A TROPHY awarded to a colonel in the armed forces decades ago on Armistice Day has been found and returned to his widow.
Anthony Arengo-Jones OBE met his sweetheart Gillian (Jill) while at Sandhurst in the 1930s, when he was 19 and she was 17, and married her in Salisbury in 1940.
He joined the Gloucestershire Regiment before the Second World War, suffered several injuries during battles in Holland - including losing an eye - then fulfilled three-year postings abroad in Jamaica and Gibraltar, before retiring from his services as a soldier.
In 1970, the Glosters gave him the honorary rank of Colonel and, to commemorate his eight years in the role, the Bristol Association presented him with a silver-plated cup upon his retirement on November 11, 1978.
What happened to the symbolic gift between then and now is a mystery, but somehow Tony House, a metal detectorist from Wiltshire, stumbled upon it while out in the fields around Chippenham on Halloween.
His device started pinging and he found the trophy buried nearly three feet deep in the soil near Tytherton Lucas' church.
Surprised by this find, he managed to track down Jill's daughter-in-law Josephine and with her help, arranged to visit the 105-year-old's home in Ashton Keyes, near Cricklade, to present the trophy and a bouquet of flowers.
Jill said: "Thank you very much indeed, it's very kind of you to bring it. It's very nice, I will keep it safe.
"I have no idea how it ended up where it was, I can't imagine anyone going to the trouble of burying it, how strange.
"I can't remember much about that trophy, he received a fair few honours like it, he had an OBE."
Her relatives were equally delighted by this unexpected reunion, and just as mystified about how a prize possession ended up three feet under.
They joked that Anthony and Jill's great-grandchildren could try to come up with the most creative stories about its journey.
Tony started metal detecting after he retired and enjoys discovering hidden treasures in the Wiltshire countryside.
He added: "At first, I thought it was something that belonged to the church but then I noticed the inscription.
"Everything has come full circle - it was presented to Tony on Nov 11 1978 and presented back to Jill on November 11 again, by another Tony!
"It's not all about finding coins and Roman brooches, finding things like this - where you can reunite people with lost items - is the real reward.
"That's what I love doing most, it's priceless, it makes me feel 10 feet tall.
"It was a pleasure to meet Jill and her family. I'm going back to that area to see what else is there."
Jill and Anthony enjoyed 57 years of married life before he died in 1997.
Jill was part of the Women's Air Force and appeared in the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald for regularly playing golf at the age of 92 - she kept up the hobby until she was 95.
Jill smiled when remembering her late husband: "He was very tall and handsome, pleasant and kind, and interested in other people.
"He was very highly respected and well-thought-of. I'm not sure what he'd make of this! I wonder if he would be surprised."
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