A grieving Ayrshire woman is in a race against time to track down her late mum's missing wedding dress after it was sent to be cleaned three years ago and never returned. Linda Galloway, who was 62, died on December 30 after a lengthy battle with bowel cancer and her family are now desperate to have the gown returned so the beloved gran can wear it on her 'final journey'.
Daughter Yvonne Benson, 41, has been on a mission to locate the Stella York champagne gown which Linda wore when she tied the knot with her partner of 45 years, Robert Galloway, in June 2019 at the Savoy Park Hotel in Ayr. Yvonne, from Kilwinning says her mum adored the frock and looked "beautiful" in it.
But it was only when Linda passed away that Yvonne discovered the dress had been taken to a dry-cleaning company for a spruce up after the big day - and hadn't been sent back.
Yvonne told our sister title, the Daily Record: "My sister Jodi was helping my mum get her affairs in order before she died and she asked where her wedding dress was, that's when she told her it was sent away to get cleaned and never returned.
"Hours after my mum passed away, my sister told me that the dress was missing. My dad didn't know about it either. He asked us to choose an outfit for our mum to wear for the funeral director and my sister said she would've wanted her in the wedding dress, but that wasn't going to happen. That's when it all came to light."
After she said 'I do' in 2019, Linda arranged with Wedding Dress Cleaning Scotland, based in Motherwell, to have her gown cleaned and returned to her in the November of the same year.
But by January 2020, the dress had still not arrived and unfortunately Linda's ill health began to take priority over the matter.
As Linda's life neared the end in October last year, Yvonne's sister Jodi tried to chase up on the whereabouts of the missing frock, but by then, Wedding Dress Scotland had been bought over by ACS Clothing - and while still operating under the same business name - the new owners have failed to track down the dress from the previous owners.
Yvonne added: "I took ownership of finding the dress and have been trying to get it back ever since. Mum felt beautiful in her wedding dress. Then she lost all her hair and her dignity due to cancer.
"All we want as a family is to have mum's wedding dress for her to wear and to be beautiful again on her final journey. It would mean so much to us."
In a last ditch attempt to reunite her mum with her most treasured possession, Yvonne shared her ordeal in a Facebook post which has attracted thousands of shares and comments from people eager to help.
Yvonne continued: "I don't have a lot of time to waste and I wanted to put the word out there. I've been inundated with people offering us their dresses, including the new owners of Wedding Dress Cleaning Scotland.
"But it's not about simply having a dress for my mum to wear - it's about that particular dress and how she felt in it.
"Someone out there might have it second hand and not be aware it's my mum's dress. If that's the case, and I'm not going to get it back, then I hope the person feels as amazing in it as my mum did.
This is heartbreaking for us. I don't think I'm ever going to see this dress again."
Wedding Dress Cleaning Scotland was contacted for comment.
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