WW2 Gold Signet Ring Rescued From The Drink, Port Beach, Perth, Western Australia.
Eduardo had been cooling off in waist deep water at Port Beach recently when he felt his cherished signet ring slip from his finger. The ring with his initials on top had been made 75 years ago in a prison of war camp during World War 2. He had looked desperately around him in the water and then called out “I’ve lost my ring, I’ve lost my ring” to his wife Piera on the beach.
After calling me I arranged to meet Piera and Eduardo at the beach the next morning when the tide would be out making it wadeable where Eduardo had lost his ring. I took them down to the shoreline one at a time to show me where the loss had occured and noted that they both chose a place on the shore about six meters apart, so I halved this distance and put a peg in the beach to mark the centre and then paced out 10 meters either side of this and also placed a peg in the beach. I then set about working slowly in and out of the water with my metal detector until I had finished the 20 by 30 m grid and nothing, plenty of rubbish, a couple of coins, but no rings. I asked Eduardo if he thought I was going out far enough and he thought that I was. Next I said I was 99% sure I had not missed his ring so I asked if he felt that he could have been more to the north or south of the area I had searched. He felt more to the north was the go so I paced out another 10 m and placed a peg there. After finishing this and then another search extension grid and I’d still not found Eduardo’s ring they had said ok thanks so much for trying but it’s gone now and left the beach.
I was convinced the ring was there somewhere and detectable so with my usual never give in attitude I extended the search area yet another 10m, and still nothing. I thought ok if its not here it must be where I haven’t yet searched, so lets try 10 m to the south.
By this time the tide was a good way in again and the “Fremantle Doctor” was whipping up a few “white horses” and was clearly about to turn nasty for the afternoon so I resolved to come back the next day and resume the search on the southern end. In the morning I was about halfway through my first extension to the south when as I was approaching two women swimming in the water a great sounding signal penetrated my ears. As I raised what ever it was in my
scoop one of the woman had asked me “what are you looking for?” I looked in the bottom of the scoop and thought ‘no way’, there were Eduardo’s initials staring up at me! I turned towards the woman as I simultaniously lifted the ring from the scoop and said “Yes.. This! This is what I’ve been looking for for four and a half hours!
Piera was just amazed when I first sent a picture of the ring and then called to tell her the good news. She came straight back to the beach to collect it and was still a bit stunned but very thankful. I never did hear any of the stories this ring held but with 75 years of history and beginning it’s life in a prison of war camp I am so happy that it’s story can continue..
Love what I do.. Next??
I’m behind on making new posts but the calls for lost rings are still coming in and the rings are still being found. I thought I’d post a little update and a couple of the ones I got pictures of. I found a ring near Baton Rouge the other day that was in a fire, unfortunately I didn’t snap a picture of it because it was getting dark. The fellow had been doing yard work and burning limbs and it slipped off his finger (he wasn’t sure where) and I found it in the ashes. It survived the fire !! The ring was his fathers and had great sentimental value.
