‘Those were my grandparents,’ wartime locket found in Barrie thrift shop triggers emotional reunion

What started as a trip to a Barrie thrift store has evolved into a special homecoming for a treasured piece of Canadian military history.

A Barrie resident named Alison Anne was browsing through the Re-Source Thrift Shop on Commerce Park Drive when something special, laying on the shelf, caught her eye; a vintage locket.

Inside was a black-and white photograph of a young couple, smiling. The images in the locket indicated a connection to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Curious if it had been donated by mistake, Anne purchased the locket and posted images of her ‘curious find’ to social media. Instantaneously, she said, the post spread and was shared by members of local legions.

Shortly after, on Sun., May 19, Kelly Brown a member of the Aurora Legion stumbled upon the post while scrolling online. “To say she was dumbfounded and speechless and excited all at once is an understatement,” Anne said to CTV News.

To Brown’s surprise it was, without hesitation, her grandparents. She was shocked. “Little lost for words. Just it’s such a surreal, cool moment. The power of social media doing something good,” shared Brown.

Brown’s grandfather, Bill Mitchell served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1942 to 1946. A Warrant Officer Second Class, he earned the Burma Star and the 1939–45 War Medal.

After serving his time, Mitchell became a police detective with the 52 Jarvis Division in Toronto, working with the RCMP. He and his wife Glenice later retired in Newmarket, where they built and ran the Canadiana Roller Rink in Aurora.

Brown says her grandparents were incredibly respected in the community. “My grandparents were a legacy. I can’t explain enough what they’ve done to the communities around them. Even to this day, as a legacy of the Mitchell family. I still hear stories and the impacts of how my grandparents, including my grandfather, impacted people in their life.” This locket goes far beyond their love story and their family’s deep connection to Canada’s wartime.

“I’m still mesmerized. I’m still in shock. Yeah. I’m like, is this for real? I had to ask people, are these my grandparents? And then I had the same pictures in my old photo albums, and I’m just. I’m in awe,” shared Brown.

The story behind how the locket went missing remains unclear to Brown. She believes there are a few possibilities as to how it could’ve disappeared. The first is a party in the early 2000s hosted by her teenage sister, during that time, some of their grandfather’s war medals and personal items were allegedly stolen.

Another possibility is in 2010, after Brown’s mother passed away; her grandmother began giving away old memorabilia to charities, which may have included the locket.

The third theory, she said, involves her grandmother’s move to a nursing home in Beaverton, where she noted that several items were missing. Her grandmother shortly passed in 2017.

After confirming the locket was her grandparents’, the two women arranged to meet up to return and reminisce on a special piece of family history.

Staff at the Re-Source Thrift Shop in Barrie said that the locket had been in their inventory for some time. “At least a few months,” one staff member shared.

“I wish we had more time to really investigate the things that we have brought in here. Because obviously something like that probably happens more times than we’d like to think,” shared Ashley Huitema, assistant store manager, at the Re-Source Thrift Shop.

This story is not just about a missing locket. It’s a piece of history, a reminder of sacrifice and love. One that’s now been restored to it’s rightful owner, regardless of how the mysterious journey began.