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So this afternoon I was upstairs writing a lecture, and the post dropped through the letterbox. The most astonishing thing arrived.
Hidden in amongst the bills and junk mail was this Valentines card, postmarked 13 February 1949.
And inside that? A collection of photographs.
Needless to say, lecture writing has been disrupted. So many questions to ask! I will do some digging and see what I can find. Desperate to know who these faces are, and how they came to find their way to our front door this afternoon.
So, a few things we do know. The letter (and card, I think) was addressed to the daughter of the first people who lived in this house. I think she was in her mid-twenties in 1949, based on some census and birth record searches.
Our house was built in the 1930s by our neighbour's father. Our neighbour has lived in the house since, and I have a sneaking suspicion he might have known the woman this card was sent to.
The photos inside this card are lovely, and I'd like to return them to the family if at all possible. Here's hoping our neighbour can shed some more light on what happened next.
I'm not sharing the photos of individuals, as I don't think it's my place to, but I am having so much fun piecing stuff together. Several photos of a man in the navy called Ken. Perhaps our valentine sender? A family member?
Well this historian of modern Britain has had a very unexpected, and very welcome, reminder of why I love what I do. The most ordinary things always hold the power to be extraordinary. Will report back what else I can find over the coming days and weeks.
Looking forward to a weekend of digging. Some burning questions - who sent this, and why? Is it a coincidence it's arriving almost 72 years to the day since it was first posted? And, most importantly, who is this historical pupper?
So, uh, it happened again.
Weekly letters from the past are certainly brightening up my lockdown but I'd quite like to know where (and who!) they're coming from.
