From France to the Middle East, Tom Sparkes remembers his days with the Army fondly, but one thing has long been missing.

At some point, decades ago, his medals were lost or misplaced. At the age of 95, he never expected to see them again.

But after a conversation with his friends at The Hogarth Inn in Grain, the village rallied round to reunite the veteran with his medals.

Scroll down for video

At a surprise presentation Mr Sparkes’ once again held his military decorations in his hands, with ribbons and medals commemorating his time in France, Germany, North Africa, Libya, Italy and Palestine.

Mr Sparkes said: “I was very surprised, I never expected it. I feel wonderful, it’s made my day.”

His daughter, Annie Sparkes, 67, was watching along with his granddaughter, Kathryn Beckley, 27, who had travelled from Bristol for the presentation.

Watch: Tom Sparkes gets his medals back

She said: “It’s really good for grandad to have his medals back, I think for any war veteran they symbolise a significant part of their life so it’s great he has them back.”

Villager David Warrington, who presented Mr Sparkes with his medals, said: “There are times when we know something’s gone wrong and we can correct it and today we’ve all gathered together to put a wrong, right.

“It’s fantastic to see him walking about the village, it really is great. He’s revered and respected by all that know him and always has been.”

Mr Sparkes is a regular at the 16th century pub in the village high street and often goes for walks along the seafront.

Paul Ramsey, who runs the pub with his wife Debbie, said: “He spoke to one of the other guys about it and they made a note of his army number and found out about his medals.

“We had a bit of a whip round and when word got out in a few days it was done, with a bit left over for him to have a few pints as well.”

They contacted SMI Militaria, a veteran-owned company specialising in military medals and badges, and owner Julian Allerhead researched Mr Sparkes’ service history to find the correct medals.