The hunt is on to track down descendants of a Paisley Buddie who died of his battle wounds in a grim prisoner of war camp.
Private Thomas Joseph Campbell was a Canadian infantryman enlisted to fight the German menace in the Great War.
But he was captured on the battlefields of Europe and taken to the camp.
Thomas died of his wounds aged 27 and now rests in the Roeselare Communal Cemetery in Belgium.
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His story has now taken another international turn more than a century later after a woman in Buffalo, New York State found his war “pins”.
Jennifer Reid revealed she found the WW1 items within a box of old photographs her late father had been passed down.
And Jennifer,54, said: “I’m trying so desperately to find the family of this fallen hero.”
A plaque remembering the war dead which hangs in Paisley’s St Mary’s church in George Street lists TJ Campbell, who died on May 26, 1915.
He had gone off to war with the 13th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry after he was enlisted in Quebec on September 23, 1914.
Pvt Campbell had lasted eight months on the Western Front and it is not known when he was captured.
His father was also Thomas Campbell and his mum was Catherine, of 4 Clavering Street in Paisley.
Though he was a machinist before he went to fight, he had been in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders for three years, so he would have emigrated to Canada as an adult.
His Paisley family had been members of St Mary’s Church, which opened in 1891.
And it may well be if he was a machinist, that the family were involved in the thread trade in the town.
Jennifer suspects Thomas may have known her grandfather or great uncles who all fought for the Canadian forces during WW1.
Her own father was drafted into the US army and despatched to the Philippines during WW2.
Thomas’s war pins were found in a box where her late father kept old photos and military memorabilia.
Jennifer said: “This war pin may seem like a very small inconsequential item to most people, but I’m sure to the rightful descendants and ancestors it would mean the world to have this back.
“My father and his entire family served in the military for the United States and Canada for WW1 and WW2, and I am trying to actually locate some of their belongings and I know how much it would mean to me if I got something returned.”
It is not known where Thomas was wounded, nor how and when he was captured.
Through research Jennifer discovered the roll of honour memorial within St Mary’s church.
She added: “I often wonder how this young soldiers military pin got in a box of my dad‘s items.
“This young soldier was in Europe fighting the war with my grandpa and some of my great uncles. They were all in the Canadian army so I wonder if some of my family and this soldier might’ve been friends or army buddies.
“’m sure I’ll never have the answers to a lot of these questions but it would be awesome if I could at least find this young heroes descendants.
“I am actually planning a trip to Europe this year because I would like to visit the grave sites of several of my family members who died in the war over there.
“If your readers were able to find Thomas’s family - who are the rightful owner of this war pin - wouldn’t it be awesome if I could hand it to them in person?”
*Can you help reunite the war pins with the family of Thomas Joseph Campbell? Mail Stephen.houston@reachplc.com
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