A COUPLE who found a medal belonging to a First World War veteran are now trying to return it to its rightful owner.

William Gale and Kayleigh Gollop, who used to live in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, hope to track down the owner of an Allied Victory Medal which was found off Cowley Road more than four years ago.

Mr Gale, a baker, was walking home from work at Tesco on the Cowley Road in 2009 or 2010 when he spotted the medal on a cycle track linking the road with Blackbird Leys.

He said: “I saw something. I picked it up and took it home.

“I had to go straight out again, so I put it in a box to keep it safe, and then I completely forgot about it.”

Now, several years on, he is trying to reunite the medal with its owner or their family.

Mr Gale, 27, rediscovered the medal when he was preparing to move house to Didcot, where he now lives.

He said: “I was then having a clear out and came across it. I thought that I should do something to get it back to who it belongs to.”

The medal has a rainbow-coloured ribbon, with a winged angel figure on one side, and the words, The Great War for Civilisation 1914-1919 on the other.

Nicknamed Wilfred, about 5.7 million Allied Victory Medals were made for veterans.

Mr Gale added: “We think the medal belonged to Edward James Sulston, from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry.”

Mr Sulston’s service number, name and unit is impressed on the rim of the medal but the couple are now unsure how to track down his family.

According to records held by the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, the medal was awarded to Mr Sulston, a driver, and his regimental number was 266424.

Miss Gollop, Mr Gale’s fiancee, said: “My aunt is a member of Ancestry UK, and we’ve done some digging.

“We just want to send it back.”

Do you know of any details of living relations of Mr Sulston? Call Oxford Mail reporter Alex Wynick on 01865 425403 or email awynick@oxfordmail.co.uk