A Dundee woman has been reunited with a long lost singing prize, despite not even knowing it was missing.
Cheryl Robbie, 61, was shocked when she realised her Leng Medal, awarded when she was 11, had been found by a man digging up his garden.
He embarked on the process of reuniting the medal, dated 1969-1970, and inscribed with her name on the back, with its rightful owner.
As part of his quest he contacted Blackadders LLP in Dundee, which has been a longtime supporter of the Leng Medal contest.
Staff there set out to find the recipient and, in a remarkable twist of fate, realised it belonged to the woman whose cleaning company, Spic and Span Contracts Ltd, tidies their offices every night.
Lynne Alexander of Blackadder LLP said the team were amazed when they found out it was Ms Robbie’s medal. She said: “It was kind of a jaw dropper.
“What a small world.”
Ms Robbie said it was a “complete mystery” to her as to how the medal ended up in the stranger’s garden in Mericmuir Place.
She said: “I didn’t even realise the medal had disappeared.
“I thought it had been in the attic.”
The medal was awarded as part of a singing competition created in 1901 by Sir John Leng. His aim in founding the contest was to ensure children remained in touch with older Scottish songs.
Children aged between 10 and 16 compete to win either the silver or gold. The singing competition continues to this day, 110 years after it was founded.
This year’s Gold Medal winners were Molly Dickson of Morgan Academy, Dundee and Nathan Ogston of the High School of Dundee (Juniors). A further 10 school pupils were awarded with the Silver Medal.
In addition to the singing contest, the Sir John Leng Trust used to run an essay competition. However, it has been discontinued and replaced with prizes for science and English literature awarded in secondary schools throughout Dundee.
Ms Robbie said she was grateful that everyone involved had put in so much effort into finding her prize.
She said: “It is lovely that there are people who cared enough to reunite the medal with its owner.”
