Historian finds grandfather’s long-lost WWI medal on eBay

Martin Robson Riley, 45, has been reunited with his grandfather's WWI Victory Medal more than 30 years after it went missing.

Riley found the medal on eBay after typing "Riley, medal" into the search engine, something he did on a semi-regular basis.

"Up this medal popped with his name, HW Riley and his Army number. I couldn't believe it," Riley, who works for the National Library of Wales, told BBC News.

"I sent a message to the seller straight away. I suppose I should have bid for it because the starting price was only 99p ($1.58 CAD). The seller replied and said he would send me the medal because I had more right to it than anyone else. I didn't pay for it. I'm so grateful."

The seller acquired the medal at an auction in Cornwall.

The Victory Medal was presented to Private Henry Riley, who served in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He died in 1927.

After the death of Riley's step-grandfather in 1981, the family discovered that Riley's grandfather's Allied Victory Medal and British War Medal was not at the family home.

While he hoped to find the medals one day, he never thought it would actually happen.

"It is just fantastic to be reunited with at least one of the medals after so many years, especially as we never knew what happened to them other than they just disappeared from the family home in Bournbrook," Mr Riley added.

Private Riley's story is a tragic one. Upon returning from the war, he became ill, having suffered from Encephalitis lethargica.

"It meant he lost his job and eventually he took his own life. It is such a tragic tale," Riley told WalesOnline. Private Riley died at the age of 28.

"These medals are a link to my family history and to the tragic story of what my grandfather had been through," he said. "Maybe the other medal will now come to light so I can frame them together as a reminder of a man I sadly never knew."