A set of long-lost First World War medals that belonged to a soldier who joined up as a 14-year-old have been given to his closest known relative after they were discovered in a house clearance.

Major Steve Ansell, an Army careers officer, was tasked with finding the ancestors of the man awarded the two medals, with the only clue that they belonged to a Captain Ferguson.

His initial inquiries found that there were 6,800 officers with the name Ferguson who served during the Great War, so he enlisted the help of military history expert friends to find out which one the medals found in a house in Chichester, West Sussex, belonged to.

Maj Ansell said he was able to narrow down the number to three possible officers and through examination of regimental connections it was concluded that the recipient was Captain (later Major) Albert Joseph Ferguson, who served with the Royal Field Artillery.

Following an appeal through the local press on the Isle of Wight where Capt Ferguson grew up, his closest known relative was found to by Jenny Hicklin, from Bognor Regis.

A ceremony was held today - the 100th anniversary of the day Capt Ferguson embarked for the Western Front in France - at the Officer's Mess at 16th Regiment Royal Artillery, Baker Barracks on Thorney Island, West Sussex, to return the medals to his family.

The medals presented were the lost British War Medal and Victory Medal, plus a replica 1914-1915 star that he would have been entitled to which has also been produced.

Mrs Hicklin, 70, explained that Capt Ferguson was her first cousin twice removed, meaning that her great-great-aunt was his mother.

She added that because he had no children, there was no relative of direct lineage to receive the medals.

She said: "I feel very proud and amazed to receive the medals, it's great that his achievements continue to be remembered and it's a lovely story to pass on to the grandchildren."

Mrs Hicklin said she was located because she had researched her family tree on a website and a fellow user noticed the connection when the appeal was published in the local newspaper.

Maj Ansell said: "I'm delighted we have found his family and it's great to return a little bit of history to the right place rather than have it languish in someone's drawer."

Capt Ferguson was born in Londonderry on June 23 1878, and grew up in Freshwater, Isle of Wight, before he enlisted into the British Army at the age of 14 in 1892. He served in India prior to the outbreak of the First World War.

He died aged 55 in 1924. He married a Selina Violet Bond, in Ipswich in 1907, and she died in 1965 in Dartford, Kent. She had also lived in Bognor Regis.