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Letter from 1916 arrives at London man's home
UPI ^ | FEB. 20, 2023 / 1:08 PM | By Ben Hooper

Posted on 02/20/2023 11:22:11 AM PST by Red Badger

A letter mailed in 1916 arrived at its intended address in London more than 100 years later. Photo courtesy of the Norwood Society/Twitter Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A London man who received a letter addressed to a former resident of his home was shocked to discover it had been mailed more than a century earlier in 1916.

Finlay Glen said the letter arrived a couple years ago at his address on Hamlet Road in south London, but it was addressed to an unfamiliar name and bore an extremely old stamp and postmark.

"We noticed that the year on it was '16. So we thought it was 2016," Glen told CNN. "Then we noticed that the stamp was a king rather than a queen, so we felt that it couldn't have been 2016."

The letter was addressed to "Mrs. Oswald Marsh" and was made out to "my dear Katie." The sender was identified as Christabel Mennel.

"Once we realized it was very old, we felt that it was OK to open up the letter," Glen said.

Glen recently took the letter to the Norwood Society, a local history group that publishes the quarterly Norwood Review.

"It's very unusual and actually quite exciting in terms of giving us a lead into local history and people who lived in Norwood, which was a very popular place for the upper middle classes in the late 1800s," Stephen Oxford, editor of the Norwood Review, told the BBC.

Mennel wrote in the letter that her family was vacationing in Bath, England.

It remains unclear why the letter took so long to arrive at its intended destination.

"We appreciate that people will be intrigued by the history of this letter from 1916, but have no further information on what might have happened," the Royal Mail said in a statement.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; History; Society; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: deadletter; england; epigraphyandlanguage; europe; genealogy; godsgravesglyphs; london; postoffice; royalmail; unitedkingdom; usps
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To: fidelis

21 posted on 02/20/2023 12:04:38 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: BikerJoe

Another great episode.


22 posted on 02/20/2023 12:11:34 PM PST by wally_bert (I cannot be sure for certain, but in my personal opinion I am certain that I am not sure.)
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To: Red Badger

“We hope this letter find you well, and looking great for 120 years old. As requested, the anti-aging cream will be sent by separate post”


23 posted on 02/20/2023 12:13:15 PM PST by ZinGirl (Now a grandma ....can't afford a tagline :))
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To: All

Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night ... but maybe world war one?

My guess is somebody stole some mail, or neglected to complete their day’s work, between Bath where it was posted and London where it was supposed to go, and then a century later some descendant of the thief found a bag of letters in their shed or attic, and just threw them into a mailbox somewhere. Since they were valid from the time of posting, they just completed their journey.


24 posted on 02/20/2023 12:15:52 PM PST by Peter ODonnell (We will never be safe until every last balloon is shot down, oops not that one, oh well)
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To: Red Badger

Dear Mrs. Oswald Marsh

My name is Ubando Chawotel, senior assistant to the recently deceased respectable Nigerian Prince, Dr. Charlie Owando...


25 posted on 02/20/2023 12:27:04 PM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: Red Badger

“We have been reach you about the extended warranty on your Model T.”


26 posted on 02/20/2023 12:51:20 PM PST by Carpe Cerevisi
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To: Red Badger

Mad Magazine in the 1960s had a story about undelivered letters. One was to Abraham Lincoln advising him to skip going to the Ford Theater to see Our American Cousin. “It’s a real loser.”


27 posted on 02/20/2023 1:08:59 PM PST by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloSinud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: Red Badger

Caption:

Huma: “Anthony. Some mail came for you.”


28 posted on 02/20/2023 1:10:36 PM PST by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloSinud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: Red Badger

And people want to trust the Post Office with our votes.


29 posted on 02/20/2023 1:15:27 PM PST by Tacrolimus1mg (Do no harm, but take no sh!t.)
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To: Red Badger

Did it arrive in the morning post of the afternoon post?


30 posted on 02/20/2023 1:15:56 PM PST by libertylover (Our biggest problem, by far, is that almost all of big media is AGENDA-DRIVEN, not-truth driven.)
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To: Red Badger

Better late than never, I guess.


31 posted on 02/20/2023 1:18:21 PM PST by FormerFRLurker
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To: dfwgator

RE: I want that stamp.

Me, too.


32 posted on 02/20/2023 1:18:53 PM PST by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloSinud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: Red Badger
Norwood, which was a very popular place for the upper middle classes in the late 1800s,

Published 1903.


33 posted on 02/20/2023 1:21:08 PM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Elementary, my dear Watson!.....................


34 posted on 02/20/2023 1:22:09 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: dfwgator

I want my American penny back that I paid for that stamp!


     

35 posted on 02/20/2023 1:25:04 PM PST by Songcraft
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To: Red Badger

Sounds like a case for the “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered” crew.


36 posted on 02/20/2023 1:30:19 PM PST by MayflowerMadam (Stupid is supposed to hurt.)
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To: BikerJoe

I just saw that episode recently. LOL.


37 posted on 02/20/2023 1:35:45 PM PST by stylecouncilor (Mostly peaceful.)
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To: Red Badger

The letter said: “Congratulations, you won the Irish Sweepstakes! You must claim the prize in person”.


38 posted on 02/20/2023 2:06:38 PM PST by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: Red Badger

I ordered a tie from Ebay 3 or 4 months ago, which I had forgotten until it arrived last week

I didn’t realize it was shipped from England.

Must’ve come over on the Mayflower


39 posted on 02/20/2023 2:26:19 PM PST by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: Songcraft

I doubt it was paid for with American money.


40 posted on 02/20/2023 3:05:08 PM PST by Revel
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