Chron helps reunite Northampton pensioner with father's long-lost WWI medal

A Chronicle & Echo crowdfunding campaign to help reunite a Northampton pensioner with his dad's long-lost WWI medal which turned up for auction on eBay was met in less than an hour.

Private Jack Birch of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry and a veteran of the First World War passed away in 1977.

But when Jack's son Bill went to clear out the family home in the early 2000s after his mother died, he discovered Jack's British War Medal could not be found.

No one knows what happened to it and it has not been seen since.

That is, until this week(January 28), when Pte Birch's old war medal and its original paperwork appeared for auction on eBay.

Now a crowdfunding campaign launched by the Chron to reunite Bill with his family history has been able to buy the medal outright and the goal was met in less than an hour.After speaking with the Chron & Echo, the seller agreed to close the auction and name Bill the winner for £75 - which, out of good faith, he says is marginally more than he paid to acquire it.

The medal was at risk of being taken into a private collection and be lost to Jack's family for good.

Now, Bill will be reunited with a vital piece of his father's history after the £75 goal was met less than an hour after the page was created.

Any more funds that exceed the £75 target will be donated to the Air Ambulance Service, which was chosen by Bill's family.

The Chron will present Mr Birch with the medal next week.

For more information, visit the medal's GoFundMe page here.