PAUL Edwards was helping his daughter landscape her garden, when instead of the usual soil and stone, his spade turned up a pair of World War I medals.
He said: “I found them completely by accident.�
After a bit of thought Paul decided that Eric Lewis, now president of the Royal British Legion, may be able to help.
They met up and discovered the name of the man for whom they were intended, a Private Frank Webb.
Eric said: “In World War I medals were engraved with each person’s name and number around the side.
“In World War II they didn’t do that, you just got a campaign medal handed to you.
“The only time you got them engraved then was if you were in hospital.�
Paul said: “My first thought was I wanted to get them back to their rightful owner and Eric and I tried several avenues.�
Their first port of call was the war department medal office, but from there they were redirected to the archive department.
Eventually, and after parting with £20, Paul and Eric secured an investigation in the army archives for a Private Frank Webb who served in the Great War.
But the researcher came back empty handed, as Eric explained: “The WWI medal records department was blitzed in 1940 and they lost 90 per cent of the army records.
“They only have 10 per cent left, and unfortunately there’s no record in thise 10 per cent.�
Which leaves Paul with an exhaustive search of the deeds of his daughter’s Canning Road home to see if any Webbs lived at the address.
But he is concerned the medal could have found its way there from a darker place.
He said: “There’s a cut through to the playing fields behind the house and somebody may have cast them aside.
“They weren’t even buried and were just in the undergrowth.
“They’re pretty tattered and torn and I thought they could possibly have been stolen.�
His first thought and hope though, is to return them to the family of Private Webb.
Paul added: “This guy could have died in the war and I’m a firm believer that he should be honoured for it.�
If you have any information that could lead to these medals being returned to Pte Webb’s descendants, call Eric Lewis on 01704-540712.
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