Edinburgh to Garstang postcard arrives 62 years late

Lynn Harter thought the postcard was a birthday greeting at first

A postcard sent from Scotland to Lancashire has arrived at its destination 62 years later.

Lynn Harter found the sepia card from Edinburgh among birthday cards that came through her letterbox in Garstang.

"I thought at first a friend knowing my interest in history had sent it," the former town councillor said.

But when she examined the card closely she found it had a 1955 postmark and was addressed to a Mr and Mrs Phillipson.

The postcard of Edinburgh Castle, which was addressed to the couple at Bridgefield, Kepple Lane, reads: "I am having a great holiday here, staying with friends. The weather is good and doing lots of sightseeing. Trust you are both keeping well, my love and best wishes Madge Johnson."

Mrs Harter checked the deeds of her home to find Mr and Mrs William Phillipson bought it in 1943.

The postcard's intended recipients moved into the address in Lancashire in 1941

She said: "Interestingly Mrs Helen Phillipson died in 1951 so either the sender of the postcard, Madge Johnson, didn't know she'd died, or William may have married again?"

Mr Phillipson died in 1961.

Mrs Harter said: "A friend of mine who is a postman said there are several reasons it may have taken so long. It could have been found by someone who just forwarded it or it could have got lodged in an old sorting machine and only unearthed when the machine was changed."

A keen local historian, Mrs Harter found out Mr Phillipson had moved to Garstang after retiring from the police force in Bolton.

"I know he kept a horse in a stable at the back of the bungalow and I have heard stories about a former policeman who used to ride a horse bareback through Garstang," she said.