Sent in February 1916, the correspondence arrived at its meant tackle in Hamlet Road, south London, a lot to the bewilderment of the present occupants.
“We noticed that the year on it was ’16. So we thought it was 2016,” Finlay Glen instructed CNN. “Then we noticed that the stamp was a King rather than a Queen, so we felt that it couldn’t have been 2016.”
Glen stated that the letter arrived on the property a few years in the past, however he has solely not too long ago taken it to the native historic society, to allow them to analysis it additional.
The envelope has a 1 pence stamp bearing the pinnacle of King George V. The letter was despatched in the midst of World War I – greater than a decade earlier than Queen Elizabeth II was born.
“Once we realised it was very old, we felt that it was okay to open up the letter,” stated Glen, 27.
Under the Postal Services Act 2000, it’s a crime to open mail not addressed to you. But Glen stated he can “only apologise” if he is dedicated against the law.
After realising that the letter could also be of historic curiosity, he gave it to the Norwood Review, a neighborhood quarterly journal.
“As a local historian I was amazed and delighted to have the details of the letter passed to me,” stated Stephen Oxford, editor of the journal, in a launch.
The letter was addressed to “my dear Katie,” who, based on Oxford, was the spouse of native stamp magnate Oswald Marsh.
It was written by Christabel Mennel, the daughter of tea service provider Henry Tuke Mennel, whereas her household was on vacation in Bath, in western England. In the letter, Mennel writes: “I’ve been most miserable here with a very heavy cold.”
The neighbourhood of south London was a hub of business exercise on the time.
“Lots of wealthy, middle class people moved into the area in the late 1800s,” Oxford stated.
Oswald Marsh, the previous resident of the Hamlet Road property, “was a highly regarded stamp dealer who was often called as an expert witness in cases of stamp fraud,” based on Oxford.
The Norwood Review is producing a full report on the letter.
Yet it stays a thriller as to how the letter arrived at Glen’s flat.
“Incidents like this happen very occasionally, and we are uncertain what has happened in this incident,” a Royal Mail spokesperson instructed CNN on Thursday.
“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.”
Oxford famous that the letter was postmarked “Sydenham,” an space in southeast London. He thinks it “may well have been lost sitting in a dark corner in the Sydenham sorting office and only recently discovered.”
Glen stated he and his girlfriend could be completely satisfied to provide the letter to a neighborhood archive if it is of “serious historical significance.” But, if it is discovered to be extra “innocuous,” he stated, “it would be nice for us to be able to hold onto it.”
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Glen, a theatre director and playwright, stated that he would not usually embody unusual twists of destiny in his performs. But, after this serendipitous supply, “perhaps the next one will.”
Source: www.9news.com.au
