A FUNFAIR owner has reunited a Second World War veteran's family with the dog tag he left in a cinema 70 years ago, thanks to an online appeal.

George Scarrott, who is the fourth generation to run Scarrott's Fun Fairs in Royal Wootton Bassett, never dreamed he would find the family of Jack O'Leary or be posting the war tag 5,000 miles to them in California.

The 29-year-old discovered the tag hidden in a bag full of buttons and badges at the fair’s depot in Old Court, Royal Wootton Bassett.

The items were left by Second World War soldiers in the former Mascot Cinema, now K & EJ Crump butchers, which was leased by George’s great grandfather George in the High Street from 1934 to 1949.

It was a popular destination for the troops posted to the town from America, who would go to Scarrott's funfair in the day and to the cinema in the evening.

Intrigued by the history surrounding the tag, George decided to try and track down Jack's family and started what was to become a year-long search.

He said: “I love my history and thought it would be a lovely gesture to return the tag to the soldier’s family so I appealed on Facebook for help in researching this.

“A lady called Lisa Dodds came forward and after hours of searching over many weeks she found one of the soldier’s daughters on an adoption website.”

Lisa managed to track down two ladies; Christine Wendland and Sharon Zanin, who are Jack’s daughters but were later adopted and didn’t realise each other existed until they met six years ago.

“They are over the moon about the dog tag and they can’t believe it. They have very little information on their father,” George said.

Jack, who died in 1981, is buried in a national cemetery for veterans in California.

George added: “It is an honour to be able to return something to the family that will be cherished and belonged to a father they never knew. I never expected in a million years for it to happen and I would be able to reunite it.”

Jack’s daughter Christine added: “I am still in amazement as to how all this came about after 70 years. Now my sister and I will have a lasting memoir of our father.”