Elizabeth Cross for soldier’s sister

Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Eric Dancer, presented Olive Watts, sister of Sidmouth soldier David Hamson, killed in Korea, with the Elizabeth Cross.

MONDAY was a day to remember for Olive Watts, when she received the Elizabeth Cross from the Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Eric Dancer.

It was the culmination in a journey by her and Sidmouth Royal British Legion to honour her late brother, David Hamson, who was killed, aged 19, during the bloody Battle of Imjin River in Korea in April 1951.

Dave O’Connor, Sidmouth RBL’s chairman, started the quest to have a memorial erected as well as securing Private Hamson’s wartime medals, which were presented to Olive, who lives in Moormead, Budleigh Salterton, by Sir John Cave at a special Remembrance presentation in Sidmouth.

A keen military historian, Dave organised the erection and dedication of a memorial plaque in the parish church to those killed after World War Two, to which Olive, her sister and family attended.

The Elizabeth Cross is presented to families of those killed in conflicts post-1945, including the Yangtze River, China; Suez; Aden; Falklands; Northern Ireland; Rhodesia; Iraq and Afghanistan.