Postcard Finally Gets Delivered After 121 Years
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
A postcard sent 121 years ago has finally reached its destination. The Christmas-themed card was originally sent from the coastal town of Fishguard, Wales, in 1903. It was delivered to the Swansea Building Society in Swansea, Wales, on August 16, 2024. Now, a search is underway to reunite the card with the descendants of its intended recipient.
"The postman came to the door as normal with lots of letters regarding mortgages and savings," said Henry Darby, the society's communications manager. "As one of the managers was sorting through it, this postcard dropped onto the table — no envelope, no note, just as it was."
The postcard was sent by someone named Ewart. It was written to Miss Lydia Davies, who likely lived at the address now occupied by the building society. The message, handwritten in cursive, read:
"Dear L, I could not, it was impossible to get the pair of these. I am so sorry, but I hope you are enjoying yourself at home. I have got now about ten [shillings as] pocket money not counting the train fare, so I'm doing alright. Remember me to Miss Gilbert and John, with love to all from Ewart."
Darby speculates the postcard was probably picked up by someone at an estate sale and dropped in the mailbox recently. Postal service officials agree with this theory.
"It is likely that this postcard was put back into our system rather than being lost in the post for over a century," a spokesperson said. "When an item is in our system, we are under obligation to deliver it to the correct address."
Darby and his team are now trying to locate someone related to Davies. A search through the 1901 census records revealed that Davies was about 16 years old when the postcard was sent. She lived with her parents and five younger siblings. The records also indicate that Davies married a man from London who owned a hotel, suggesting she moved away from Swansea. The team has shared the information with the public on social media in the hopes of finding a member of the Davies family.
"The plan is to get it back to someone that may be related to Lydia, and for it to be a keepsake for them that they can pass on for generations to come," Darby said.
If no descendant is found, Darby plans to give the vintage postcard to a museum.
"Swansea Building Society is 101 years old, so it's quite strange to hold a piece of card that is 20 years older than the society," he said. "It really does feel like it should be in a museum, or it should be in an archive…"
Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, thisislocallondon.UK, BBC.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
50 Comments
mezehasydybu3 daysWow!!
kewybepyhuno3 daysI knew that the post office lost mail but I didn't know it was this bad!
demonboy202518 dayshow did it not get delivered before... that's may be a mystery for another day
mariama23 daysthis was so cool🙌🙌
51815027 daysThats coool but also kind of creepy
naturelover59about 1 monthHow did it not get delivered for so long?? That's so cool!
bookaddictabout 1 monthThat. Is. So. COOL! I never imagined for that to happen. SO COOL. I wonder if the person who wrote the postcard id still alive, but reeeeaaaallllyyyy old.- fnaf12about 1 monthI doubt the person is still alive it was 121 years ago prob the same for the recipient
- naturelover59about 1 monthit's not physically possible for them to be alive, since they would have to be at least 131-141 years old. But it would be cool if their descendants knew who they were!!
ultralmggalaydaabout 1 monthgreat article
autumn11about 2 monthsthat's pretty cool
emmaaaabout 2 monthslove it!
