LONDON, Ont. -- The medals of legendary Canadian premier and public medicare pioneer Tommy Douglas are going back to the Douglas family.

"We got them," said a somewhat overwhelmed sounding Shirley Douglas, daughter of Tommy Douglas.

The family bid $20,000 for the medals that were auctioned in Hamilton, Ont., by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions Inc. of London. The suggested bid price was $600 in the auction catalogue.

"I am kind of just stunned," said Douglas from her Toronto home.

Douglas didn't attend the auction, but was on the phone with a bidder from the Museum of Civilization who was acting for the family during the auction.

"I have never been on a phone in the middle of an auction before. Oh my goodness, it is easier to be on the stage than that," said Douglas.

The 19-piece set of medals, awards and letters belonged to her father and grandfather. Items included three coronation medals as well as Boer War and First World War medals awarded to Shirley Douglas's grandfather.

Douglas said her son, actor Kiefer Sutherland, was adamant that the family should purchase the medals.

A Baptist minister, Tommy Douglas was premier of Saskatchewan for 17 years and introduced medicare despite fierce opposition from the medical community.

"Kiefer was really the determined one. The children wanted to see them up close and have them. They just loved him so much," she said.

Museums had offered to buy the medals, but Kiefer said, "No, I want us to have them."

The family plans to bring the medals home first. At some point they will be given to a museum, Douglas said.

One bad moment during the auction was when the phone went dead, she said.

"I hung up and the bidder called me right back. When the phone went dead I almost went dead."

Douglas was first alerted that the medals were up for auction by two members of the Canadian military who didn't want to see the medals broken up and didn't like them being separated from the family.

Her father had given the items to a constituent -- friend Jimmie White, who was also a collector. White's estate consigned them to an auction in the 1990s and Hoare has received the consignment to be auctioned a second time.

In the past week, Douglas said she received a number of calls from people offering to help the family buy the medals.

"We had coin collectors calling and saying, 'If we chipped in $2,000, would it help?' It was a really amazing week of terribly kind people," Douglas said.