£10 box bought at auction contains fascinating life of mysterious man

A couple who bought a mystery box from an auction were surprised to find what they found hidden at the bottom.

Robert and Anne Cummings were visiting their local auction house, in Cleveleys near Blackpool, during the pandemic, when Robert, 69, said they spotted a mystery box that appeared to be full of vases o a type that Anne likes to collect.

After the couple made the winning bid of £10, they brought the box home to see what they had bought. But soon after they started unpacking they made a surprise and fascinating discovery under the vases and glassware.

Robert told the Manchester Evening News: "We picked up a box of miscellaneous, it was just vases and stuff, and when we got to the bottom of it there was all these diaries. When I started reading it turns out they were from the First World War.

"When we looked deeper there was a passport, a load of photographs, a ledger. They were possibly a rich family.

"A lot of it is in dollars. We got to $13,000 and we thought 'what the hell's this?' They must have been rich."

Also among the items were wartime diaries, medical cards and other forms of ID. There was also a collection of black and white and colour family photographs.

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.

The passport contains a photograph of the man whose surname 'Wadey' appears to be written in cursive handwriting, possibly with the first name Ezra. In the diaries, what could be the owner's address is written as Cloves Terrace, Bury Road, Rochdale.

At times the writing is hard to read, but Robert has been able to glean a few key details. "He must have lived there or owned the house," he said. "A lot of it he was writing about when he was on this