THE remarkable story of how the contents of a leather wallet saved the life of a Cumbrian soldier has been revealed almost a century later by his son.

Edwin Murray, who served with the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, had already twice survived serious wounds but the third time was to prove his luckiest escape when he was hit by shrapnel while fighting in France.

The flying metal pierced the private’s chest and exited through his back – but the wallet in his breast pocket containing family photographs, a religious text and a loving card from his mother lessened the impact of the shrapnel, deflecting it from his vital organs.

Although alive, Edwin was seriously wounded and spent several years in hospital before being able to resume normal civilian life.

Now his son John Murray, 78, of Arnside, has displayed the punctured wallet and its contents in a framed montage which he plans to present to the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum in Lancaster as part of the First World War commemorations.

After leaving hospital, Edwin was able to return to work for the LMS railway as a storekeeper in the Tebay engine sheds and later as an oil refinery security guard in Heysham.

But he continued to suffer the effects of the shrapnel wound.

Like many World War One veterans he was reluctant to talk about his battle experiences, not even revealing to his son in which battle he suffered the shrapnel wound.

“One thing my father did tell me was that he believed he would have been killed if it hadn’t been for the contents of his wallet,” said Mr Murray. “The shrapnel went right through his chest and he was still coughing up bits of metal into his 40s.

“But apart from that, he remained in good health and lived until he was 82.”