Express & Star

'Help me find my childhood dolls after they were accidentally donated to a charity shop'

A "devastated" grandmother has appealed to find her beloved childhood toys which date back to the 1950s after they were mistakenly given to a Brierley Hill charity shop.

Published
The missing dolls

Dianne Hall had been storing two dolls and a teddy bear which she owned for 65 years at her sister Carole's house in Amblecote, Dudley.

However, Carole sadly passed away at the end of February, aged 73, leaving her loved ones with the task of sorting through her possessions.

Upon clearing out the home, relatives accidentally gave away Dianne's childhood toys to a charity shop at the Moor Centre in Brierley Hill.

Unable to remember which one the treasured items were taken to, Dianne frantically phoned each store to no avail.

The 65-year-old explained the dolls had been kept at her mum's house up until she passed away around six years ago when they were left in Carole's possession.

Dianne pictured in around 1959 with one of her toys and wearing the dress from one of her dolls
Dianne pictured in around 1959 wearing a dress and coat taken off one of her beloved dolls

She said: "My sister passed away suddenly after being poorly and around the time of the funeral, it just came to me out of the blue that she still had some of my mum's things.

"I jumped up in bed one night and thought 'my dolls, my dolls'. I was devastated because I had them for more than 60 years.

"They are all antiques, they date back to the late 1950s. Hopefully someone will have a heart if they bought them or have seen them."

The grandmother was gifted the teddy bear and one of the dolls by her grandfather when she was born and believes the other doll dates back even further.

The missing dolls

Dianne, who lives in Kidderminster, said she would be "over the moon" if she were to be reunited with the toys.

She added: "It has worried me to death it really has. It is just childhood memories isn't it, they were there to pass down to my granddaughters but I can't do that now.

"I have had them all of my life and they are treasures – they can never be replaced."