Hero’s family receive his cherished World War One medal 28 years after it was found in a mum’s garden

A HERO’S family have been given his cherished World War One medal — 28 years after a mum found it in her garden.

Tanya Dye spotted Private Arthur Ablitt’s Victory Medal while digging her patch in 1996.

She phoned people with the surname to no avail but clung on to the gong through four house moves.

The Royal Mail cleaner then discovered a colleague was into genealogy — postie Adam Simpson-York.

He used family-history websites to track down Pte Ablitt’s great nephew, Barry Earthy, 76, who plans to frame the medal.

Pte Ablitt served with the Machine Gun Corps.

He survived a shrapnel wound to marry Lillian, and worked on a farm until his death at 68 in 1963.

Barry said: “I had no idea he was in the war. I’m so grateful to Tanya and Adam. The medal will stay in our family forever as a reminder of his service.”

Tanya, 53, who like Barry is from Ipswich, said: “I’m over the moon that my 28-year-long quest is over.

“I could see a name on the medal. I kept it because I thought about what it must have meant to the recipient.”

Adam, 37, who runs the Medals Going Home page on Facebook, added: “I love a challenge and knew I could find the family. Private Ablitt didn’t have children but his brother Walter had a son whose son was Barry.

“The family were so excited when I got in touch. The WWI generation is gone now, and so anything I can do to keep their stories alive is worth it.”