Postcard turned up after 28 years

We start with our old friend Ernie Mackenzie, of Gammons Lane, who wrote following a story which appeared in these pages the last time we had a “correspondents” special, on October 24.

The story concerned a postcard which, posted in September 1929, finally arrived at its destination 81 years later.

You may remember, I’d had a letter from a lady called Isabel Guthrie who lives in New Zealand. She wrote to say she was researching her father’s side of her family and found the original story about the postcard on our website. She explained the postcard may have belonged to one of her relatives and asked if we could find out if it still existed and, if so, if she could have it.

Sadly, we’ve had no luck on that front yet (although I haven’t given up hope) but Ernie wrote with a similiar story.

He writes: “After reading today’s Nostalgia page regarding the postcard that took 81 years to reach its destination, I thought perhaps the enclosed postcard and report from the Watford Observer of 1979 might also interest you.”

 And it certainly does, Ernie. The postcard is reproduced on the facing page, but here’s what the article said, 36 years ago:

“Ernie Mackenzie has received a holiday postcard from his friend – 28 years after it was posted.

“Ernie, of Gammons Lane, Watford, was nine years old when he should have received the card. The sender, his friend Richard Gravestock, who was staying at a holiday camp at Gorleston, Norfolk, was the same age. Both are now married and each has two sons.

“Richard lives in Manchester. His parents, Mr and Mrs George Gravestock, still live at Reservoir Cottage, Oxhey, and remember the card being sent.

“The card arrived, none the worse for its 28-year hibernation, at the home of Ernie’s parents, also in Gammons Lane, where, of course, it would have reached him. Now he lives in the same road but at a different number. His mother, Mrs Mabel Mackenzie, said the card was just dropped through the letterbox. The postman did not knock and explain the delay.

“‘It had two postmarks,’ said Mrs Mackenzie. ‘One was 1951 and the other was May 26, 1979. It arrived here on May 27.

“‘It was marked GLOC which I take to mean Gloucester. It bore two George VI halfpenny stamps. Really, it is a collector’s item.’

“The card was in good condition and some anonymous philosopher had scribbled on it: ‘Better late than never! Hope to see you soon.’”

Something of a mystery next. Raymond Laybourn of The Ridgeway, Watford, came into the office one day last month with a tiny copy of the Watford Observer.

It’s dated March 15, 1963, and features 28 pages – but measures just over seven by five inches. Several of the pages, though basically black and white (as papers were in those days, of course) have an over-printed promotional message in red, saying things like “For the best pictures to keep you in the picture, see the Observer”. It’s clearly a promotional issue and, as the first ever Watford Observer was in January 1863, I can only assume it was produced to mark the paper’s centenary.

But who received a copy? And how? Did you pick them up in newsagents? Were they given out by advertising reps? No one seems to know. It’s a lovely looking item but very hard to read. Yes, it would have given non-readers a chance to see the sort of stories they were missing. But why not just print the actual edition, or highlights of it, and distribute that?

If anyone knows, Mr Laybourn would love to know as, indeed, would I!

"I am the boy featured on page 29 of the Watford Observer November 14, 2014 (picture taken in 1977).”

So began an email from Chris Roome, who you may recall was the Cub Scout pictured that week as having won all his 18 proficiency badge, and the gold arrow badge, in record time.

He writes: “I grew up in Abbots Langley but moved to Devon in 1992. I last visited the Watford area in 2006. However, last weekend I took the opportunity to call in on an old school friend while travelling up to London with my wife and children to watch England play Slovenia. His mother had spotted my photo in the Watford Observer the previous day and made sure he had a copy to surprise me with on my visit. The coincidence is almost spooky.

“I remember well the photographer coming to our house to take the photo. My children had actually seen the photo before, although they never knew it had appeared in the local paper, so were quite surprised to see me gazing out of the page. Incidentally my dad retains the Cub jersey with the badges still on it.”

He continued: “Continuing the family tradition, my four children have all been Cubs and Scouts. My eldest son, Tom, is currently an Explorer Scout and a Young Leader with his old Cub pack, the 7th Exeter.

“My eldest daughter Helena is a Scout and recently attended the Remembrance service in Exeter with her troop, while my youngest daughter Lydia is a Cub.

“I had lost touch with the Scout movement but having children of my own made me realise what a valuable role it can still play, and also the selfless devotion of the leaders who commit to it.

“I still haven’t quite decided how I feel about appearing in the Nostalgia section!”

Another person who found their youth – or rather their wife’s youth – being revisited, though in a less dramatic way than Mr Roome, was Roger Paul from Bushey Heath.

He wrote to comment on one of the “Watford Observed” items we featured a few weeks back concerning the Palace Theatre appealing for “seven young ladies willing to be sawn in half” as part of a visit by the Magic Circle 51 years ago this week.

He writes: “My wife, Penelope, was one of the seven young ladies who were sawn in half at the Watford Palace in 1963. In those days she was Penelope Ann Vickery, aged 18, and living in Hemel Hempstead.

“She can still recall the event and remembers being given an ‘illusion box’ containing a flower as a memento.

“She also thinks she may have received a small box of chocolates.”

Sadly, Roger says there are no photographs or other mementos of the night existing. But Penelope was, of course, one of seven. If any of the other six “volunteers” are reading this and happen to have any other memories of the event, I’d love them to get in touch.

Finally this week, a letter from reader Patricia Allen, of Cuckmans Drive, Chiswell Green. She writes about her grandfather, Ernest Frederick Spanswick.

“I have recently discovered some original letters sent from him in the First World War to his three-year-old daughter,” she writes. “They are delightful and one friend read them and cried.”

She continued: “He only went to war as ‘Kitchener needed him’ even though he was over the recruitment age. He would much rather have carried on teaching at Callowland, which he returned to (or so I believe).

“He was a wonderful gardener and carpenter in his spare time and I also understand he taught carpentry at night school. His wife bought land in 1919 in Shepherds Road (unusual for a woman who didn’t even have the vote, but she was, I think, a head teacher for a while).

“In 1921, my grandfather designed the house in which my mother grew up. It was considered audacious to include a downstairs lavatory.”

Ms Allen has sent copies of the letters and they are, indeed, very touching.

“My dear little Cherry Blossom,” he writes. “Here I am again writing to a bunch of cherry blossom and wishing I could just pick the bunch up and carry it about with me. In front of me is a picture of a dear little girl and a fine big boy – Aileen and Tom are their names. The photo has been painted and looks very pretty. How I long to see both of these faces real and all alive-ho. Wouldn’t we have a fine time all laughing at once.”

He continues in a similar vein – “keep on loving and laughing and singing till I come home so that I can see how you do it”.

After a couple of pages of other news, the letter ends: “I hope I can get home soon but am afraid it will be longer instead of sooner. A houseful of love to my dear little blossom and a big pile of kisses, all from Your Loving Daddy.”

As a postscript he adds: “One big real kiss for Mummy which you must give her.”

There many things to be said in favour of email: its immediacy and ease, to name but two. But I’m surely not the only person who feels life is rather poorer now we rarely receive letters like these in the post these days. Although undated, these were clearly written close to 100 years ago and will no doubt be cherished for many years to come. How many people, even in ten years’ time, will have kept any of their emails? Mind you, as Ernie Mackenzie will testify, they can take a few decades to get to you!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Don’t forget: if you have any comments to make on any story published on these pages – or, indeed, if you just have something you want to pass on to our readers or a question from the past you want answered, I’m always pleased to hear from you.