One of our members Tobias Nehmy Neto‎ made this exciting and very compelling discovery of National Interest. This is what makes our hobby so fullfilling.

With Tobias's permission he has allowed us to post his story.

As a member of this group, I'm sharing my story here.

• On the 17th December last year, whilst metal detecting on the River Thames foreshore in London, I came across an artefact which I subsequently determined to be a Victoria Cross medal, dated 5th November 1854.

Over the last few months, I have invested a substantial amount of time researching the origin of my find which I reported to the Museum of London. I have been supported in this work by Ms Kate Sumnall, the Finds Liaison Officer, at the Museum of London. My aim has been to establish to whom the medal had been awarded and how it ended up on the Thames foreshore.

The only two names of unknown VC medals linked to the Crimean War in 1854 were Sergeant John Byrne, originally from Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, Ireland, a Sergeant of the 68th Regiment of Foot, who fought at the Battle of Inkerman in the Crimean Peninsula in 1854. Sergeant Byrne was the first soldier of The Durham Light Infantry to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
Also, Private John MacDermond, originally from Clackmannan, Scotland.

Further to my research, I discovered Sergeant John Byrne's burial place and decided to visit his headstone at the St Woolo's Cemetery, Newport, Wales. 
According to our investigations, Sergeant Byrne, moved to Newport, Wales, in 1879. At that time, Sergeant Byrne was involved in a fight allegedly related to the award of his Victoria Cross medal. Sergeant Byrne accidentally, or in self defence, shot his assailant in the shoulder. In a fit of regret and despair, Sergeant Byrne fled to London, disposed of his Victoria Cross medal in the River Thames, and subsequently returned to Newport. On the following day, Sergeant Byrne was found dead in his house at Crown Street, Newport: he had committed suicide.

Sergeant John Byrne has been from day one my number one suspect and that was the main reason of my visit to St Woolo's Cemetery. I've always thought the medal belonged to him, it was my gut feeling but one can't prove and therefore no one can be 100% certain.

It is some 160 years since the order was first created by Queen Victoria in 1856. However, the first VC medals were awarded retrospectively, e.g. to those who fought the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War in 1854, as in this case.

Recently I was approached by the Museum of London which offered to hold an exhibition about the Victoria Cross medal I found. The exhibition will run from today, Thursday 10th November for 6 weeks, almost a year since I first found it.

Click on the link for more. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/whats-on/exhibitions/for-valour