Reunited with precious memories
Ted Johnson with his camera and a treasured photo of his late wife
A grieving widower has been reunited with a lost camera containing precious memories of his late wife.
Edward (Ted) Johnson, 83, who has a caravan at the Silver Carrs site in Hauxley was devastated when he realised he had lost his camera, which was full of irreplaceable photos of his family.
“I had gone out for a walk with my dog, and took the camera in a plastic bag. I’m not sure when it dropped out of my bag. It wasn’t until I got home that I realised it was missing. I asked around the caravan site, but no-one had handed one in. I told people in several places in Amble, as I was trying to find a police station. I spoke to The Ambler and they put a message on Facebook,” he said.
The camera contained many photos of Ted’s late wife Iris, who died in a tragic accident at Christmas. Aged 77, she was vibrant and healthy, but in a cruel twist of fate, she slipped on ice and banged her head, which caused catastrophic injuries. She never regained consciousness, and died several days later, on 27 December 2017.
The couple who lived in Chester-Le-Street had been married for nearly 53 years, and for the last five years enjoyed spending weekends in their caravan at Hauxley. Since her sudden death, Ted has struggled with grief, but has found some solace in regular trips to Hauxley with his three cats and Tillie the dog.
And then a little bit of luck came Ted’s way.
“About a week later I went into Tesco. I had told them about losing my camera. A lady behind the counter looked at me and then held up a camera. She said ‘Is this familiar?’ I couldn’t believe it. It was so incredible!”
Tesco assistant Joan McAdam told The Ambler: “We’re still not sure who handed it in, but when I gave him the camera I could see a tear in his eye. He said ’Yes, that’s mine. I never thought I would see it again.’ He kept shaking my hand. About ten minutes later he came back and showed me the photos of his wife were still on the camera. He was crying and it set me off too. I gave him a big hug. It was a wonderful moment. I could see he just needed a hug. I felt great because the emotion was wonderful.”
Ted said “I am so grateful to whoever found it, and to all the people who helped me. Amble definitely is the Friendliest Port.”
Anna Williams
