Surfer's Missing Ring

Prized ring lost in the sea off Caswell found buried in sand four months later

By RichardYoule  |  Posted: March 06, 2016

A PRIZED family heirloom lost by a surfer at Caswell Bay has been found more than four months later buried in a foot of sand.

Mike Rose said he was astonished but extremely grateful to be reunited with the ring, which belonged to his late father — and his father before that.

"I honestly never thought I would see it again," said Mr Rose, of Killay. "Caswell is a big area — the chances were pretty incredible. But sometimes you think things are meant to be."

The 54-year-old's dad, Roy Rose, died on September 13 last year after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in April.

On the morning of his death his son removed the still warm ring from his finger. But a fortnight later it tumbled into the brine at Caswell while Mr Rose was out on his surfboard.

"I only realised it was missing the next day," he said. "I thought the only place it could be was the beach."

For the next three evenings he spent hours with a torch searching the beach at low tide. He then changed tactics and borrowed a metal detector but unearthed little else but disposable barbecue stands.

"I was very down in the dumps, and very disappointed in myself," said Mr Rose, who is an engineer instructor at Tata Steel in Port Talbot.

"Then I was talking to my wife Jackie, and she said why didn't I put signs up at the beach saying I had lost a ring, and offer a reward. I did that at the start of October."

Time passed, and father-of-two Mr Rose heard nothing until an email arrived a fortnight ago from a man called David Gates, saying he had found a ring at Caswell. The accompanying photos he sent looked extremely promising, so Mr Rose rang him and agreed to pop over to his Bishopston home. And it turned out he had indeed hit the jackpot.

Mr Rose said: "I was delighted to see the ring, and put it straight on my finger."

He added: "He (Mr Gates) said he was about to go surfing that day, but he recognised the beach had changed shape due to a bad storm. He could see a new sand bar and, as he has a metal detector, he thought it was worth having a look.

"The ring was where I had been surfing, 300mm (one foot) in the sand."

Mr Rose's beach signs offered a £150 reward but part-time firefighter Mr Gates accepted £100, pleased to have played his part in the reunion. Mr Rose, nevertheless, also gave £10 each to Mr Gates's two children.

Mr Rose admitted that the ring had been a tad loose, so plans to get it altered as a priority.

"I've got it cwtched behind my wedding ring," he said.