World War One medal lost for 45 years found on eBay

The medal, which had been awarded to Richard Cornock's great uncle, had been missing since the 1970s

A man has been reunited with his great uncle's World War One medal after finding it by an "incredible coincidence" on eBay.

Richard Cornock, 46, said he was "chuffed" the British War Medal was back in the family after 45 years.

The medal, presented to Pte WI Cornock, who served in the Gloucester Yeomanry, was sold after his death in 1970.

A spokesman for the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, said finding it had been an "incredible coincidence".

Mr Cornock, who has a dairy farm near Tytherington, South Gloucestershire, said he discovered the medal after typing the name "Cornock" into the auction site search engine.

Richard Cornock, said the medal had been missing for 45 years and it was 'emotional' to have it back in the family

"Up pops this medal from Gloucester Yeomanry, so I clicked on the description and it said: 'Medal presented to William Cornock,'" he said.

"I thought 'that's my great uncle' - I couldn't believe it."

'A horrendous place'

Having bought the medal for £40 after a "nail-biting wait", Mr Cornock said it had been "emotional" seeing it return to the house where his great uncle grew up.

"They made 6.5 million of these medals so the chances of me finding his medal on the internet were pretty slim," he said.

"I don't know where it's been floating around for 45 years but I just feel so lucky because it's come back to the place where he was born."

William Cornock served as a private in the Gallipoli campaign, which was fought between April 1915 and January 1916 in what is now Turkey.

More than 100,000 personnel died in the conflict and Chris Chatterton, from the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, said only two in 10 members of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars survived.

"He [Pte Cornock] was one of the very lucky ones. It was a horrendous place to have to go," he said.

"But it's an incredible coincidence his medal has been found. Millions and millions of these were pressed so the likelihood of finding one specific one - is just astonishing."