Care home memento reunited with Sidmouth family after appeal

Rose Lawn manager Kerrie Howard with Martyn Bagwell and pictures of his grandparents, Edith and Arthur Bagwell (Image: Archant)

Kerrie Howard was left ‘heartbroken’ looking at the item every time she opened her desk, but none of her staff knew who the necklace pendant, bearing photos of two men, belonged to.

After working at Rose Lawn Care Home for eight years and managing it for four, she made one last push to trace its owners. After images were shared around Sidmouth, she found Martyn Bagwell.

“Every time I got it out, I got really sentimental,” said Kerrie. “It’s been on my mind for years.

“Now it’s not stuck in a drawer and it doesn’t break my heart every time I see it.

“I’m so pleased I managed to find the rightful owner.”

Kerrie originally thought the photos on the pendant were both of the same man, but, when she shared it on Facebook, users revealed it was two separate people. Jack Newbery, a pig farmer who served with the Devonshire Regiment, is shown in his army uniform on one side, and his brother-in-law, Arthur Bagwell, whose building firm is still going strong, is on the reverse.

Edith Bagwell - Jack’s sister and Arthur’s wife - carried the pendant to remember them. She was at Rose Lawn until her death in 2002.

Fifteen years on, her grandson Martyn went to collect her reminder of them.

Martyn said: “It was clearly a treasured memory. Kerrie went to a lot of trouble to do this and it’s been quite fascinating. We’ve been looking through the old photo albums and wouldn’t have done that otherwise.”

Rosanna Long (nee Newbery) came forward after seeing the photos online and said: “I am delighted to hear that the pendant has found its roots at last.

“The Bagwell and Newbery families are synonymous with Sidmouth, having had a long and deep-rooted association with this unique town, which has been and still is much-loved by us all.”