Lieutenant L. Sheedy’s medal set was presented to the museum by his sister, Joan Reynolds, and includes both military and civilian awards:
- 1939/45 Star
- France and Germany Star
- Defence Medal
- British War Medal
- General Service Medal with Palestine 1945-48 clasp
- Canadian Forces Decoration
- Service Medal of the Order of St John
- NATO Special Service Medal
- U.S. Government Citation Medal
- Normandy Commemorative Medal
- Overlord 6 Juin 1944 Commemorative Medal
- Legion D’Honneur (France/Normandy)
BRCRM 2021.27
Lyndon Sheedy was born in Newport on July 31, 1924. He joined the British Army in 1942, enlisting with the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers (SWB), and was among the first wave of troops to land in France on D-Day (June 6th 1944).
The 2nd Battalion, the only Welsh battalion to be involved in D-Day, landed on Gold Beach in Normandy at 7.30am. They met little of the fierce opposition they were expecting and secured their objective, the bridge at Vaux-sur-Aure which led onto the main road to Bayeux, as well as capturing twenty German prisoners, with very few casualties. However, Sheedy was among the six South Wales Borderers injured during the assault and had to return home for treatment.
On recovering from his wounds, Sheedy joined the 1st Battalion SWB and served with them in Cyprus, Gaza, Palestine and in Sudan and Eritrea.
After the Second World War, he was promoted to Sergeant and became Staff Instructor at the Brecon Regimental Depot. He left the British Army in 1952 and emigrated to Ottawa, Canada.
A year later, he enlisted in the Canadian Army and in 1956 was posted to NATO and stationed in West Germany as a Platoon Commander. During the 1960s, Sheedy spent a lot of time at the infantry Basic Training Division as an instructor, and in 1974 he retired from the Army, having reached the rank of Lieutenant.
As a civilian Sheedy worked for the United States Embassy in the Department of State Administration on General Services, he also volunteered with the Order of St. John and cared for his wife, who had MS.
He died on August 14th, 2020, aged 96. His last wish was to have his medals returned to Wales.
