A RUSTY biscuit tin, found in a shed at the Pontypool and Blaenavon railway, has uncovered a treasure trove of ancient artefacts which once belonged to a Gwent family from Caerleon and Newport.

The box was found by David Nash, a volunteer at the railway who passed it onto his wife, Jackie, who is the head teacher of a Newbridge school.

Jackie Nash of Pentwynmawr Primary School in turn has passed on the items to her school’s history club and its junior time detectives.

The rusty biscuit tin contains items dating back to before the First World War up to the early nineties, originating from across Europe.

The items in the box, including a driver’s licence, certificates of births, deaths and marriages as well as postcards and photographs, belonging to Newport-born Arthur David Morris and Phyllis Evelyn Morris, nee Bennett, originally from Caerleon.

In addition to the documents, the tin contains a small French box with a rosary inside, which also has a note written about an incident that occurred during the First World War.

The four history club members at Pentwynmawr School– Daniel Chivers and Jade Miles, both 11, Scarlett Pike, 10 and Leland Davies, nine – along with nine-year-old Yazmin Summerhayes, are eager to find relatives of the box’s owner.

“We want to find the owners of the tin, and hopefully return the items to family members who may still be alive today,” said Scarlett.

“My favourite item in the tin is the rosary. It came with a note in a small box which showed us a different view of the First World War from a soldier’s account on the battlefield.”

“I think it is crazy how all these items made it from Newport and Caerleon to Blaenavon and now to our school, especially as some of them could be over 100 years old,” said Leland.

“I really hope that we do find relatives of the box’s owners. These items could be something which they would want to keep.”

Head teacher Mrs Nash said: “The finding of this rusty biscuit tin and its intriguing contents has provided a unique and rare opportunity for pupils to investigate the past using genuine artefacts and documents.

“This rich learning opportunity has instilled in the children a passion for history.

“Pupils have become very keen time detectives and have shown great excitement when examining the evidence discovered in this precious tin and our aim is to reunite this box of delights with its family’s descendants,” she added.