World War 1 Medals Were Returned To Peterborough Woman After Amazing Discovery At Habitat For Humanity ReStore In Peterborough
/Peterborough’s Catherine Allen, a resident at Princess Gardens Retirement Residence, had a surprise and surreal moment when she found out a significant collection of World War I medals that belonged to her father and grandfather that she had no idea were missing were returned to her by Habitat for Humanity ReStore staff.
Indeed, while every donation at ReStore can lead to a new adventure, this one at their north-end location in Peterborough definitely topped them all.
Somehow Catherine’s family medals and a swagger stick—carried by a uniformed person as a symbol of authority—landed in the bottom of a donation box there, and staff worked diligently to return them to their rightful owner.
Catherine Allen pictured with Jill Bennett from Habitat Peterborough (photo by Neil Morton)
“We knew this collection was sentimental and had to be returned to the family,” says Christina Skuce, Director of Philanthropy & Communications with Habitat Peterborough.
Habitat Peterborough board member Jill Bennett took it upon herself to find the family, spending weeks in places like Ancestry.ca and elsewhere in the course of her sleuthing, investigating the origins of the medals.
Through Bennett’s research, and the help of Major W.G. Campbell, Medals Advisor with The Royal Canadian Legion, she was able to trace the medals to Major George Raymore Scott and Honourary Captain Reverend Andrew Joseph Vining.
Catherine Allen with the found medals (photo by Neil Morton)
