A postcard that was sent 121 years ago has mysteriously arrived at a Welsh address. The postcard, bearing a King Edward VII stamp and dated August 3, 1903, appeared at the Swansea Building Society’s office on Cradock Street. It caught the attention of staff during their routine mail sorting on Friday, August 16, among the usual letters related to mortgages and savings. The postcard, intended for a lady named Lydia Davies, seemed to have been misplaced for over a century.
Henry Darby, the marketing and communications officer at Swansea Building Society, expressed surprise at the unexpected delivery. He described the moment it was found: dropped onto the table, not enclosed in an envelope, with no additional note. Despite the correct address, the delayed arrival was a strange occurrence, with Darby describing it as both wild and slightly spooky. The postcard’s message, indicative of the early 1900s, hinted at a shared understanding between the sender and the recipient, while withholding specific details.
The front of the postcard featured a wintry scene with a stag, a frozen tree stump, snowy mountains, and a body of water, all under a starlit sky. A boat sailing across the water added to the picturesque view, with the caption ‘The Challenge’ at the bottom. The message inside, signed with love, mentioned struggles in obtaining a pair of unspecified items but expressed contentment with the sender’s current financial situation.
The Swansea Building Society has launched an appeal on social media for information about Miss Lydia Davies or insights into the postcard’s mystery. Despite the passage of time, the society hopes to uncover details about life on Cradock Street 121 years ago. The historical context surrounding the postcard, sent two decades before the building society’s establishment, adds to the intrigue. The Royal Mail explained that the postcard likely re-entered the postal system rather than being lost for over a century, fulfilling its obligation to deliver it to the correct address.
This unusual incident has sparked curiosity and reflection on the past, prompting questions about the lives and connections of those who inhabited the same address more than a century ago.