A PIECE of history has returned to the show after decades-old medals from the event were discovered.

Eight medals from the show’s forestry classes were found in a polythene bag at a former Yorkshire Water depot.

The medals, which date from the Twenties and Thirties, were found in pocketsized leather cases.

Geoff Lomas, from Yorkshire Water, found the medals at the depot, near Harrogate.

He said: “They meant a great deal to someone who worked at the old depot, so it seemed a shame to dispose of them.

“The name of the forester who won them will be lost in the records of the old water corporations which were responsible for the water supply 80 years ago.

“Rather then chuck them out, we thought the Yorkshire Agricultural Society may be interested in keeping the medals for posterity.”

Show chairman Bill Cowling said: “We are very grateful to Yorkshire Water for returning the medals to us.

“To see first-hand a piece of the show’s history from a time before the present organisations were involved is fascinating.”