Medals from a First World War veteran were found on a walking trail in Petitcodiac 18 years ago, and the local museum says they’re still trying to track down members of the solider’s family to have them returned.
Robert Brown found the medals in the spring while walking along an abandoned railway bed. Brown then brought them to the local war museum, where they remain today.
“He reached down and thought he had found a 50 cent piece. When he pulled them out, he pulled the first medal out then the other two came with it,” says Catherine Drury, director of the Petitcodiac War Museum.
The medals have been in storage ever since they were located. Drury says early attempts to identify their owner proved difficult.
“We started researching the information on the side of the metals several years ago, but because of the condition of the medals we did not have the correct serial number,” she says.
Drury says they determined the medals belonged to J.J. Jenks from Ontario, but they reached a dead end trying to find his family. But they do know Private Jenks served with the 26th Canadian Infantry Division.
“We do know he served overseas because of the metals he received. There's a 1914, 1915 star, the victory medal, and the British war medal,” says Drury.
Drury plans on enlisting the help of the Grade 12 history class from the local high school after Christmas to help research Private Jenks. She hopes it puts an end to the mystery of how his medals came to be buried along the tracks.
“I'm hoping we will be able to find an address, where his unit was based, where he served overseas and whether or not there are any surviving family members.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
