WWII Airmen Watch Found in UK

"A watch lost by an American serviceman during the Second World War is being returned to his family after lying in a field for more than 65 years.

Metal detector enthusiast Stephen Taylor discovered the 10-carat gold timepiece while searching the site of a former US Air Force base, in Cambridgeshire, earlier this month. All the 43-year-old had to go on was its maker – the Elgin National Watch Company, Illinois – and the name Oliver Jelks inscribed on the back.

Stephen, who lives in Ellistown, near Coalville, said: 'I was walking along the side of a wood by a farmer's field when my metal detector gave off a high-pitched tone.'"

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: thisis Leicestershire

Frontline Metal Detecting

"Guardsman James Stephenson is just 20 years old, but when the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards leave their base in the Babaji area of Helmand, he leads the patrol. Stephenson's nickname is "Steveo", but on duty in Afghanistan, everyone calls him "Vallon Man". The Vallon is the metal detector used to sweep for bombs – and being a Vallon Man is one of the army's most dangerous jobs.

The last five years have seen a sharp increase in the use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Afghanistan. According to figures leaked last month, the number of IEDs increased from 308 in 2004 to 7,155 last year; a total of 16,000 were planted in those five years, killing at least 7,000 Afghan civilians."

Read more HERE.