An Ayrshire woman whose late husband’s ID bracelet was found thousands of miles away near a lake in Canada has been reunited with the treasured memento.
Maggie Graham, from Ayr, was thrilled to receive her late husband’s bracelet from his days as an RAF pilot and navigator.
Last month, Ayrshire Live issued an appeal to help track down the family, or relatives, of Granville W. Graham, whose bracelet was found by keen metal detectorist Randy Gerylo.
And the good people of Ayrshire responded by helping us fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Randy, 61, discovered the underground stash during a recent sweep on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Among the items he uncovered was an ID bracelet which said ‘Granville W. Graham, 6 Alloway Place, Ayr.’
The find left Randy, who has been metal detecting for some 35 years, intrigued and he wanted to find out more about Granville.
So he enlisted the help of Ayrshire Live and we issued an appeal.
Thankfully, Ayrshire folk turned super-sleuths and helped us with the missing pieces of the puzzle.
As it turned out Granville, who trained in Canada at a nearby RAF base, was also known as ‘Jock.’
His mother lived in Holmston Road, Ayr, and she and Granville’s father owned The Windsor Hotel, which was at 6 Alloway Place. Ayr.
We also learned that Granville’s mother and father were called Elizabeth and Thomas Wilson Graham. And he had a sister, Isobel.
Sadly, though, we learned that Granville passed away in 2019 at Creggan Bahn Court, aged 86.
However, Elliot Thomson, veterans community support co-ordinator at The Royal British Legion Scotland, came to the rescue and tracked down Granville’s beloved wife Maggie.
He said: “After a bit of investigation, I established that Granville Graham was Jock Graham, who along with his wife Maggie had been supported by Royal British Legion Scotland, Support Volunteer Brian Anderson for a number of years.
“Jock sadly passed in 2019, but Brian continues to support Maggie.
“Jock served in the RAF for 34 years and unknown to Maggie had lost his ID Bracelet while flight training in Canada.
“He became a navigator, serving around the world, flying on various aircraft, including the V Bomber.
“Maggie was over the moon to receive the bracelet which has given her another link with Jock’s past, and she enjoyed showing me some photographs of Jock at the time.”
Elliot added: “It's thanks to the metal detectorist Randy Gerylo, that she is now in the possession of this sentimental piece which she said she will treasure.”
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