If you’ve ever lost something, you know that every once in awhile, when you least expect it, the lost item will turn back up again. If you’re familiar with that great feeling, **imagine what it would be like to find something that you lost over 65 years ago.**
Edward Parker dropped his wallet in 1950. He was working as an electrician and repairing damage from World War II at Lambeth Palace in London, when the wallet slipped down behind an unmovable medieval bookcase.
There, the wallet remained for 65 years. Then, something miraculous happened: This year, a builder doing restoration near the bookcase found it. Undisturbed for nearly seven decades, Parker’s wallet was a veritable time capsule into the past.
It contained his business cards, which read “E Parker, Electrical Contractor.” You’ll notice that the card has Parker’s address, but no phone number – a typical business card of its era.
This was Parker’s original union card, which is in near-perfect condition.
Other wallet contents included receipts, stamps, and pieces of old correspondence.
Some of the most treasured pieces of memorabilia in the wallet were old family photos.
The wallet also contained his Parker’s medical card, which provided more information for how to find him. After a little bit of leg work, Edward Parker was found alive and well and living in Essex.
Parker is now 89 years old and suffering from dementia, but he still remembered the wallet he lost, which and was elated about its return. He identified his family members in the pictures, including his wife Constance, who is also still alive. In fact, Parker hadn’t seen a photo of his father since the wallet went missing all those years ago. This photo is a picture of Parker and his wife, on the day they learned she was pregnant.
