Letter arrives at its destination nearly 28 years after it was posted from address 300 miles away 

Snail mail! Letter finally arrives at its destination nearly 28 years after it was posted from address 300 miles away

A six page letter was in mind condition despite it being nearly 28 years lateSent from Somerset the correspondence detailed 1880s childhood memories

By Chloe Louise For Mailonline

Published: 12:37 EST, 22 January 2023 | Updated: 12:52 EST, 22 January 2023

A letter finally arrived safely at a house – nearly 28 years after it was sent from an address 300 miles away.

John Rainbow, 60, opened the envelope but was stunned to read the snail mail was dated August 3, 1995.

Remarkably, the six-page letter – which was posted using a 25p stamp – was in mint condition despite being in the postal system for nearly three decades.

John received the letter at his home in Wylam, Northumberland – 300 miles away from where it was sent in Bridgwater, Somerset on Friday, January, 13.  

John Rainbow, 60, opened the envelope but was stunned to read the snail mail was dated August 3, 1995 and detailed information about childhood and relatives in the 1880s

John received the letter at his home in Wylam, Northumberland – 300 miles away from where it was sent in Bridgwater, Somerset on Friday, January, 13 but was written to a Mrs V. Jarvis-Read

Intriguingly, her husband was a former racing car driver and had once met Prince Philip.

John said: ‘We opened the letter, had a look at it and thought ‘blimey, this is a bit strange’, then we saw the date on the letter which was August 3, 1995 and couldn’t understand how it’s suddenly just arrived.

‘On the back it’s got an Alnwick 1995 postage stamp.

‘The original one is Bridgwater, Somerset from 1995 but there’s one on the back from the day after and that says Alnwick 1995.

‘It’s in perfect condition, it’s not like it’s been lying around, it just looks old.’

John, a retired businessman, has lived in the house with his wife since 2015.

The letter, signed by ‘Patrick’, details family life and relatives in the 1880s including childhood memories and about the writer’s grown-up children.

John said: ‘We opened the letter, had a look at it and thought ‘blimey, this is a bit strange’, then we saw the date on the letter which was August 3, 1995 and couldn’t understand how it’s suddenly just arrived

The letter was signed by ‘Patrick’ and detailed his family life in the 1880s including childhood memories and about the writer’s grown-up children

According to John Valerie Jarvis-Read lived in the home until approvimately 2010 and believes she had passed away

John added: ‘It’s very strange, we have no connection to the person that was here.

‘Valerie Jarvis-Read lived here until approximately 2010 and the home has passed through several hands since.

‘I believe she has passed away.

‘I think she was an old lady when she was here. Our neighbours knew her.

‘It would be nice to know the person who sent the letter has some relatives and for them to know it’s finally arrived.’

John’s neighbour Tina Robinson said Valerie was a navigator for her husband who was in the Le Mans car race after the First World War.

She said: ‘There were photos in the house of her husband shaking hands with Prince Philip, but I can’t remember why.’

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: ‘Incidents like this happen very occasionally, and we are uncertain what happened to cause this incident in this instance.

‘We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.’

Source:
www.dailymail.co.uk