Postcard arrives in Swansea - 121 years late
The postcard arrived at Swansea Building Society's head office last week
Last updated 21st Aug 2024
A postcard sent 121 years ago has arrived at an office in Swansea.
Staff at Swansea Buidling Society's head office in Craddock Street received it as part of their regular mail on Friday 16th August.
The postcard, dated 3 August 1903, is addressed to a Miss Lydia Davies, who it's thought may have lived at what is now the Society's Head Office.
The front of the postcard features a wintry scene depicting a stag standing over a frozen tree stump, with snowy mountains and a starry sky in the background., and it has a stamp with the head of King Edward VII.
The message reads:
"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 10 (unreadable) pocket money not counting the train fare so I'm doing alright."
The note ends with a request to "Remember me to Miss Gilbert + John with love to all from (unreadable)."
It's thought it was sent from Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, but it's not known what the message refers to.
Henry Darby, Marketing and Communications Officer at Swansea Building Society, said, "It turned up completely out of the blue on Friday.
"The postman came to the door as normal with lots of letters regarding mortgages and savings, and as one of the managers was sorting through it, this postcard dropped onto the table – no envelope, no note, just as it was.
"The address is correct – we are still 11 (and 12) Cradock Street – but it's 121 years later than expected. It's wild, actually; a little bit spooky. The stamp is King Edward, who was king from 1901 until 1910, and you could tell right away from the handwriting and the language that it was very much of the time.
"We know it's quite a long time ago, but it would be fascinating to uncover what life was like on Cradock Street 121 years ago.
"The Society itself was established 20 years after the postcard was sent. From what we can gather from the archives, this area was once home to traditional houses that were later bombed, and our office is a rebuild, but the address has remained the same."
A Royal Mail spokeswoman has commented on the postcard's unexpected delivery, “It is likely that this postcard was put back into our system rather than being lost in the post for over a century. When an item is in our system, we are under obligation to deliver it to the correct address.”
After an appeal was put out on social media, a possible relative of Miss Davies is believed to have come forward.