THE family of a soldier who died in the First World War have been re-united with his death plaque thanks to an Oxford Mail appeal.

Brenda and Anthony Warne issued a plea to track down the family of Lance Corporal Aubrey Woodbridge and return the plaque, which was awarded to the next of kin of all soldiers who died in the conflict.

Mr Warne – who lived in Long Lane, Littlemore between 1959 and 1972 – had the plaque in his family after it turned up in his parents’ garden shed.

After seeing the Warnes’ story in the Oxford Mail amateur historian and genealogist Hilary Groves, from Chilton in South Oxfordshire, got on the case.

With a few hours’ work the NHS worker tracked down Mr Woodbridge’s great-niece Vicki Crabb.

Last Saturday Mr and Mrs Warne travelled to Wheatley from their home in Somerset to hand the plaque over to Mrs Crabb.

Mrs Groves said: “Tracking Vicki down wasn’t too difficult to do as I’ve done dozens of these types of searches before. You get a gut feeling of what is and isn’t correct and when you’re on the right track. I used the census for 1911 to find Aubrey’s sister Olive May and then found a marriage for her in 1929 in Oxford to John French.

“It was just a question of searching for any births in Oxford with the surname French. I came up with six and found Vicki and then looked in the phone book and found a number for her.

“My main concern was hoping that when I did speak to Vicki she didn’t think I was a nut case cold calling. Luckily she was very open to hearing what I had to say. It is a really lovely feeling because soldiers like Aubrey gave so much.”

L Cpl Woodbridge, from Cowley Road in Littlemore, died in Mesopotamia on November 5, 1916 aged 24. It is believed he had inflammation of the intestines after being captured by Ottoman forces and held as a prisoner of war.

Mr and Mrs Warne handed over the plaque to Ms Crabb at The Plough Inn in Wheatley. Mrs Warne said: “Anthony and I really want to thank the Oxford Mail for all their help. We also want to thank Hilary for all her hard work in re-uniting the plaque with the Woodbridge family.

“The plaque has been with Anthony for some time so it is really nice to have it go back to its family.”

Mrs Crabb, 67, said: “I remember seeing the plaque on the mantelpiece of my grandmother Olive May when I was a little girl – she was Aubrey’s sister.

“So it was quite an emotional moment when the plaque was handed over – it’s a very important connection with my great uncle. I am very grateful for Mr Warne’s efforts and for Hilary’s efforts to return the plaque to us.”