THE First World War silver medal discovered in a field by a metal detectorist on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland has been reunited with the soldier’s family, due to the power of Memories and the world wide web.
“Other than a few photos, the badge is now the only thing we have of my grandfather’s life,” said David Robinson, of Birmingham, after his family received the medal.
Memories 619 told how detectorist Mark McMullan – also known as the History Hunter – had found the Silver War Badge, which was given to men who were medically discharged from the army, either through war wounds or sickness, for them to wear on their civilian clothes to show that they had served their country and were not, as some members of the public might think, shirkers.
The badge has a service number – B306311 – on it which Mark traced to Pte Wilfred Robinson, who was born in 1890 in Eldon in the Dene Valley, and had been a grocer’s assistant in Coundon when he joined up in 1916. He served with several regiments before he was medically discharged in 1919. He returned to the Dene Valley, married Jane in 1920, and they had six sons – and, somehow, he lost his medal.
The article about Mark’s find seven weeks ago inspired several readers to do some genealogical digging and then, through the mysterious wonders of social media, it reached the Facebook feed of John Robinson, in Dunblane in Scotland, who is Wilfred’s grandson.
“Both my grandfathers served in the First World War and yet we had no information, no medals and no pictures of them – it is almost as if the Great War is something that was never discussed,” he said. “The paucity of information was lamentable but then, out of the blue, someone sent me a message on Facebook which linked to your article.
“It was blindingly brilliant. You could have knocked me over with a feather.”
John himself spent 27 years in the British Army, specialising in bomb disposal around the world and serving in the first Gulf War. He has been writing his own biography for future generations to avoid his details being lost in the way his grandparents’ stories have been, but now he has to go back and rewrite the chapter on Wilfred because the medal has been found and the service number on it has led to more information about his regiments.
And, as word of the find spread throughout the family, someone even found a picture of Wilfred which had been long overlooked (below).
It is believed that Wilfred was hit by either a bullet or shrapnel which affected his eyesight, leading to his medical discharge. He died in 1961, aged 71.
“I have a crystal clear memory of going to visit him in Heslop Street in Close House,” says John. “He was a lay preacher and organist at the chapel, and his wife, Jane, was apparently struck lightening and in later life she had a hump, perhaps because of the strike.”
Heslop Street in Close House, as seen today on Google StreetView
“It has been overwhelming. Lost links with the past being resurrected like this are amazing and we are very grateful to Mark. Myself and my brother David, who is also a metal detectorist, look forward to coming down and thanking him personally.”
Mark McMullan and his metal detector - he only works on land where he has permission
Mark said: “I hopefully have many years of History Hunting ahead of me, but even if I find a hoard of gold Saxon coins, it won’t give me as much joy and personal satisfaction as this find.”
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