War medal puzzles granddaughter

Pauline Barnett with her Bay grandfather's war medal.

A British woman is asking for help to uncover information about an Anzac war medal she inherited from her Hawke's Bay grandfather.

Pauline Barnett attended her local Anzac service in Essex, England this year, to remember her grandfather, who fought in World War I.

The organisers encouraged her to get out her grandfather's war medal, and she realised she didn't have any details about it.

Walter Edward Young

"My father gave me his late father's medals, before his own death in 2003, and the Anzac remembrance celebrations encouraged me to get them out and study them," she said.

"Any information would be helpful - why was my grandfather awarded this medal?"

Her grandfather was Walter Edward Young, from Whakatu, who served in the 24th Reinforcements. His name is on the Clive Memorial.

Born in London in 1879, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1906, where his brother was already living. He was a farmer in Whakatu, Hastings, when he met and married his wife, Lydia, who had also emigrated from England.

He enlisted in New Zealand Rifle Brigade Reinforcements in 1917, following Lydia's death from tuberculosis. Going to war, he left his only son, Ms Barnett's father, Stanley Edward, at the farm, and named in the military records as his next of kin. Stanley was just 3 years old.

In 1920 he brought Stanley over to England to live with his aunt.

Meanwhile, he settled in Dunedin, where he worked as a builder, until his death in 1947.

Stanley spent the rest of his life in England, becoming a research chemist.

Ms Barnett would be grateful for any information about the medal.