A County Durham history group has reunited a family with a First World War medal belonging to a relative after it was found during a house move.

Wheatley Hill History Club was contacted by Ian Lofthouse, a descendant of the Atkinson Butcher family, in October 2023 after Mr Lofthouse discovered a medal, awarded to Private 17766 Albert W Dove of the Yorkshire Hussars, among his mother's possessions during a house move.

The discovery raised questions about why the family had the medal.

Private Dove, a putter at Thornley Pit, was killed in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme.

His death is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.

The history club conducted family history research on both the Atkinsons and the Doves but found no blood link.

However, Mr Lofthouse revealed that his grandfather worked at Thornley Pit before the First World War and was exempt from war duties due to an injury.

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The club believes that Mr Atkinson probably worked with Albert Dove, and the two families may have been friends.

When Albert was killed, and his wife received his British War Medal, Mrs Dove appears to have given it to the Atkinson family.

This could be for several reasons, including that she may have felt uncomfortable having the medal in the house as a constant reminder of her husband’s death.

One of the club's military historians, Fred Bromilow, knew members of the Dove family in Thornley and contacted them about the medal.

One of them, Gary Mains, related to Albert through his mother’s side of the family, was delighted to hear that the medal was returning to the family.

The history club said: "We presented the medal to Gary on the morning of Thursday, November 28, at the Wheatley Hill War memorial that bears Albert’s name."

The club also said that they are "delighted to have been able to reunite the medal with Albert's family and to have been able to shed some light on the history behind it."