Well known Edinburgh folk musician reunited with mother's wedding ring 34 years after she lost it

Folk musician Phil Cunningham has been reunited with his mother’s wedding ring 34 years after it was lost as she tended to her own plot.

The accordion player’s mum Mary Cunningham lost the gold ring at her home in Magdalene in 1986.

Despite searching, Mrs Cunningham failed to find the ring, given to her by her husband Jack at their wedding in 1950, and died aged 86 in July 2017.

However, Kamila Maximilian, who now lives in Mrs Cunningham’s old home, uncovered it while digging soil in the garden.

The mother-of-one was preparing ground for a new patio at the property when she discovered it buried under nearly a foot of mud.

The ring was inscribed with the message “Jack to Mary” and Miss Maximilian tracked down the Cunningham family through a neighbour and reunited them with the family heirloom.

BBC Hogmanay favourite Cunningham, 60, known for his double act with fiddler Aly Bain, said the family were delighted at the remarkable find.

He said: “Thirty-four years ago my mum lost her wedding ring and it just about broke her heart because my mum and dad weren’t wealthy at all. Everything that they possessed meant a lot to them.

“Because it was my dad who had given it to her, she was very distressed and she never found it again.

“I had completely forgotten about it to be honest, 34 years is a long time, but then I got a call from my sister and she told me this incredible story.

“After Mum died, new people moved into the house and just recently they were out digging their garden and they came upon a gold ring in the soil that said ‘Jack to Mary’.

“They mentioned it to a next door neighbour who had been our neighbour when I was a kid. He said he knew exactly who the people were and he contacted my sister.

“It was lovely for it to arrive now, especially as we’re just marking the anniversary of her passing.

“You just hope that she’s looking down somehow and she knows that it’s been found and it’s safe and sound back in the family.

“It’s nice to remember and be reminded that there are good people out there – good, honest people who were willing to pursue finding the person it belonged to rather than sticking it in a pawn shop.”

Cunningham said his sister Laura was now wearing the ring on her pinkie – as his mother had been a “tiny wee pocket mum”.

The musician’s parents moved into the council house in 1957 and his mother remained there until her death.

Miss Maximilian, 30, who is originally from Poland, moved into the house in November 2017.

She discovered the ring after deciding to spend lockdown improving her garden.

She said: “I decided to try to make my own patio and while digging soil out, which was maybe 25cm down, I came across the wedding ring.

“Once I cleaned it you could see it was engraved ‘Jack to Mary’.

“I knew the name of the lady that lived here before me and I knew she had kids.

“I asked a couple of neighbours and one of them still was in contact with Phil.

“Since I didn’t know the family personally I gave the ring to my neighbour to give back to them.

“There is an old Polish saying that my gran told me ‘Once lost in soil, it’s claimed by soil’ but I was lucky that I found it and could return it to the family.”

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