British thief hauled ‘priceless’ silver through hole he sawed in museum floor
A doltish thief was sentenced for stealing “priceless” silver from a British military museum through a hole he cut in the floor — which wasn’t wide enough to fit all of the intended haul.
Graham Gallon, 36, pleaded guilty to his role in the heist and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars, officials announced Friday.
He and two others — who are still on trial — snuck onto the grounds of the Royal Lancers & Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum in the early hours of Oct. 29 last year.
Gallon’s job was to saw a hole directly under a display case, which housed several pieces of antique china dating as far back as the 19th century.
“Once inside the case he stole priceless artefacts including a distinctive parcel and gilt rosewater dish – said to be the sister piece to the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy,” Nottinghamshire cops said.
A second, smaller hole suggests the team pushed an endoscope camera into the case to allow Gallon to identify what valuable silverware to steal, staff told SWNS.
Other pieces taken were the Hurlingham Grand Military Polo trophy, statuettes of mounted soldiers and a cavalry trumpet.
Unfortunately for Gallon, he left a prized decorative Halloween skeleton inside the former military stables underneath the museum — directly beneath the hole he had cut.
The thief also left behind a significant amount of DNA on the base of a silver cup he wasn’t able to squeeze through the gap in the floor, cops said.
Gallon, already a convicted burglar, was almost immediately fingered for the crime, despite his denials of ever having visited the museum.
Two others — a 24-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man — have also been arrested and remain under investigation.
Unfortunately, the loot has still not been found and investigators fear the relics have already been melted down.
The museum’s curator, Steve Cox, blasted Gallon’s 40-month sentence as “too soft.”
“This man will probably be out on licence in 15 months which is no time at all,” he told SWNS.
“There is no deterrence here. The sentence is too soft and we will never get those priceless pieces back.”
“All the items which were taken had been on display near the hole. It’s very sad not just for the servicemen but for the community,” Cox continued.
“Some of the items were commissioned by officers in memory of the men who died in the First World War.”
