⦁ Sergeant Deane Smith had been due to be presented his medal in 2008
⦁ He served alongside Prince Harry in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan
⦁ Mr Smith, 44, was told that his medal had been lost - but he contacted police when it turned up at a memorabilia fair
⦁ This week a court ruled against returning it to him
By Mark Nicol And Nick Constable For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 22:36 GMT, 8 October 2016 | Updated: 07:57 GMT, 9 October 2016
He repeatedly risked his life for Queen and country while serving alongside Prince Harry in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Yet Sergeant Deane Smith has yet to be given the medal he should have received eight years ago after it was lost by the Army.
And now he has been left in despair by the decision of a court to deny him his honour.
Mr Smith, 44, served alongside Prince Harry on a six-month tour of duty with the Household Cavalry that ended in 2008. He operated as an improvised explosive device locator in Helmand province.
After the tour, Mr Smith learned that Princess Anne would present his Operational Service Medal in a ceremony in May 2008 at Combermere Barracks near Windsor, with Prince Harry among other recipients.
Yet on the day, while the Prince received his honour, Mr Smith’s name was not called, nor that of a dozen other comrades, he says.
Mr Smith said: ‘A couple of days beforehand, the regimental sergeant major called us into his office to show us our medals. But on the actual day we never received them.
‘When we queried this the next morning our commanding officer said, “Look lads, the thing is, they weren’t there.” ’
Mr Smith, whose unit was singled out for praise by Harry as it dealt with a ferocious Taliban bomb offensive, later pressed commanding officers to find his medal.
Although an official inquiry accepted he’d never received it, Household Cavalry records simply list it as ‘lost’.
Mr Smith went on to serve two further tours in Afghanistan before leaving the Army in 2013.
The medal surfaced in February 2014 at a military memorabilia fair in Farnham, Surrey. Mr Smith was alerted and offered to buy the silver medal, which is engraved with his name, rank and military number.
But he became suspicious when the seller, Dorset militaria dealer Richard Tigwell, 43, would not meet him, insisting a go-between handled the handover.
Mr Smith then reported the medal stolen. When police collected it as evidence of a ‘suspected offence’ he assumed it would inevitably be given to him. But last week Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court ruled that under the Police Property Act 1897 Mr Tigwell was entitled to keep it.
‘I can’t believe that decision,’ said Mr Smith. ‘I was asked to provide evidence that it was my medal. What further evidence do they need? It’s got my name on it. Month after month I would go to see whoever was my commanding officer and enquire whether it had been found. I’d get dismissed with a wave of the hand.
‘These awards are hard won. Prince Harry knows that on one occasion I saved him when I refused to drive over a culvert until it was properly searched.
‘We found an IED and ended up in a firefight with the Taliban. I have no doubt that I saved the lives of soldiers, including Harry.’
In 2013, Mr Smith, 44, of Calne, Wiltshire, said the Army provided a replacement which, according to the Ministry of Defence, can only be issued ‘where the loss is completely outside the individual’s control.’
Mr Smith, who now provides close protection security for civilians in war zones, added: ‘The replacement is not my medal. It doesn’t carry my name, rank and military number. It was never presented to me. Frankly, it means nothing.’ The Ministry of Defence confirmed that his medal was issued to the Household Cavalry but never presented to him.
The Mail on Sunday has established that Mr Tigwell bought the medal for £215 from another dealer, Mark Bryan, in November 2013.
Speaking from his market stall yesterday, Mr Bryan said: ‘It was probably among several items bought at a car boot sale in Aldershot. I certainly did not know it was stolen.’
Mr Tigwell said: ‘I have the utmost respect for anyone who serves their country. I would never knowingly handle stolen goods. The court decision vindicates me.
‘I agreed to sell the medal back to Deane at cost but I later felt threatened by him.
‘No doubt he’d endured considerable stress in Afghanistan.
‘I run a business and can’t just give it away.’
