Thieves steal veteran’s walking stick as he collects for Poppy Appeal

While a lot of crimes seem particularly senseless this was also particularly heartless. I am fairly sure Jim Carson contacted us about what had happened – someone had stolen his walking stick while he was collecting for the Poppy Appeal

It turned out he had a famous brother, Irish comedian Frank Carson, and he sounded exactly like him and he was equally as funny.

I can’t remember if he ever got the stick back but I regularly bumped into him in Scarborough after the incident.

THIEVES stole a walking stick from an elderly ex-serviceman as he stood in the cold selling poppies in memory of the war dead.

Jim Carson, 76, who injured his knee while serving with the RAF in the 1950s, had propped his wooden stick against the wall of the Next shop on the corner of Westborough and York Place while collecting for the Royal British Legion appeal.

With his stick gone, Mr Carson was forced to limp back home to Filey Road.

The former senior aircraftsman said: “Somebody said I should have nailed it down. I couldn’t believe it. Maybe they need it more than me, but it’s beyond me why they’d do a thing like that.”

Mr Carson, whose brother, the Irish comedian Frank Carson served as a paratrooper during the Palestine campaign, said he was collecting for the annual Poppy Appeal so people could remember all those who had fallen during conflict.

His other brother, Johnny, served with the Merchant Navy and was lost at sea in 1940 – he was only 16 years old.

The stick was a present from his daughter-in-law, Jeannie, and had brass rings around it with a brass horse head handle.

John Anderson, the secretary of the Scarborough branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “It’s deplorable when an ex-serviceman is giving up his own time to collect for his comrades and he has had his stick stolen.”

A Scarborough Police spokeswoman said: “I am sure the public of Scarborough will share our disappointment that this man’s wooden walking stick was stolen from him while he was collecting money on behalf of the British Legion.

“The walking stick has no real value but held a great sentimental value for Mr Carson and we can only assume this was a thoughtless prank.

“However, this is still theft and we are confident that once this story gets out the walking stick will be returned and we will find out the name of the person responsible for this crime.”

From the Scarborough Evening News on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.