Paul King, from Singleton in NSW, operates a scrap metal recycling plant in the Hunter Valley, and found a "Dead Man's Penny" belonging to Alan McGregor Whyte and set out to ensure it went to the rightful owners.

A Dead Man's Penny is a large, symbolic coin that was presented to the next of kin when soldiers died in World War I. Research from Mr King led him to discover that Mr Whyte was born in Carrathool and died at just 25 years old so he set out to return it to a family member.

"I read an article from November 2018 in The Area News. It reported on a new plaque on the Griffith Memorial Garden's Cenotaph ... One of those names was A M Whyte," Mr King said.

"One of the researchers mentioned in the article was Theo Bollen. I managed to contact Theo via facebook messenger and he did some research on Mr Whyte ... After a phone conversation with Theo, I decided it would be fitting to donate the penny to the Griffith War Memorial Museum."

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Mr Whyte enlisted in the Australian Army in 1915, as a Trooper in the 10^th Field Artillery Brigade before he was killed in action on October 8 1917.

Fortunately, Mr King found that he would be travelling to Griffith for an unrelated reason in early July so made plans to donate the coin to the museum in a small ceremony at the cenotaph on July 4.

A time hasn't yet been set, but it will be in mid-morning on the Monday.

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