Lost postcard sent to First World War soldier is found after almost a century
A postcard sent to a First World War soldier has been found after lying hidden in a village hall for almost a century.
The card - sent to Private (Drummer) Edward Wolstencroft of the Royal Fusiliers by a woman called Nellie in April, 1915 - was spotted by workers fixing the floor at the village hall in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, just before Christmas.
Records show the hall was used as a military hospital between 1915 and 1919 where Private Wolstencroft was treated before returning to the front.
The lost postcard to Private Edward Wolstencroft: It was believed to have slipped off a shelf and fallen behind wood panelling
Locals think the card was placed on a shelf then slipped behind wooden panelling.
Pte Wolstencroft, who came from Edmonton, Middlesex, died on July 7, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when he was in his mid 20s.
Brave soldier Edward Wolstencroft who died at the 1916 Battle of the Somme in his mid twenties
He is remembered on the war memorial dedicated to missing soldiers at Thiepval in the Picardie region of France.
Now his nephew, 61-year-old Paul Wolstencroft, has been traced by amateur family researcher Chris East.
Villagers plan to meet Mr Wolstencroft, who lives in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, and decide what to do with the postcard.
'I knew nothing about this until Chris contacted me - it’s very interesting,” said Mr Wolstencroft, whose father, Thomas, was Pte Wolstencroft’s brother.
'All I know about Edward was what my father told me. He died in the war. I know he was an amateur artist and he played the violin.'
Mr Wolstencroft said “Nellie” was probably Pte Wolstencroft’s sister Ellen who was known affectionately as Nellie
He added: 'I know they were very close and there’s a family resemblance in the writing. She lived to a ripe old age. '
Mr East, a retired RAF Squadron Leader, who is the chairman of the East Family History Society and lives near Baldock, Hertfordshire, offered to help after reading about the postcard.
He used a variety of internet tools, including websites and the 1901 and 1911 censuses, to create a Wolstencroft family tree and trace relatives.
The village hall in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, which was turned into a hospital during the First World War
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