A closer look at my Grandad’s medals revealed the first clue. Engraved around the edge of both medals was his name rank and serial number:

34870 A.Cpl.W.Hodgson.E.Lan.R. Using this information my mother enlisted the help of a researcher who for a fee attempted to find his service records but drew a blank. Then a few months later My mothers cousin found his records, I think by using a name search on the Ancestry website.