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The message read: “Dear Denis, I hope this finds you in the best of health. Nice to say that I’m fine “
A handwritten message on the back of a 1947 New Zealand calendar has led Briton Col Bowman to try to find the author’s descendants.
“I read the personal message, handwritten on the back, and it moved me almost to tears.” he said Stuff.
The message, signed by Len and Eve, with no written last name, and sent to Len’s brother Denis in the UK, has no additional markings or specific dates. He mentioned the alcohol shortage after the end of WWII and how much they missed their family after spending 21 years away from home.
The message read: “Dear Denis: I hope this finds you in the best of health. Nice to say that I’m fine. Have two or three for me in the mess this Christmas. We are short of that here. Write me sometime.
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“I would love to travel home to see Mom… and you. But I don’t know when I can do it. I can’t afford to be a poor old married man.
“It has been more than 21 years since I was last home. All the best.”
The sadness underlying the message brought back memories of Bowman’s families he knew who moved from the UK to New Zealand in search of a better life.
“It brought home the courage of those who had traveled from one end of the world to another, often with a one-way ticket,” he said. “I’ve always been a bit envious.”
Bowman saw the calendar, titled ‘Beautiful New Zealand’, at a local market in Cullercoats, a town on the northeast coast of England, a few miles south of Scotland. Although he thought it was a bit pricey, it was around $ 5, the beautiful photos from New Zealand attracted him, and the fact that it was a keepsake from his birth year got him hooked.
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Colonel Bowman found the calendar in a local market in the northeast of England.
“I could check out my lovely mother’s account of me being a ‘Tuesday boy.’
“I thought: I’ll look at the photos, however beautiful they are, and then I’ll pass them on.”
Bowman said he always had a soft spot for New Zealand, and that it was the only place he considered leaving home when he was younger.
He is using social media to try and locate the descendants of Len, Eve and Denis, but he has not been so lucky yet. He hopes to pass the calendar on to any living relatives.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if he found his way back to the family? It belongs to them. “
