Neil Prior

A bullet-damaged silver cigarette case belonging to Welsh World War Two soldier Stanley “Stan” Drew has been returned to his daughter, Diane Owen, 82 years after it was lost. Dutch metal detectorist Filip Krapels found the case near Bergeijk in the Netherlands and identified Drew through its damaged inscription, boxing records and military research. Drew died during the fighting at Falaise Gap in Normandy on 21 July 1944, 11 days before Owen was born. The case has been loaned to the Royal Welsh Regimental Museum in Brecon, where it will be displayed alongside information about Drew and the many soldiers who disappeared during the campaign.