A MEDAL from the First World War which was found underneath a York children's play area has been reunited with the family of its recipient.

The Victory Medal, awarded to Private George Henry Sykes, was found in the late 1990s by Cyril Binns during construction of the play area in Cemetery Road.

He spoke with York Cemetery volunteers Janet Lea and Caroline Kennedy about the medal, and found his grave there earlier this year, before they continued to look into Pvt Sykes's family tree.

Pvt Sykes was a father of eight when he signed up to fight in the First World War in 1915 at the age of 45. He survived and returned to York, but died in 1920. How his medal ended up buried in York remains a mystery.

About 25 members of Pvt Sykes' family and descendants visited the service where the medal was presented to Dorothy Turpin, 81, of Wigginton Road - his granddaughter.

She said: "We wish we'd known more about him but they didn't talk about it in those days. Since we started all this we've found out much more about him. I didn't know anything about him, my dad never spoke about him because he was 15 years old when he died.

"We have no clue how it came to be where it was but it's nice now that the medal is back with the family. It's going to the Castle Museum in January and hopefully as a family we will carry it with us. It's not worth a lot of money but the fact that it's in the family is great and I'm so pleased it was found and brought to us."

Mr Binns, who found the medal, said: "It's a brilliant feeling to be able to pass it on to the family. After all these years thinking 'who's is it and who does it belong to', it's unbelievable. I'm really pleased.

"The whole team at the cemetery have done brilliantly, contacting the family and finding so many of them, and they say there are another two medals somewhere. What's to say they weren't all put there at the same time? I really hope they find them."

Mrs Turpin said: "It's been a nice end to a little story that started for us in August but started in 1915 for my great grandfather."

Janet Lea said the presentation fell between Armistice Day and the 94th anniversary of Pvt Sykes' death on November 14, and details about Pvt Sykes would be added to the commemorative exhibition at York's Castle Museum in the new year.

*To find out more about the cemetery or to volunteer, email genealogy@yorkcemetery.org.uk or phone 01904 610631.