One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting playing with a very large bronze penny.

Like many young children with an over-active imagination I believed it must have belonged to a giant that a distant relative had slain and taken the giant's most treasured possession as his prize.

In later life I was to learn that the large coin was a commemorative plaque sent by King George V to the next of kin of those who had died in World War I. It was crudely nicknamed the "Death Penny".

I was in my late 30s before I saw the giant's coin again. This time it was while I was visiting the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

I recognised it instantly (not the coin I had played with as that was long gone, lost or disappeared in some house move) but nevertheless the feelings that were evoked while staring at this coin in its glass cabinet set me off on a journey back in time to reveal its history – and one that was soon to become the proudest day of my life.

My visit to the Armouries was out of military interest, in particular the British Armed Forces.

This newfound curiosity had come about after joining the Yorkshire (N&W) Army Cadet Force as public relations officer for D Company, predominantly affiliated to the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, known as the Dukes.

Following an amalgamation with two other regiments the Dukes have become part of the Yorkshire Regiment.

My calling to join the Army Cadet Force came after my eldest daughter, Ashleigh, joined a detachment affiliated to the Dukes.

We are now a family of four within the Army Cadet Force – me, my husband John, and both my daughters, Ashleigh, 18, and Lydia, 14.

Having returned home from the Armour-ies I was eager to phone my parents and find out what this coin meant.

Not only could I remember playing with one like it but I was getting flashes of images of medals with brightly coloured ribbons.

Private Albert Edward Gomersall 147th Battalion, 1/4th (West Riding Regiment) TF Division, service number 200701, was the owner of the medals I had played with as a child, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, 1914-20, and the Victory Medal, 1914-19.

The "Death Penny" was given to Albert's mother and father in 1916 following his death on September 3 in Thiepval, France.

His name is forever marked at the Thiepval Memorial in France, along with the thousands listed as missing.

The only information my mother could offer was that she knew she had a great uncle who had died at the Somme and after speaking with her sisters, one of them produced a photograph.

I stared at the grey studio photo of my young-looking uncle as he posed in his military uniform, and there, before my eyes, was the Dukes cap badge.

Searching the internet I found his joining papers with his own signature, proud and bold, and his medal honours, which enabled me to establish the medals were sent to his family following his death. I eventually pieced toget-her his last movements, the area in which he died and the probable time of his death.

He was killed on September 3, 1916, during the British advance on the German line, attempting to retake the town of Thiepval.

Although there is no known grave for him I found the exact stone on which his name is marked in the Thiepval Memorial and – with my husband and young-est daughter – became the first of Albert's family to pay my respects, in uniform, on Remembrance Sunday to this brave young man who lost his life serving his King and country.

I cannot begin to imagine how my great- grandparents must have felt to have never been able to visit the place where their eldest son died.

I can only tell you of the pride I felt when, with my youngest daughter, we laid a white rose at the foot of the stone into which my great uncle's name is etched, along with thousands of comrades who gave their lives for this land we call home.

In recognition of the bravery of my great uncle, Private Albert E Gomersall.

Beverly Craig is PRO Officer, Yorkshire (N & W) Army Cadet Force)

For King and country...
Between August 1914 and January 1920 1,150,000 Memorial Death Plaques – commonly called the "Death Penny" or "Dead Man's Penny" – were sent by the British Government to the next of kin of soldiers who lost their lives in the Great War.
The penny was a five-inch disc of bronze gunmetal, here shown beside a new penny. The plaque's design incorporated an image of Britannia and a lion, two dolphins representing Britain's sea power and Imperial Germany's eagle being torn to pieces by another lion.
Britannia is holding an oak spray with leaves and acorns. Beneath this was a tablet where the deceased individual's name was cast into the plaque. No rank was given in order to show equality in their sacrifice.
On the outer edge of the disc are the words: "He died for freedom and honour".