WE think Tony Berridge should feel a swell of pride today that he has shown some of his war hero father’s same spirit in finally retrieving his medals.

Mr Berridge handed over the medals won in the Second World War by his father, Sergeant Wilfred Berridge, to a woman in France, believing they would be put on display near Pegasus Bridge in Normandy.

It would be the most fitting place for the medals of a man who was part of the second wave of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry glider troops who landed near the bridge on June 6, 1944.

Unfortunately, a bizarre set of circumstances took over and the medals were never put on display, with Mr Berridge fearing he would never get them back.

Of course we would all fight to retrieve such family treasures, but this was a hugely complicated situation in another country.

The chances of success did not look great, but Mr Berridge would not be put off and, thankfully, he has finally had them returned.

Those brave, brave men who liberated Europe from the Nazi jackboots were heroes – and Mr Berridge’s sustained campaign was in the spirit of fighting the good fight against the odds, no matter how long it takes.