from the commanding officer of HMCS Fredericton six years ago, for his brave contributions on D-Day.

Hughes was just a 19-year-old gunner aboard St. Croix, one of the Royal Navy’s merchant ships when the Germans attacked the beaches of Normandy. The Germans launched three shells at the convoy that St. Croix was sailing with and Hughes set up a smoke screen to save the lives of hundreds of sailors.

After receiving the news about the stolen coin, RAdm Gilles Couturier personally travelled to Cornwall to present Hughes with a replacement coin, as well as other gifts like navy books and ball caps from the ship’s company of Fredericton, of which RAdm Couturier was once a commanding officer.

Mr. Hughes was extremely delighted when he received the replacement coin from the Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.