A Postcard Delivered 121 Years Late Led Me To My Long-lost Family
Nick Davies received a message on Ancestry.com; a lady who shared his surname had sent him a link to a recent BBC news story, which he read with interest. The head office of the Swansea Building Society, the story said, had recently received a postcard postmarked 1903 and originally sent to a girl called Lydia Davies, who had lived at the address. Having received the postcard 121 years after it was posted, staff were hoping to trace one of her descendants. The message was signed “Ewart”. The postcard had been passed on to the Archive Service, which had established Lydia was 16, the eldest of six children living at the address in 1903. Ewart, her brother, was 13. Nick had worked on his family tree and knew immediately that Ewart was his grandfather. He was put in touch with the BBC producer who wanted to film the postcard being presented to a descendant. Nick was filmed talking to Andrew, the chief archivist, who had photographs of Lydia and Ewart laid out on a table. He showed Nick the postcard; Nick said it felt strange to hold something his grandfather had bought as a boy. As Nick and Andrew were looking at it, two women walked in, and Andrew said: “I think we have a pair of your relatives here … ” About this surprising family reunion, Nick said, “I’d like to imagine Ewart and Lydia would have been astonished but delighted.”
