Medal thrown away by soldier returned after 90 years

LONDON - A British war medal was returned to the family of a World War I soldier who possibly threw it away in disgust 90 years ago.

Private Thomas Swan was presented with the medal in 1921.

It was found in 1999 by Bob Sheppard, a metal detector enthusiast who was searching a field near the railway line in Betchworth, Surrey. Sheppard took over a decade to track down the family and give them the medal.

“My grandfather died before I was born. This medal was found about 50 yards from the railway line and it’s a mystery how it got there. We think he could have hurled it out of the train window in disgust. It is fantastic to see it after all these years, and we are really grateful,” Daily Express Friday quoted Swan’s grandson as saying.

Private Swan was born in Islington, north London, in 1879 and enlisted with the Surrey-based Queen’s Regiment. He rarely spoke about his experiences in northern France and died in 1935.