1930s love letters uncovered in Vancouver home returned to family

1930s love letters uncovered in Vancouver home returned to family

From across the Pond in Canada comes this poignant story, once again featuring the surprisingly common instance of old documents - in this case letters from over 80 years ago - being found during a building renovation and nearly thrown away before being rescued by an understanding individual.

Unlike most other long-lost photographic rediscoveries I've blogged about in the past this one has a much more personal angle, being as these were love letters written by courting couple between 1938 and 1940 and as such they go far beyond any socio-historical aspect.  As the chap who found them rightly asserts, they were an important part of two people's lives - so much so, in fact, that the man Len was moved to keep them in what was undoubtedly felt to be (and as events proved to be) a safe place.  I find this to be a particularly moving part of the story, in that to my mind he obviously believed that they might one day be found by a subsequent family member living in the house.

source - Twitter @AshleyBurr_

For whatever reason, however, this was not to be quite the case and it was only thanks to the good sense of the builder who unearthed them that these touching letters were saved from oblivion.  What is perhaps even more remarkable is Mr Trampus's perseverance in attempting to track down the relatives of Mim and Len, seeing as the original discovery took place nearly fifteen years ago!  His patience ultimately paid off last month, though, and here again we see the positive benefits of social media and how it can work to the advantage of times past as well as the present; for it was through a Facebook group that he was finally able to locate the couple's daughter and reunite her with her parents' letters.  So in a roundabout way Len's intention came to pass in that his letters eventually made it in to his family's possession, although no doubt not in the way he would have expected!

One can clearly see from the accompanying video just how much this means to Mrs Pennell and I am so glad that she has been given this opportunity to reconnect with her parents even in this small way, 30 years after they passed.  I am equally pleased that there are people out there like Dario Trampus who recognise the importance of documents like these and appreciate them enough to hold on to them for over 10 years as they try to reunite them with their rightful owners and I feel sure this will not be the last time I feature a post like this on Eclectic Ephemera.

Letter from Dunkirk soldier arrives 80 years later

Letter from Dunkirk soldier arrives 80 years later

A poignant yet remarkable story this - an incident one can scarcely imagining still happening but which I suppose we will keep seeing as more historical material from the period is unearthed, despite the lengthening passage of time since the end of the war.

An intriguing concatenation of circumstances looks to have led to this wartime letter and several others turning up after a prolonged period of time - first in the attic of a German ex-officer almost 30 years after first being written and now over 50 years later finally finding their way back (at least in part) to the families or villages of the senders, thanks to the work of the Suffolk Regiment Museum and later the Suffolk County Council's Archives.

source - Suffolk Archives

In the instance of Private Harry Cole the archivists at Suffolk County Council also managed to locate surviving relatives in the persons of his two younger brothers, a quite incredible achievement after all these years made even more so by the fact that one of the brothers and an SCC archivist both live in the same village. 

The fact that the siblings are still alive and remain in the same part of the country from which their brother would have left to join up brings a whole new level of immediacy to this particular story and serves as a welcome reminder that for all the time that has passed since the end of the Second World War 75 years ago it remains a relatively recent event in our history with people still alive today who were directly affected by it.  All the more reason then to applaud Suffolk Archives for its work in trying to return these letters to their rightful owners and, where that has not been possible, to produce an excellent online exhibition featuring some of them.  It is a fine example of local history within the context of a global war, which I look forward to delving into in detail and which hopefully might reunite a few more families with these long-lost reminders of relatives and their sacrifices during the Second World War.

Dustman saves 5,000 rare First World War photos from rubbish dumps

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Dustman saves 5,000 rare First World War photos from rubbish dumps

As if to prove the point in my previous post regarding the treatment historical documents are sometimes subjected to, the way they are often rediscovered and saved from the brink of destruction, this post features the story of over 5,000 photographs of the First World War that were rescued over the course of 30 years by a Sussex dustman.

Bob Smethurst's wonderful attitude towards these incredible records of a past conflict is only tempered somewhat by the thought of how little they must have been valued by others and how many more fascinating documents were not saved from the incinerator in all those years.  It's desperately sad to think of a family cold-bloodily disposing of an individual's life history, not stopping to think that it in fact contributes to the history of our whole society.

Thankfully these days more and more people are thinking like Mr Smethurst, as his comment about the increased value of the photos suggests!  Whether that is merely due to the centenary of the First World War, or other factors as well, I wouldn't like to guess (although I certainly hope it's more than that).  I do get the feeling that people are becoming more suitably reverential about our past - but of course it has always been so for us nostalgists!

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Former dustman's salvaged WW1 archive

Even so there is still far too much evidence of a disregard for historical items and records such as photographs or letters, not just in Britain but elsewhere.  How many times have we seen and commented on stories such as this, of treasure troves being found in skips and the like?  I would hope that things will be better for Second World War veterans and not, as Mr Smethurst thinks, the same again but the evidence is sadly still there.  In my own [fairly recent] experience it was seeing the little bungalow - unchanged for 60 years and complete with 1950s MG saloon still parked outside - the home of an elderly local lady, who had either died or moved into care, stripped of its contents (piled up in the front garden) and eventually demolished to make way for 4 houses.  I've said before that I'm all for progress, but not at the expense of our history.

In this happy case however a huge number of important photographs and records of the First World War have been saved for future generations.  I would like to think that any museum would give their eye teeth to have them in their collection, especially in this centenary year, but either way their future safety seems assured.  I hope that whatever Mr Smethurst decides to do with them they will continue to be highly valued and once again it begs the question "what else is still out there?"

An Irishman's Diary: George Bernard Shaw blows his horn

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An Irishman's Diary: George Bernard Shaw blows his horn 

The discovery of a previously unpublished letter can often be interesting in and of itself but when the letter-writer is one of Ireland's greatest ever playwrights the find is even more remarkable.

George Bernard Shaw was, as the accompanying article makes clear, a prolific writer of letters as well as plays, novels and critiques etc.  As a result many of his epistles grace museums and collections around the world but surprisingly few give an insight into his daily life, most being about his work and writings.

This is one of the rarer ones, then, a classically scathing Shavian criticism of his then-new motor car dating from January 1909.  Shaw's ready wit and way with words make his works a joy to read and his personal correspondence is no different!  He was an early convert to the motorised carriage and despite it still being in its infancy he obviously thought his De Dietrich model should have been further down the development path than it was.  One wonders if the company's fortunes (and those of coachbuilders Todd & Wright) suffered at all through this celebrity disapproval!

As mentioned this quite an unusual find although not unique, with several other examples of missives from Shaw floating around the Internet.  The wonderful blog Letters Of Note has four such examples, including another absolutely brilliant letter that Shaw wrote to The Times newspaper in July 1905 regarding a fellow opera-goer. 

I've always felt that private letters give a fascinating insight into the mind of the writer and Bernard Shaw is no exception, with the added bonus of a good chuckle or three as well.  Since his letters are so witty and sharp I think it's about time I reacquainted myself with some of his equally entertaining professional works.  I hope whoever ends up buying this newly-unearthed letter appreciates its historic value and the great humorous mind from which it sprang.

Train complaint letter from 1912 recalls 'sparks in face danger'

Train complaint letter from 1912 recalls 'sparks in face danger'

A quaint incident is recalled in this article about a letter of complaint to a railway company one hundred years ago, recently discovered at the National Railway Museum.

We've all likely had cause to complain about our railway service and every other day local and national news seems to feature stories of delay and incident, but this letter reminds us to spare a thought for railway passengers of the late 19th and early 20th Century, when rail travel was sometimes still a rather crude affair.  Right up until the early 1900s some train companies crammed third class passengers into open-top carriages with hard bench seats and the locomotives, as in this particular case, were often basic and open to spit flame and embers onto the more unfortunate travellers.

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By the 1920s the likes of "Gazelle" (above) had - on passenger services at least - given way to the lovely steam locomotives we know and appreciate today, but this remarkable piece of social history shows how hit-and-miss things could be in the years beforehand.  I'm sure the letter will be an excellent edition to the museum's collection.

Oscar Wilde letters are sold at auction

Oscar Wilde letters are sold at auction

A fantastic insight into the private life of Oscar Wilde here, with the sale of some of his letters to a publisher friend.

Looking back at some of the content from our modern perspective it is interesting and yet somehow poignant to read Wilde's plaintive requests to arrange meetings with his colleague. Of course on the other hand, knowing what we do now about Wilde's private life, it is just possible that too much is being read into the correspondence. It may well be that he simply wished to discuss some business matter pertaining to the Society Magazine. It is difficult to judge from just the excerpts in the article and it would seem that little is known about the extent of the relationship between the two men.

Either way the letters remain as an interesting snap-shot of a period of Oscar Wilde's life and his social circle in 19th Century London and they now no doubt form part of a valued collection for a particular Oscar Wilde aficionado, which can only be a good thing.

Lincoln's letter to boy on sale

Lincoln's letter to boy on sale

Here we have an interesting piece of history that is also a reminder never to take things lying down. I had a similar experience once (well, not exactly similar, I didn't meet the President of the United States, then get him to write me a letter so I could subsequently prove it). I was arguing with a group of friends over an astronomical matter back in 1994 (namely what effect the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 would have on Jupiter when they collided, as they did) and in order to back up my assertion that Jupiter would not "explode" (a view which, somewhat bizarrely, I seemed to be alone amongst my peers in holding) I wrote to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, who vindicated me. You see the analogy though, I hope? Here, wake up at the back there!

Anyway, the moral of the story, I suppose, is that if you truly believe in something, you should always fight your corner. There's always someone out there willing to help, and it doesn't take much just to write to them. You never know what luck a letter may bring.