Tommy's medals put up for auction - not everyone is pleased

[William Douglas]

 A collection of medals once belonging to the father of Canadian universal health care is being sold by a London, Ontario, auction house — much to the dismay of a Saskatchewan military historian, who believes the Tommy Douglas memorabilia should be held in public trust.

Jeffrey Hoare Auctions is selling on commission 19 medals and letters once owned by Douglas, who was once premier of Saskatchewan and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and its successor, the federal New Democratic Party.

The collection includes an Order of Canada medal, three engraved coronation medals and military medals his father earned during the Boer War and First World War.

Gord Goddard, a military historian who served 43 years in the military and retired as a major, is leading a charge to return the memorabilia to Saskatchewan.

"It's part of our heritage," Goddard said from his Regina home. "These things belong to the province. It's our history as a province and it's not anyone's to auction."