Posted on 02/22/2014 7:33:33 AM PST by NYer
A forgotten letter from a mystery First World War sailor has found its way to his granddaughter after almost a century. The note dated 1916 was discovered behind a fireplace in Kirkwall, Orkney, and signed ‘Your Blue Jacket Boy’. Addressed to the serviceman’s family, it was sealed and stamped but never posted.
Staff at Orkney Library hoped to identify the letter writer and launched an appeal on their blog. The hunt spread to Canada, where a distant relative suggested the sailor might be David John Phillips from Llanelli, South Wales.
The relative contacted Mary Hodge in Chester, who recognised the writer as her grandfather. Now she is planning a visit to Orkney to collect the letter addressed to her great-grandparents 98 years ago. Mrs Hodge said: ‘I have shared ancestry with my friend in Canada, so he keeps an eye on the Orkney Library & Archive blog. 'He called me and said, “Get in touch with Orkney Library – I’ve seen a post on their blog and I’m sure it’s about your grandfather”. ‘I knew instantly it was my grandfather – I recognised the name and address It was a mixture of high emotion, shock and disbelief.’
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Fascinating story, ping!
That’s some very nice handwriting.
In the not too distant past, Penmanship was an integral part of the English curriculum. My 1st grade composition book contains exercises intended to prepare us to learn cursive writing. With the arrival of automation, educational methods shifted and penmanship, as a course, was abandoned.
thank you for the ping. Yes, quite interesting.
Thanks for the ping. Very interesting and a fine use of the Internet.
Over the span of several years, I have attempted to corroborate my family's oral tradition via census records on Ancestry.com. Not only did it prove to be true, I also discovered a missing relative. With most of my ancestors now deceased, I had abandoned hope of every locating photographs of my great great grandparents. Then, I came across the name of a cousin, only one generation removed. Out of curiosity, I googled his name followed by the word 'obit'. Up came a record in FL from a funeral home. My cousin had passed away only 2 months earlier. Perhaps he had left behind some photographs and family records. With nothing to lose, I emailed the funeral home. They said they would pass the request on to the individual handling his estate. Two weeks later, two boxes arrived, packed with albums, papers and loose photos. A note inside the box stated that my cousin did not realize he had any living relatives. In fact, the items in the box had been scheduled to be shredded on the very day my email request arrived. My hands trembled as I sifted through these pictures, looking for the oldest ones. Finally, after a lifetime of searching, I looked down at the photos of my great great grandparents. I knew the story of their personal struggle but now they looked back at me. This "treasure" might have been lost forever, were it not for the internet.
Oh WoW!
Uh oh! It's in cursive!
Great story, thanks for posting..
I wonder if she will release the contents of the letter when she gets it?
wow
I'm amazed at some of the beautiful handwriting many old people have, even men who are notorious for having bad handwriting these days.
It was actually taught at one time and has become a lost art.
old people?
He might not have been old when he wrote it. :p
These kinds of stories always give me chills!
LOL!!!
Find a young person THESE days who can write like that.....
Young people today can’t even spell, they tweet things like H8 for hate and stuff.
See my personal experience at post #8
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