A WARTIME identification tag found on a north Devon beach is now in the hands of its owner’s daughter, a former Astley resident.

The unlikely success story achieved a happy ending after Brenda Lovett, 71, who now lives in Greyshot, Hampshire, was contacted by old friends from Stourport and Astley who had seen The Shuttle’s story reporting the find and recognised her name.

Mrs Lovett moved from Astley seven years ago but has stayed in contact with several people.

The search began when The Shuttle was contacted by Devon resident Paul Fordham, who had been metal detecting on a beach near his home in Barnstaple with six-year-old daughter Maya.

After cleaning the tag the name “S.B.Whitten” was found and following an online search, Mr Fordham discovered it referred to Sidney Bartholomew Whitten, a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve.

Mr Whitten had a daughter, Brenda Whitten, who married Gordon Lovett in 1964. An online directory revealed a couple of the same name living in the Stourport area.

Mrs Lovett said: “The article was successful and the little label that was found belonged to my father.

“It was correct that my father was Sidney Bartholomew Whitten and he did go to the Normandy beaches and did his training in Devon.”

Mr Whitten went on to join the police force in north London and retired to the Isle of Wight. He died about 30 years ago. “I got in contact with Mr Fordham because various friends sent me the article and I had phone calls, with people asking me ‘was your maiden name Whitten?’,” added Mrs Lovett. “The connection they all made was that I married a Gordon Lovett.

“What amazed me was that someone could track me down from finding a little metal plate on a beach.”

Mrs Lovett said she would keep the plate alongside pictures her father took of the Normandy coast. She said she would tell her grandchildren about the tag when they studied the Second World War at school.