OLD soldier Bob Brown stood proudly to attention after he presented a Cheshire village with a new notice board for the Royal British Legion.

But as the medals sparkled on his chest it was noticed an important one was missing. Bob, 78, had never been decorated for the years he served in the regular Army.

The former warrant officer from Sutton Oaks, Holmes Chapel, joined the forces on his 16th birthday and was wounded during the crossing of the Rhine in World War 11.

When he retired in 1972 after serving in the Territorial Army as a regimental quartermaster sergeant major at the drill hall in Crewe, he should have received another medal for his long service.

Gary Williams, the Legion branch's membership secretary, said: "I am very interested in medals and was surprised he had not got the Regular Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. It came as a bit of a shock to him the medals he wears with pride were incomplete."

Bob said: "There must have been a bit of a mix-up when I retired and I should have applied for the medal. I was not going to bother until Gary pointed it out."