The mystery of a 100-year-old dog-eared teddy bear found abandoned in an airport departure lounge has finally been solved.
Airport staff found the antique bear, which has one eye and a floppy ear, in a bag with a frayed black and white photo, dated March 1918, of him being cuddled by two little children.
Unlike Paddington Bear, the toy had no name tag but a message in faded ink on the back of the picture read: "With dearest love and kisses to our darling Daddie from your loving little daughters Dora and Glyn."
Staff at Bristol Airport made a public appeal to try and trace the owner earlier this year but were unable to find any living relatives until a campaign by The Mature Times, a newspaper for the over 50s.
Reader Robert Glyn Baker spotted the story and recognised the bear as a family heirloom he lost while travelling through the airport on his way to Cyprus.
He said: "I was stunned when I got a cutting of The Mature Times in the post and saw my bear on the front page. I thought it was lost forever, I was convinced it had been destroyed."
The bear was found in 2012 and staff spent 14 months trawling flight records to see if they could find any two passengers with the same names as those mentioned on the back of the picture. They then appealed for help from the public and a number of experts stepped forward to help with the search. They were able to trace the date of the picture after they discovered a second message on the picture, which said: "taken on Baby's birthday March 4th 1918, one year and five-months-old."
But, despite tracing who the children were, they were unable to find them.
Robert saw his bear – nicknamed "Bristol" by staff – after his former wife sent him a cutting of The Mature Times front page from January.
The dad-of-one, who is still in Cyprus, was so shocked when he realised his bear was still out there and rang the paper to try and get him back.
"I'm an only child and my auntie Dora didn't have any children either so I am the only person that could have got the bear," Robert said.
"My mum gave him a different nose, he has pads on his arms too.
"It's the sentimental value really, my hands were so full with what I was carrying I thought I had left it in the toilet. I had so much with me, but like a fool I left it in the airport.
"I would love to have it back."
Staff at Bristol Airport said are flying high now the owner had finally been discovered.
Public relations manager Jacqui Mills said: "We are delighted that the owner of 'Bristol Bear' has been found.
"The Bristol Airport team were determined not to give up on the search, and we always hoped we could reunite him with his family."
