A 13-YEAR-OLD schoolboy has been sent a thank you gift from the family of an ex-Australian airman.

Max Hazlehurst found a World War Two dog tag belonging to an Australian airman while out walking.

After the airman’s family were reunited with the item, they decided to show their appreciation to Max, who attends Ulverston Victoria High School.

A glass box engraved with the dog tag and a thank you card were delivered to his home in Askam.

Max’s mum Catriona Hazlehurst said her son was delighted with the gift.

Catriona said: “He was absolutely thrilled. It was such a lovely gesture. They wanted to give him something to keep and to remember it all by. It’s a lovely keepsake.”

Since making contact with the airman’s family, Catriona said they have continued to speak with one another over social media.

“Max is now hoping to go over to Australia to meet the family once restrictions are lifted," she said.

“We have been speaking to the family over Facebook ever since and have got to know each other through that really. We’re actually really good friends. We have lots of similarities. Max and one of the family members are both obsessed with animals, wildlife and the outdoors, which is really bizarre.”

Initially looking for adders and lizards on his family walk on Black Combe, Max came across the dog tag.

Catriona then shared an image of the dog tag on Facebook.

This sparked a huge public interest surrounding its history.

It turned out to be a dog tag dropped by William Earnest Wills, an officer in the Royal Australian Airforce who trained in the area during the war.

He died when he was 43 years old while working in the mining industry near Alice Springs in Australia.

Before finding the item, Max was already a huge Australia fanatic, according to his mum.

She added: “Even before this Max was really interested in Australia and wanting to go. He has had a whole trip planned to see the wildlife and the animals. It was just bizarre that he found this dog tag which has connected us to this family on the other side of the world during a pandemic.

“I am so proud of him. He has done so well with talking to all the media, he has done a presentation in school about Remembrance Day talking about the dog tag. He has just been so interested in it all. He has really researched the dog tag and gained knowledge about our area’s history which has made me even prouder.”