Little girl's lost purse which was found in Edinburgh returned to owner after 55 years following Evening News appeal

A missing purse was returned to its owners after more than 50 years in an emotional meeting

A purse which was lost by a little girl 55 years ago and found by a metal detectorist has been reunited with its owner following an appeal by the Evening News.

Alistair Milne made the discovery in the grounds of Trefoil House, near Hermiston, while he, along with friend and detectorist Eddie Hughes, amassed a collection of around 70 coins and other artefacts within an hour of metal detecting in grounds.

“When I opened it, I was surprised to find inside one sixpence, five old pennies and two old halfpennies.” Alistair said, “This adds up to a shilling and in the era the purse was lost was probably the little girl’s pocket money for a month.”

A girl Guide badge was found in the same hole with a missing pin along with the purse and pennies.

After the article was released 65-year-old Elaine Ainslie spotted the story on the Evening News Facebook page and instantly recognised the distinctive triangular purse to be hers and contacted Alistair.

Elaine said: “First I saw it I thought ‘how nice’, and then I saw the picture of the purse and just got a blast from the past!

“All I could think was where are you? I want you back! My mother made it when she was very ill so it’s quite special. I messaged Alistair straight away.

“I can’t believe it, it took me back about 50 years straight away and then of course that brought a rollercoaster of emotions and brought memories back I had completely forgotten, I was reliving it all, it felt really good.”

Handmade purse

Elaine was certain it was her purse as it was handmade by her mother who spent time in Bangour Hospital due to a life-threatening accident.

Whilst recovering in hospital, she made the purses - the off white one which was Elaine’s and a pale green one which was her sister’s.

“It was triangle shaped with the stud and it was the same on the other side so when you handed it to people who didn’t know both sides of the purse opened, the money flew out everywhere, so to two wee girls it was a scream,” she explained.

While she is unsure of how the purse came to be in the grounds of Trefoil house, there may be a couple of explanations.

The grounds of Trefoil House have previously been used for Girl Guides campsites but was also the site of Trefoil School which was dedicated to to ‘the all round development of children with special needs’.

Elaine was not a Guide herself, but her sister was and may have spent time camping at Trefoil. Another potential explanation may have been that the purse was lost when she was visiting her brother Ian who was in a wheelchair and spent time at Trefoil.

After exchanging emails, Elaine, Alistair and Eddie met on Thursday so that the purse could be handed over in an emotional moment, on the same grounds that the purse was found.

Now that the purse was reunited, Elaine said the first thing she would do is show the purse to her sister and then spend the afternoon writing her memories about the purse so she could keep them together in a safe place.