Simon Brown(pictured in an undated photo in his military uniform) was a corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers when he sustained facial injuries during a rescue mission in Basra, Iraq in 2006
A former soldier who lost an eye after being shot by a sniper in Iraq is appealing for help in finding his missing glass eye collection, which costs more than £2,500.
Simon Brown, from Morley, West Yorkshire, was a corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers when he sustained facial injuries during a rescue mission in Basra, Iraq in 2006.
He lost his left eye and currently only has 20 per cent vision in his right one.
Mr Brown is appealing to members of the public for help in finding his precious collection, which contains 16 glass eyes that he has acquired over 10 years.
The brown Tupperware container is thought to have been lost during the Christmas period in either London, Leeds or on a train in between the two cities.
‘This is a collection I have built up over 10 years,’ said Mr Brown, the 39-year-old spokesman for charity Blind Veterans UK charity.
‘I don’t remember when it went missing. Last time I saw the box was on December 17.
Mr Brown is appealing to members of the public for help in finding his precious collection, which contains 16 glass eyes that he has acquired over 10 years
Blind Veterans UK posted about Mr Brown’s missing collection on Twitter to help find the collection
‘I have my Rudolph eye in for the Christmas period and went to change it on Boxing Day, which is when I first noticed it had gone missing. I searched everywhere at home for it.
‘I retraced my steps and phoned the places I have been. Someone would remember if it had been handed in as it’s not everyday someone finds a box of glass eyes.’
Blind Veterans UK posted about Mr Brown’s missing collection on Twitter to help find the collection.
Mr Brown pictured in military uniform with two medals on his chest in an undated photograph
The tweet read: ‘Blind veteran Simon Brown has lost his collection of glass eyes. Kept in a brown @tupperware container, they were last seen over the Christmas party session in London or Leeds or travelling on @VirginTrains. Have you seen them?’
The glass eyes range from a number of different designs, from charity logos, the Yorkshire white rose, union jack flag and more.
Mr Brown says each eye is personally made and is hand painted at a cost of £160.
He added: ‘It takes about three months for a glass eye to be made. They are all custom made.
‘I’ve got a couple of new ones on order, but it takes three months for them to be done as they’re all custom made.
‘They are no use to anyone else. I have been creating this collection for a decade and it would be really disappointing to know have lost them all. I would have to have them all made again.’
Smon lost his eye when an Iraqi sniper hit him with a ‘lucky shot’ in Basra.
He was in the commander’s turret of a Warrior armoured fighting veihcle dragging a broken-down Bulldog personnel carrier to safety when the insugent struck.
The bullet caught him in his cheek, went through his nose and out of the other cheek.
He told the Yorkshire P0st: ‘As we were pulling out of the killing zone I got caught. It became a mad dash to get out of there. Two other lads did a lot for me.
‘All the dangerous stuff was done – it was just as we were moving out that someone got a lucky shot.’