A NEWPORT woman is trying to reunite a lost First World War medal with the family of the soldier it was awarded to.

Kirsty Cromwell found the medal in Downing Street, in the city's Lliswerry area on the morning of Tuesday January 4, as she was headed out to go shopping with her son.

“As we walked across to the car, we spotted it in the middle of the road,” she said.

“I had a quick look, but I didn’t have a proper look at it until we got back home. That’s when I saw the dates on it.

“I didn’t know what to do.”

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Mrs Cromwell messaged the Lliswerry Ward Matters group for help to track down the medal’s rightful owners.

Steve Veysey, a member of the Risca Branch of the Royal British Legion, and author of a book about the men and women of Risca who died in the First World War, saw the post and looked into the history of the medal.

“From looking at the name, rank, service number and regiment around the edge of the medal, it appears to be Herbert Thompson of the Royal Marines Light Infantry," he said.

“He was born in Kingston-upon-Thames on August 21 1896.

“I found Herbert Thompson married Elizabeth Alice Rogers, born on March 9 1903, in 1939 in Portsmouth.

“He was still a Marine at the time.

“They went on to live on Riverside in Newport.

“Elizabeth died in 1976. In her obituary, she was known as Bessie - and it said her nickname was Tommy.”

Mrs Cromwell said she was hoping to reunite the medal with the family of the soldier it was awarded to.

“I want to get it back to the rightful owner. I don’t feel right having it here," she said.

“Originally, I thought it might have been a Second World War medal when I just had a quick look, which still would have been amazing, but when I saw how old it actually was, I was like: ‘I really need to get this back to the family.’

“My parents have my great-grandparents’ medals from when they were in the First World War, and I wouldn’t like to think about anyone else having those.

“It would be nice to find the rightful owner. If we can’t find them, I’m going to look for where it should go - should it go to a museum?

“It just doesn’t feel right having it here.”