Paul, one of our volunteers in Ipswich, assists with fundraising by collecting and selling old buttons, coins, militaria, stamps, and more! We receive all sorts of fascinating items in the donations of tools we get - and in a recent donation, Paul found an old Army pay book containing a letter and a small union flag. The Army Pay Book belonged to a Mr Michael Snowden and showed his National Service Record. It also contained a letter from an Athletic Club - the Cambridge Harriers - congratulating Michael on being selected to represent Great Britain!

Michael was born in Lambeth in 1932, and later lived in (and ran at!) Crystal Palace from 1952 onwards. The Pay Book dates from his two years of national service in Germany from 1949.

Paul's interest in history and experience in researching military subjects led him to reaching out to a local Facebook supporter called Adam. He has a page called 'Medals Going Home',  and his main interest is returning medals and other items to the families of the recipients. With Adam’s help, Paul was able to track down Michael’s family - including his daughter, Clare.

She was amazed when she found out about these special items (as a ‘snapshot’ of her dad’s life) and was extremely grateful to be reunited with such valuable family heirlooms.

'Thank you Paul, Adam, and everybody at TWAM for finding my dad’s things so promptly and for caring enough to look for Dad’s family members," she told us. "It means a lot and will add to my family history research. I never knew my dad was that good at running! Priceless treasures - thank you all very much.”

Clare gave us a generous donation as a thank-you, which we are incredibly grateful for. “Thank you,” she says, “for taking the time to care.”