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Postman tracks down First World War soldier's grandson after find on eBay

Adam Simpson-York bought the item on eBay and then went on a hunt for the family

[Adam Simpson-York]

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Adam Simpson-York was determined to get to the bottom of it(Image: Jam Press/@medalsgoinghome)

A postman who made a find on eBay has told the story of why he tracked down the relatives of the original owner. Adam Simpson-York, 41, spotted the First World War Victory Medal listed online for 40 and chose to snap it up.

Rather than simply adding it to his collection, however, the genealogy enthusiast set about discovering who it belonged to and whether he could reunite it with the soldier's family. Using the name and service number engraved around the rim, Adam, from Ipswich, Suffolk, began scouring military and genealogy records to piece together the life of Charles William Sayer.

He eventually succeeded in tracing Charles' descendants through a painstaking process of working forwards through his family tree. After locating his great-granddaughters' family on social media, Adam sent the medal back to them with the family intending to present it to Charles' grandson as a surprise gift.

The medal was awarded to Charles, who served with the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War. Adam discovered Charles was born on July 4, 1891, in Camberwell, south London, to John Charles Sayer and Cherry Anne Cousins.

His research uncovered that Charles' father was originally from Gateshead, County Durham, and worked as a gas tester. Charles was recorded at Arthur Street School in Beckenham in 1899, with the school now known as Churchfield School.

[Postman reunites WW1 hero's grandson with medal after finding it for sale on eBay]

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The medal(Image: Jam Press/@medalsgoinghome)

The 1901 census revealed Charles residing with his parents, six siblings and grandmother Rebecca in Peckham. By 1911, 19 year old Charles was still living with his parents, this time at Carlton Grove.

His military records indicated that Charles held the service number 68095 and disembarked on August 2, 1915, aged 23 years and six months. His military description also noted him as standing 5ft 9in tall, with two scars on the back of his neck.

Charles subsequently wed Ethel Rachel Rudge in Essex in 1918. Adam's research revealed that by 1921 Charles was employed as a boot and shoe dealer's assistant for Upson's Limited, while residing in Willesden, north-west London.

The 1939 register placed Charles living with his wife and two of their children in Lambeth. Charles and Ethel had five children together, although one, Geoffrey, passed away as a baby.

[Postman reunites WW1 hero's grandson with medal after finding it for sale on eBay]

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Alan with the medal(Image: Jam Press/@medalsgoinghome)

This left Adam with four family lines to explore as he tried to track down a living descendant. He eventually followed the line of Charles' son Alfred John, who married Ellen Maud Branson and had three children.

Their son Alan married Elizabeth Bradwell and had two daughters, Stephanie Anne and Teresa Elizabeth Sayer. Adam then took his search online, locating Stephanie and Teresa and attempting to reach them via Facebook. He also discovered that Teresa's husband Sam had a business page with a WhatsApp number and decided to take a chance.

It proved worthwhile. Sam responded promptly and Adam explained that he was attempting to return a medal belonging to Teresa's great-grandfather. Teresa confirmed his findings were accurate and the family told him "Teresa's dad and Uncle John would love this."

Adam was also informed that John was "a bit of a war fanatic" and that the medal would make a wonderful surprise gift. And so the former eBay purchase began its journey back home with Adam posting it himself.

The fact that Adam works as a postman made the final leg of the medal's travels all the more appropriate. Adam said: "This time it was sent to the family in the post. The fact that I'm a postman just adds to the story I suppose."

The family were thrilled to be reunited with the medal and planned to present it to Charles' grandson as a surprise gift. Adam has reunited numerous pieces of military history with descendants through his Medals Going Home project.

He said his interest began during the Christmas coronavirus lockdown, when he started researching a random medal. Adam began sharing his discoveries online, gradually building a following around his efforts to return medals to the families of the men and women who earned them.

[Postman reunites WW1 hero's grandson with medal after finding it for sale on eBay]

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Adam(Image: Jam Press/@medalsgoinghome)

He described the process as "building a family tree in reverse", explaining that instead of tracing ancestors backwards, he works forwards through their descendants. Adam explained that genealogy websites can only take him so far as he gets closer to living generations, at which point Google searches and social media become his primary tools.

He added: "It's a great feeling connecting people with their history and those who came before them." Adam noted that some people simply have no idea where they came from, and his research can occasionally help entire families discover their ancestry and pass down memories to younger generations.

But not every search ends on a positive note. He said: "This is one of my most successful stories. However, there are many times when people don't reply, or when they're not interested which can be disappointing after doing all the research."

Fortunately in this instance, the family were "really helpful and inquisitive", making it considerably easier to confirm Adam's findings. And after a journey spanning an eBay listing, archives, census records, social media and a WhatsApp message, Charles' medal was finally returned to his family where it belongs.

Adam said: "It's a great feeling connecting people with their history and those who came before them."

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