How Oli Lansley launched his appeal on Facebook last week
Oli Lansley used Facebook to track down Noel Douglas, who is pictured in the album with family and friends in the 1960s and ’70s.
‘It was truly magical to see so many people working together to try to help one stranger do a tiny little favour for another stranger,’ Oli, an actor and scriptwriter, wrote on Facebook after his post garnered more than 35,000 shares in 48 hours.
In his initial Facebook post, Oli wrote last week: ‘Ok Facebook – Time to earn your keep… I have a challenge for you. I bought an old armchair from a flea market in Brockley.
‘Underneath the seat was an old photo album containing literally an entire life’s worth of photos.
‘If you could, please share these pictures and if anyone recognises this dude (and what a dude – check out those socks – hero) then please get in touch.
‘This is someone’s history and I would love to get it back to them…’
Oli’s Facebook appeal was eventually shared more than 50,000 times.
Oli’s Facebook page shows him with the album’s owner Noel Douglas
