A bank in Wales, United Kingdom, recently received a postcard sent to the bank’s address, but the recipient’s identity remains a mystery. Surprisingly, the postmark on the postcard indicated it was mailed in 1903, 121 years ago. The bank is puzzled as to why this postcard arrived so late and is seeking the public’s help in unraveling this mystery.
According to a report from Wales Online, the Swansea Building Society in Swansea received the postcard on August 16, which was sent 121 years ago. The address on the postcard matches the bank’s headquarters on Cradock Street in Swansea.
The content of the postcard is related to mortgage loans and savings, with a postmark date of August 3, 1903. The intended recipient was a lady named Lydia Davies.
Employees at the bank speculate that the address might have been a residential property in the past, and Lydia Davies may have lived there at the time.
The bank shared this intriguing story and a photo of the postcard on their Facebook page, seeking assistance from the Swansea community and beyond. They wrote, “We need your help! Can anyone in Swansea (or any other community) solve this mystery? Do you know Lydia Davies who lived on Cradock Street in 1903?”
They added, “Please share and comment to help spread this message. Let’s solve this mystery together!”
Henry Darby, the bank’s marketing and communications manager, expressed that the situation on August 16 was completely unexpected. A manager discovered the postcard while checking the mail, among many letters regarding mortgage loans and savings that needed the team’s attention.
The front of the postcard depicts a winter scene with a stag standing on a frozen tree trunk in the foreground, a water body and snow-capped mountains in the distance, a ship sailing on the water, and a starry sky above.
Darby remarked, “We know it’s a long time ago, but we think it would be fascinating to understand life on Cradock Street 121 years ago.”
He mentioned that the bank was established 20 years after the postcard was sent. They believe that the previous house was demolished, and the office was rebuilt at the same address.
Regarding the delayed postcard incident, a spokesperson from the British postal service stated, “The postcard likely re-entered our system rather than being lost in the post for over a century. When mail enters our system, we have an obligation to deliver it to the correct address.”
Cases of mail being delayed for over 100 years have been reported in the UK before, as previously documented by Epoch Times. In a similar instance, a man in London received an old letter from 1916 in 2023, addressed to the previous owner of his house. The reason for this “snail mail” taking over a century to arrive remains unknown, even to the postal service.
The British postal service mentioned in a statement, “We appreciate people’s curiosity about this letter from 1916, but we cannot provide further information on what might have happened.”
Such curious incidents of mail delay spanning centuries continue to intrigue and baffle both recipients and postal services alike.
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