Wartime photographs of a Bradford soldier found in a flat in Scarborough have been returned to his sister - thanks to the Telegraph & Argus.

As soon as our story about Private William "Billie" Ratcliffe appeared the switchboards were buzzing with inquiries from relatives and friends.

The photographs of Mr Ratcliffe, in military uniform and with members of his family, were discovered by Barbara Ford hidden in the stairs cupboard of a Scarborough flat after she moved in.

She did not have the heart to throw the mementos away. They included a marriage certificate, a lock of hair, and a soldier's release book.

One of the first calls was from Mr Ratcliffe's sister, Sheelah Harrison, 66, who still lives in Bradford.

Reunited with the photos, memories of her elder brother came flooding back. She said: "It felt very weird when I opened the paper and thought 'That looks like Bill'. He died four years ago from cancer and I hadn't realised it was that long ago until I read the story.

"We were very close, our Bill and I, even though he was eleven years older than me. He was a very good brother. I always used to pester him to take me with him when he went out and he did.

"The picture of the girl you had in the paper was of me when I was younger. The one of Bill was when he joined the army as an engineer. "

Mrs Harrison, who lives with husband Jack in Tyersal Drive, said after the war her brother married Lillian in 1948 and lived with their two sons, Stuart and Grant, in Willowfield Street in Lister Hills.

The marriage later broke down and Bill, who worked as driver for McVitie's Biscuits in Leeds, went to live with Gladys Ruston in the Scarborough flat.

Mr Ratcliffe's grandson Christian Ratcliffe, 23, of Dean Road, Bolton, also read the story and immediately got in touch with his grandma Lillian.

She said: "Bill and I split up after 35 years of marriage. But he came down to live in Stoke with my youngest son Stuart just before he died.

"He was cremated and buried in Carmonside. Stuart was very attached to Bill and I know he'd like something to remember his dad by so I'll be giving Sheelah a ring."

Christian Ratcliffe added: "He was the best granddad I ever had, he was my best mate. He gave me his pocket watch before he died."

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