A testimonial to a wounded Army officer, which lay hidden in an attic for years, has been returned to his family, thanks to The Northern Echo.

The impressive document, signed by King George V, was concealed in a broken picture frame in Peter Simpson's loft in Montalbo Road, Barnard Castle, County Durham, before he discovered it.

It was awarded to Second Lieutenant Sydney Monk, of the Durham Light Infantry, in April 1918, and said he served with honour before being wounded and invalided out of the service.

Mr Simpson appealed in The Echo for information about the officer, and right away he had a telephone call from his son, Peter Monk, a retired accountant of Hamsterley, near Barnard Castle.

Mr Monk told how his father suffered severe head wounds in the Somme area of France, in August 1917.

He was treated in a field hospital before being sent to a London hospital, where he recovered well but was not fit enough for further war duty.

He returned to his old job as company secretary of the West Auckland Brewery, and eventually ran the company until 1957, when it was sold to Camerons. He died in 1976 at the age of 94.

Mr Monk, who travelled to Barnard Castle yesterday to receive the testimonial, said: "I am delighted that it has turned up after all this time. I have other documents about my father's war service, including telegrams telling about his wounds and his progress in hospital.

"I'm glad to have this document about his discharge, but I've no idea how it came to be lost in the first place.

"My father's wounds were obviously serious, but he must have made an excellent recovery as he lived to such a ripe old age."

Sydney's brother, Lance Corporal Harry Monk, was less fortunate. He emigrated to Australia but joined the army there to fight in the First World War. He contracted tuberculosis and died after being discharged.

Sydney followed his father, Alfred William Monk, as the brewery's company secretary before the war. When he was away his sister, Carrie, took over.

The testimonial, on thick cardboard, had been used as backing on an old framed print Mr Simpson bought more than 30 years ago. When it cracked, he put it away in his attic and was about to throw it out when he realised what the backing was and decided to make his appeal.

He said: "I'm really pleased that the story in the Echo has led to it being given back to the officer's family."