Colonel’s old trophy found and given to widow, 105
ATROPHY awarded to a colonel decades ago on Armistice Day has been returned to his 105-year-old widow – after it was found by a metal detectorist buried in the ground.
Anthony Arengo-Jones OBE met his sweetheart Jill while at Sandhurst in the 1930s and married her in 1940.
He joined the Gloucestershire Regiment before the Second World War, suffered several injuries during battles in the Netherlands, including losing an eye.
He then fulfilled three-year postings abroad in Jamaica and Gibraltar, before retiring from the service.
In 1970, the ‘Glosters’ regiment 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 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 St Nicholas’s Church at Tytherton Lucas.
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 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.
“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 the unexpected reunion, and just as mystified about how a prize possession ended up three feet under.
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.
“It was a pleasure to meet Jill and her family. I’m going back to that area to see what else is there.”
Jill said of 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.”