A FORMER Barry chef has come forward after finding what could be a very precious keepsake.

Malcolm Barnett, 44, staying with friends in Milton Road, was walking through Cemetery Approach Road near Barry Road when a small card caught his eye.

He told the News: "I had an operation on my left knee, taking away cartilage and working on the ligaments.

I've got a friend who's been having treatment on his foot and I walk to his house as part of my physiotherapy.

"I take different routes, and decided on Thursday, February 20 to go through the little lane by the cemetery.

As I was walking, I saw a card with a religious-looking picture leaning against the wall, like it had been blown there.

The card looked a bit crinkled, but when I picked it up there was a photograph of a young girl on the back."

Malcolm started his catering career in the Water's Edge nursing home before embarking on a path taking him all over Europe with huge names like Queen, Black Sabbath, Dire Straits, UB40, Prince and many more. After seeing poverty and hardship in places like Russia and East Germany, Malcolm understands it is the small things that keep people going, like this card.

Malcolm's mother keeps pictures of his brother Antony.

He added: "My brother was disabled and died when he was 23. Although he was older than this young lady, he was still my mother's child and she felt it strongly.

I know how upset she would have been if she lost something like this."

The photograph is of Mary Sheila Fitzpatrick who died on June 29, 1944, aged just eight-years old.

If this card belongs to you or you think you might know the owner, contact Jessica Hinton at the Barry & District News on 01446 733456.