Plea made for St Helens and Leigh great’s medals after dementia diagnosis
The family of Alex Murphy have appealed for help.
The family of St Helens and Great Britain icon Alex Murphy have launched an appeal to help find his Challenge Cup medals after revealing he has been diagnosed with dementia.
Murphy is one of British rugby league’s all-time greats. He was the first player to win the Challenge Cup with three different teams as captain – St Helens, Leigh and Warrington. He is an icon at the Saints, having made over 300 appearances during a glittering playing career.
Murphy also made 27 Test appearances for Great Britain and now, his family have taken to social media to appeal for help after sadly revealing Murphy’s diagnosis.
His daughter, Ann Byrne, took to Facebook to ask for help in locating his five winners medals.
She wrote: “My dad is Alex Murphy, former Saints, Leigh, Warrington and Great Britain. Sadly, following my mum’s death in the summer, dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia.
“When I was with him at Christmas I saw that all of his rugby league medals were gone; I can’t explain how this makes me feel – I’m saddened and in total disbelief that people will take advantage of a mentally ill man in his 80s. Dad hasn’t sold these medals (not to my knowledge), he’s given them away to people he meets in The Glass Horse in St Helens.
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“If you happen to hear of anything with rugby stuff belonging to my dad, can you drop me a line please – I would love to get his medals back and would prefer them to be in the Hall of Fame museum [rather] than putting money in the pockets of random people who are taking advantage of a vulnerable old man.
“Not many people could proudly say, “My dad has five Wembley winners medals,”…sadly, I can’t say that any longer either.”
Wigan Today have reported that two of those medals have, thankfully, already been found.
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