More than £1,000 has been presented to Mountbatten Isle of Wight, by the Vectis Searchers Metal Detecting Club.

The group, which has around 40 members, raised the money at regular club meetings in Newport, and through detecting days at sites across the Isle of Wight.

Members pay £5 to take part in a search, with the money going to the landowner, by way of thanks. If the landowner decides not to accept some or any of the collection, it is instead donated to the Island’s 24/7 hospice charity.

The  Vectis Searchers Metal Detecting Club has been supporting Mountbatten Isle of Wight since 1985, when the club first formed. In July, some of the club’s members visited the hospice to hand over a cheque for £1,205 — raised at over two years’ of meetings (and only a percentage of what has been gathered in members’ three decades’ of support).

Treasurer, John Flynn, said: “Metal detecting is a thrill. It could be a ring pull or it could be something special. We’ve welcomed many new members since the popularity of McKenzie Crook’s The Detectorists. Most importantly, we always declare our finds.”

Finds are logged with the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. In the case of finds deemed to be treasure, there may be an option for them to be purchased by the museum service. Several of the club’s finds are currently on display in the Guildhall Museum, in Newport. Items at least 300 years old could be declared ‘treasure’ by the Isle of Wight Coroner and these would then be valued.

Favourite find

“Over the years, my favourite find has been a 5,000 year old penannular ring,” said club member Mark Smedmor, also known as ‘The Goldfinder’.

The Bronze Age item has been dated to 3,000 B.C.E. Over the last 30 years, only a handful of these small metal rings with a piece missing have been reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. No-one knows what they were for, though there is speculation they may have been items of jewellery.

Previously, Mark unearthed a 500 year old coin, dating to Henry VIII.

John said: “The obvious choice for the Vectis Searchers Metal Detecting Club has always been to raise money for Mountbatten Isle of Wight. Over the years, club members’ loved-ones have been cared for by Mountbatten, both on its inpatient unit and in the community.”

New land wanted for Vectis Searchers Metal Detecting Club

The club is always looking for new land to explore and is calling on landowners to get in touch, especially those willing to help donate their search fee to Mountbatten Isle of Wight. 

Club members head out every Sunday to look for finds and meet in Newport, monthly.

Mountbatten Isle of Wight reaches around 70 per cent of all deaths on the Isle of Wight, compared to a national average of 30 per cent. Care is delivered on Mountbatten’s inpatient unit and through day and outpatient services, while 80 per cent of Mountbatten’s work is in Islanders’ homes.