A PIECE of history documenting the Crimean War and published in the Guardian Office in Warrington has been discovered in Canada.

Bernard Spring, from Falkland, discovered the document and emailed the Warrington Guardian to share his findings.

Titled List of Articles required for Sick and Wounded Soldiers, the Guardian Office in Warrington is noted as the location where the appeal was printed.

The 72-year-old, who lives in a small village in British Columbia with a population of around 700, said: “About 20 miles away from where I live is another small town called Enderby.

“I came across an old man in his 90s, now deceased, who had emigrated from Britain in the 1950s.

“He had worked for a company doing demolitions and, in doing so, had come across several artefacts, mostly paper, from old houses.

“The document in question he obtained somewhere in Greater London – that’s all he could say.”

One of Bernard’s family members was in the Charge of the Light Brigade, so he has been familiar with the Crimean War from an early age.

The assault was one of the British Empire’s worst military defeats, in which 107 men out of 676 were killed, 187 wounded, 50 captured, and 400 horses slaughtered.

The brigade had been rallied to prevent the Russians removing the captured British guns in 1854 during the Battle of Balaclava.

The man in his 90s also harboured a treasure trove of historic artefacts which Bernard was keen to add to his collection.

He added: “I also bought a packet of letters from him which had belonged to a British Officer in the Peninsula War.

“These letters will change some of the history of that conflict as they contained detailed accounts of battle but also the performance of senior officers in charge.

“His father was an Earl who had the ear of the Government.

“His story is fascinating.

“It’s fortunate that they came to me as I am English and have two degrees in British history.

“Otherwise the chances of them surviving would have been very slim in this part of the world.”