A letter sent in 1916 has finally arrived at its destination, more than 100 years after it was posted

A letter took over 100 years to reach its destination in the UK. A mysterious and fascinating story.

Better late than never!

A letter, which had been sent in 1916 to the United Kingdom, arrived at its destination in 2021, more than a century after it was posted.

It will indeed have taken 105 years for this mail, leaving Bath in the southwest of England, to reach London, while the two cities are only 200 kilometres apart.

Mailed in 1916, letter took over 100 years to reach destination
This letter was discovered two years ago by a certain Finlay Glen in the mailbox of his flat, located in the London district of Crystal Palace.

Very quickly, the man is attracted by the postmark which indicates the date of “February 6, 16”. He first thinks of 2016 but looking at the stamp bearing the image of King George V – who reigned over the United Kingdom from 1910 to 1936 – he deduces that it is 1916.

Intrigued, however, he does not open the envelope and puts it away in a drawer before finally forgetting it. But a few days ago, Finley got hold of this mysterious letter and finally discovered its contents, with the help of specialists and his girlfriend.

This turns out to be “ quite moving ” according to the weekly South London Press .

Thanks to the research of Stephen Oxford, editor of a magazine devoted to local history, the person to whom this letter was addressed could be identified. It would be a certain Katie Marsh, wife of the stamp dealer Oswald Marsh. And if a relative of the latter were to come forward, Finlay undertakes to give him this ” amazing piece of their family history “.

This incredible story will be the subject of a complete dossier in the next issue of Stephen Oxford’s magazine, who understands that the letter was lost at the post office in Sydenham, London.

“ Incidents like this happen very occasionally, and we don’t know what happened in this case. We appreciate that people are intrigued by the story behind this 1916 letter, but we have no further information on what might have happened, ” commented a spokesperson for the Royal Post Office. Mail.

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