Unlikely chain

This is rather long. I am a retired engineer and here is a recount of a coincidence that happened to me. I was working at an engineering factory on the TVTE (Team Valley Trading Estate) at Gateshead in the UK. One Saturday while out shopping I bought an 'Engineers Pocket Book' . This book would come in useful for screwthread sizes which I machined occasionally. The book itself is small, about 4x3x1 inches, small enough to slip out of haversack.  At the time I was courting and used to meet my girlfriend in Newcastle on Saturdays, straight from work. My girlfriend lived about 8 miles north of Newcastle and the TVTE is 2 miles south. I lived in Sunderland which is about 9 miles in the same direction so I didn't find it worthwhile to go home first. Anyway I had the engineers book for about a month, then I lost it. I presumed it must have slipped out of my haversack somewhere between Newcastle and Sunderland. The book hadn't cost much so I didn't worry about it. My girlfriend and I decided to get married. We planned to live in Sunderland for the time being so I decided to get a job nearer home. I got a job at Pallion (in Sunderland) and a flat in the Esplanade to live in. After a couple of years we decided to buy a house in Newcastle so that my wife was a bit closer to her parents. I changed jobs again (jobs were easy to get at that time) and ended up on the TVTE again. The factory was very modern and the job was light and the work absorbing. This was the place that I would stay for good, or so I thought. Two years later the firm had to 'downsize'. To be fair they adopted the  last two in, first two out from each section. Unfortunately I had been second last in on mine. So it was back to job hunting again. After a couple of weeks I got started at a factory in Washington near Sunderland and I thought I would be doing a similar job to that I had had  in the other factory, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The job was mind numbingly boring and you couldn't talk to anyone even though the machine was fully automatic. Anyway I stuck it out for a fortnight and then took a day off to visit the job centre. I asked if there was anyone wanting Engineering Inspectors so I was sent to another factory on the TVTE again. Unfortunately the position had been taken three weeks ago (the Jobcentres were often out of date). Feeling a bit low I started to make my way back to the bus stop. On the way I passed the factory where I had worked and saw my ex-workmates making there way to the canteen. This even made my mood lower so I decided to pop into the pub at the end of the estate where some of my ex-workmates called in during the lunch break. I decided to leave the pub at 12.30 just as the second lot were coming in (the lunch breaks were staggered) . One of the lads called over to me asking how I was getting on. I related my tale of woe and mentioned my wild goose chase for the inspection job. He told me that they were wanting an Inspector at Vickers Elswick works. Apparently his brother-in-law had been for an interview but had decided for some reason not to take it. He suggested that I phone them up from Newcastle, which I did and was asked to come along. The interview went well and I got the job.  Vickers is a big factory with a lot of shops and multiple inspection points. I was assigned to shop no 27 and the first inspection point. I was introduced to the senior inspector. While waiting for the start the inspector opened a drawer wherein he kept his dustcoat. I was idly watching this when I noticed he had one of those engineers pocket books. I remarked that I had bought one of those and had lost it whereupon he asked me what my name was again. I told him and he opened the book in front of me and there was my name and address on the inside of the front page. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. He had found the book in the gutter while on his way home from a dance. Edmund Walton