Back where it belongs, war medal hero aged 91 lost 45 years ago

Jim Purves was a gunner with the Royal Artillery and saw service in both Europe and Africa, earning himself seven medals including the coveted French award for his actions during the Battle of Bir Hakeim, in Libya, in 1942.

Unfortunately, all the medals were lost in 1965 when fire destroyed an Edinburgh recreation ground where Mr Purves, now 91, worked as a groundskeeper.

Though he managed to obtain copies of his British medals in 2006 - the 1939-1945 Star, the Africa Star, the Italy Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939 to 1945 - he had been unable to find a replacement for the Croix de Guerre.

But determined to replace the whole set, Mr Purves, who lives with his wife Agnes, 87, in Polmont, near Falkirk, engaged the support of his friend Ronnie Blackadder, 64, and local MP, and former soldier, Eric Joyce.

Mr Purves, who cares for his wife who is registered blind, found himself caught up in the Battle of Bir Hakeim in the Libyan desert after his artillery unit was seconded to the 1st Free French Brigade to supply anti-aircraft support.

He recalled the battle conditions: "We were surrounded for 16 days but had been told by the British Army that we'd have to hold the position while the fixed themselves for the next battle.

"There was actually meant to be another unit fighting with us, but they were captured before the battle, so we had to do their job too.

"It was a fierce situation. We were dive-bombed by Stuka (German divebomber) every few minutes and caused us an awful lot of trouble, though thankfully they stopped at night, so we got some sleep."

The battle lasted from 26 May to 11 June at the former site of a Turkish fort.

They fought against attacking German and Italian forces directed by General Erwin Rommel to give the retreating British Eighth Army enough time to reorganise and ultimately halt the Axis advance at the First Battle of El Alamein.

Holding out for as long as they could, a shortage of ammunition and supplies forced Mr Purves's unit to break out: "This was a really fearful situation. The moment we got the word to leave, we had to dismantle our guns and leave them behind - they were just too entrenched to take them with us.We left with the French unit, I jumped on the back of a truck and we headed out into the desert away from the Germans.."

The escapees travelled out into the desert for four days before they met up with other Free French soldiers and the Scots soldiers were reunited with the remainder of their unit. It was not until the end of the war that Mr Purves received his award from the French in recognition of his "exceptional conduct".

He was due to be awarded his replacement by Mr Joyce at Camelon Labour Group Social club last night.

He said: "I wanted to pass the medals onto my grandchildren. I had the citations for them, but not the medals so I'm really pleased to have got them back. It's great that Ronnie and the group helped me in this way."

Mr Blackadder, who met Mr Purves through the The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, said: "I'm so glad we were able to help Jim out.

"It can be hard work looking after someone day in and day out, so I was pleased to be able to help Jim deal with the paperwork and get his medals back."