Private TA (Teddy) McLean, 20, of the 3rd Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force was awarded the Victory Medal posthumously after he was killed in battle on the Western Front in France. Private McLean enlisted with his brothers, Clarence and Claud, in 1915.

His Victory Medal was found for sale on eBay in 2005 by Ross St Claire, of Newcastle, a member of Family and Friends of the First AIF (FFFAIF Inc).

He contacted his friend, Alan Kitchen of Blakehurst, who is treasurer of the group. "Both Private Teddy McLean and my uncle, Thomas Henry Kitchen, fought in the same unit when they were attacked in an enemy raid on March, 1917, near the village of Bapaume on the Western Front,'' Mr Kitchen said.

Private Kitchen was killed in action and buried where he fell, while Private McLean was wounded and died the next day. He is buried at Dernancourt Cemetery.

"We decided to buy the medal and then search for Private McLean's family,'' Mr Kitchen said, not realising it would be the start of a five-year hunt.

He advertised in mainstream newspapers and the RSL journal, Reveille, without success. Then someone suggested he try the Lost Medals Australia website, which is run on a voluntary basis by army personnel.

Three years laster, Private McLean's descendants were found. Mr Kitchen last week returned the medal to Private McLean's great-nephew, David Irysh of Kirrawee.

Private McLean's brothers survived the war and made it home safely but the family's sadness did not end there.

"Claud disappeared as soon as he got back to Australia,'' Mr Irysh said. "I think the war took its toll on him. He walked out of the house one day and was never seen again.

"Clarence suffered from shell shock and died in 1930.

"Their sister, Alice, was my great-grandmother. I was the only one left to remember them.

"Their photos are always on display but finding the Victory Medal is like the icing on the cake.''

Military service is a tradition in the Irysh family. Mr Irysh's father, David Wesley Irysh, served in World War II and Vietnam and Mr Irysh was in the Army Reserve.

"Every Anzac Day and Remembrance Day I stand to attention,'' he said. "As far as I know I'm the only one left alive to remember them.

"I believe they never die as long as they are remembered.''