Postcard finally arrives in Swansea 121 years after it was first sent

An undelivered postcard has finally reached its intended destination – about 121 years after it was first popped off in the post.

The Christmas-themed card was delivered to Swansea Building Society’s Cradock Street branch last week even though it was originally sent in 1903 – so only just over a century too late.

Staff say they hope to find relatives of a Miss Lydia Davies, who previously lived at the address and who the card was addressed to, to reunite them with it.

The Royal Mail said it is likely the postcard was “put back into” its system, rather than “being lost in the post for over a century”.

The postcard is written by a man called Ewart, who, addressing “L”, says he is “so sorry” that he cannot pick up a “pair” of an unknown item.

“I am so sorry, but I hope you are enjoying yourself at home,” he adds.

Ewart goes on to say that he has about 10 shillings “in pocket money, not counting the train fare, so I am doing alright”.

He ends the note by urging Lydia to “remember me to (Mssrs) Gilbert and John, with love to all”.

Henry Darby, marketing and communications officer for Swansea Building Society, said he was sorting through the post when the postcard dropped out, and that he had found limited information about the intended recipient online.

“So we thought we’d pop it on our social media and thought maybe someone locally may be connected to her, a few generations down,” he said.

Andrew Dully, from West Glamorgan Archives, has established that a John F Davies was the head of the household at the address, where he lived with his wife, Maria, and six children.

“The oldest of them was Lydia. She would have been 16 when this postcard was sent,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail said: “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.”