Postcard sent by Navy officer in South America arrives 30 years later

Like many young grooms-to-be, Royal Navy officer Neil Crocker wanted to ‘make a good impression’ on his future in-laws.

So, while away in Chile in 1991, Neil, now 57, sent a short, thoughtful postcard to the parents of the woman he was hoping to marry – called Claudia.

But Neil had to find a different way to win his new family over because the postcard never arrived at his in-laws’ house until three decades later – long after he had already married their daughter.

Neil had stopped over in Chile on his way back from the Falkland Islands on HMS Cumberland.

Planning to propose to Claudia, Neil decided to get some brownie points with her parents and get in touch from the faraway country.

He wrote to them: ‘We have finally arrived in Chile and what a pleasant surprise it has turned out to be. The weather and beaches are lovely and the food and drink is very cheap (about £3 for a full meal and wine).

‘It is very much like Spain, with an innocence about it. People also very friendly. Hope all is well. See you next month.’

Claudia’s dad Brian Watkins, 89, finally received the postcard in August this year, when it was pushed through his letterbox in Weymouth, Dorset.

Neil said: ‘I vaguely remember sending the postcard but didn’t think anything of it until recently when it was delivered to my father-in-law 30 years later.

‘He was very confused when it was posted through the door and he gave it to us. I hadn’t put the date on it so the postman was none the wiser.

‘When I saw it again I was completely shocked – I thought it was a wind-up.’

The card is postmarked to London in 1991, showing it arrived in the UK shortly after it was posted – but what happened after that ‘is a complete mystery’.

However, there are pinholes in the card, leading Neil to believe someone decided to keep it and pin it to a board.

He said: ‘It isn’t a very remarkable postcard so I have no idea why someone would want to keep it.