I recently had the pleasure of returning a War medal to a relative of a soldier who had been honourably discharged due to injury from military service in World War I. The sterling silver badge gave off a loud crisp signal on my Equinox 800 and from six inches down in a freshly harvested potato field the lovely artefact saw the light of day for the first time in many years. It bore the king’s initials, a crown, and the inscriptions ‘For King and Empire’ and ‘Services Rendered’, but it was the number engraved on the rear that made me realise that I may be able to find out who the medal was awarded to. The 'Silver War Badge' was not simply an honor; it also served a practical purpose. At the time, men of military age in England who were not obviously in the service were sometimes accosted or insulted by civilians presenting them with white feathers—a symbol of cowardice—for shirking their patriotic duty I was later to find out that the recovery spot was half a mile from the cottage that Arthur, the medals recipient, lived in, along with his six children. The find location was a field Arthur rented between the wars where he grew Peas, Beans and Potatoes to sell in a local town, that he delivered to by horse and cart. Tracking down a living member of the family was proving tricky and I had almost given up, when Rebecca a detecting friend and fellow member of UK History Finders, offered to help find the family. Using her genealogical skills she soon started messaging me with details of the family and then made a connection to Arthur's grandson Roy. A week later I met up with Roy and we had a great chat about Arthur and his fond memories of 'Gran Pop' as he was known to Roy. He was over the moon to get the medal back and I felt honoured to have returned it to him.
