Staff in a charity shop have managed to find the “true gent” who donated his late wife’s wedding dress to them.
Those working at St Gemma’s Hospice and the speciality bridal shop they run in Leeds were stunned when the beautiful 1950s gown turned up. Alongside the dress was a heartfelt letter from the donor, which read:
“I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one 56 years like I did. Happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine.”
They were so touched, they set out to find the man online and asked their followers online to help, saying they were “desperately seeking the kind gentleman who donated this one-off classic vintage wedding dress”.
And this morning, they revealed they had found the owner – who wanted to stay anonymous.
In a statement on Facebook they wrote: “He is a big fan of St Gemma’s Hospice and is overwhelmed with the international attention that his late wife’s dress is generating. He is so happy and proud that the hospice will benefit from funds raised by the auction of the dress.
“He wishes to remain anonymous and we fully respect his decision but he is watching the media frenzy with interest and thinks it is wonderful. We have thanked him so much for his kindness and he would like to thank everyone for their support.”
Due to the huge amount of interest in the dress, the charity decided to put it up on eBay to raise funds.
As we write this, bids on the dress stand at over £550. You can see the dress for yourself here.