Sue Welsh, the wife of an Alzheimer's patient, has spoken of her heartbreak after a lifetime of her husband's photos were lost by a removal firm during a house move. Jimmy Welsh, 80, was an airline Cabin Service Director for 40 years and had pictures taken all over the world. Now they have disappeared, leaving his wife Sue, a former BA flight attendant, distraught.
Sue has criticised the removals firm that lost the valuable albums and has appealed to Mirror readers to help find them. She believes they could have been left in an abandoned container or disused store or garage.
Precious memories lost
Sue said: “Jimmy is a wonderful man and so very special to me, he deserves the best and I want to make sure that all these photos are found to bring him joy again.
“There are six to eight boxes of photographs missing. They are so precious to us. We just want them back. There’s our wedding album as well and I want to take them to show Jimmy.
“He has vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s but he would absolutely love to see the photos and I know he would have a smile on his face when he looked through them. Photos have the biggest impact on him helping him to remember some special times in his life.
Family history and holidays lost
“He especially enjoys photos of his time with BOAC as a Cabin Services Director and can even recognise some of his colleagues but these are lost. But it’s not just our wedding photos that have gone - all the photos of his mum, dad, brothers and sister and when he was a child have gone as well.
“And we have taken photos of so many great holidays in past 20 years - they’re missing as well. I particularly remember a very special holiday to Antarctica Jimmy would love to see them again.”
Jimmy is now in a care home in Saffron Walden, Essex. He grew up in Toxteth, Liverpool and is a big Liverpool FC fan. Last year Sue downsized their home to help pay for Jimmy’s care.
Removal firm's admission
She booked DMR & Sons Removals and Storage Ltd, which is registered to an address in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts. But Sue claims company director Mark Flood has since admitted losing boxes containing birth and marriage certificates, as well as the photos.
She said: “When I asked where he thought they were he said he didn’t know, but said they had been in half a container with someone else’s goods. He said that they may have been sent to another one of his clients and he would contact them, that they weren’t in any of the containers he had in various places and that they may still be stored in one of his vans.”
She explained: “The only course of action I could foresee was to contact the Daily Mirror in the hope that we’ll find someone who worked for Mark Flood and has information regarding the location of the storage facilities he used.
“I just would be over the moon to find my belongings in the hope there are still some left which are precious to me.”
Mr Flood has not replied to the letter Sue sent him following advice from Trading Standards. Attempts by the Mirror to contact Mr Flood have proved unsuccessful. If anyone knows the whereabouts of the photos please email Andy.Lines@mirror.co.uk
