First World War Medal makes an emotional return to a Whitby Family
The family of Pte John Braim will receive the medal at a ceremony today
A medal belonging to a World War One soldier from Whitby is making an emotional return to his family today.
Private John Braim, who was 41, was killed on the 19th of September 1918 and he was part of the 2nd Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment.
The medal was found by collector David O'Neill, who is Chief Instructor at Her Majesty's Royal Navy base in Clyde, Faslane, Scotland.
He said:
"I have a vested interest in WW1 as my grandparents were in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Royal Munster Fusiliers respectively. So naturally I collect memorabilia from that era especially with an Irish connection. I did not have a 1914 - 1915 star to complete my collection, so I went on an auction site to bid. The medal I eventually won had an Irish connection but not an Irish regiment one. It turned out that the medal I received belonged to Pte John Braim No 19813 from the 2nd Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment, who were based in Limerick at the onset of the First World War.
“I decided to carry out some research on the individual as I was now curious as to his demise. After hours of trawling war records at the National Archives and Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), I traced his grave to a small cemetery near the village of Brie along the D88 road in France. I then contacted a chap there called Pierre Vanderbilt who was absolutely brilliant. He sent me photographs of the grave and any other documentation he had. He also runs a website for the cemetery and updates his information and photos as they change”
“Having carried out as much data collecting as I could and knowing that Pte Braim was from Whitby, I asked my Leading Hand Mathew Smith to assist by running down tracing the family route. This proved an excellent choice as Mathew is from Bridlington and knows the immediate area well. He eventually found a direct descendant; Mr Jonathan Braim on social media and we contacted him directly. Having confirmed we had the correct family, it was explained that we wished to return the medal and a book of remembrance to the family. Clearly, he was emotional on hearing our offer and accepted."
There will be a short but poignant ceremony at St. Mary's Church today at 11.30am, where Pte Braim's name is inscribed on the WW1 memorial wall.
The service will be conducted by Father Michael Gobbett in front of members of the Braim family and attended by serving RN personnel, representatives from The Yorkshire Regiment and veteran’s associations.