THE rightful owner of two sets of medals has finally been reunited with them after an eight-year search.

Last month, the Gazette appealed to find the relative who owned the Second WorldWar and Boer War medals to come forward after their details were lost in a fire.

The items were brought into Framewerks Picture Framing, when it was based at Colchester’s Cowdray Centre.

But when a massive fire destroyed the centre in 2006, the records of who they belonged to were lost.

Along with the medals was the name, H.W Reid, a photograph and an address.

Days after the article was published, Sheila Bosanquet- Bryant’s nephew saw the article and realised they might belong to her.

Sheila, 72, of Clacton, said: “One of my nephews phoned me and said ‘great grandad is in the paper.’ “In the paper it said whoever had taken them into Framewerks was a driving instructor.

“The only one who was is Ian, who is my son. I phoned him up and said had he put some medals in the Framewerks place to be framed. He said ‘yes but there was a big fire there and they lost them’.”

Sheila told to her son how the article had appeared in the paper to explain the medals were safe.

The medals have been kept tucked away by the business, which moved after the fire and is nowbased at the Seedbed Centre, on Severalls Business Park, Colchester.

She contacted the centre and was able to verify she was Harry Reid’s daughter – the man named with the medals.

Sheila said: “I went up there and saw David, the owner, and they reframed them for free, which I thought was brilliant.”

The great grandmother-ofthree said she believed the four Second WorldWar medals, which included star and defence medals, were awarded to her father, Harry Reid, but she did not knowwhy.

She said: “My dad never spoke about the war. I knew he had a shrapnel wound, but mum used to say he got that running away!”

One of the medals was awarded during the Boer War in South Africa, for service in 1901 and 1902. Sheila said she believed it belonged to her great, great grandfather.

The photograph showed a man with horses and Sheila said she thought he was her great grandfather.

After being tucked at Framewerks for so long, Sheila plans to display the medals on a wall at her home.