A man who lost a treasured photo album almost 20 years ago has been reunited with his possession after an appeal to find him went viral.
Neil Douglas, 58, lost the photo album filled with pictures from the 1960s and 70s after putting items into storage while moving house after the birth of his daughter 18 years ago.
But remarkably, the long-lost picture book was found by scriptwriter Oli Lansley, 34, after he bought a second-hand armchair at a furniture sale in Brockley, south London.
Mr Lansley decided to post the details of his discovery on Facebook to track down the owner of the photo album and within 48 hours, he managed to get in touch with Mr Douglas.
The pair met on Friday and the photo album was returned to its rightful owner.
Mr Douglas told the Standard: “It felt really good [getting it back] because it is something I knew I lost and shouldn’t have lost.
“It was very important to me because it had pictures of my mum that my daughter had never seen. The pictures go back to since when I was about two years old.”
Mr Douglas said since being reunited with the photo album, it has triggered happy memories of people who are no longer alive.
He said: “I can look back on them and see the great time we had together. Just seeing the pictures immediately brought all these memories back.”
Mr Douglas, a property and furniture developer, said as soon as he returned home with the album, his 18-year-old daughter Hollie – who was in the last picture in the album - asked to see the photographs.
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Speaking about the power of the Facebook appeal, Mr Douglas said: “It is a very personal album because is something I put together.
“I really appreciate what Oli did. It is amazing how it has happened.”
