19th May 1906 alfred hunt to john stride

dursley, gloucestershire to whiteparish, wiltshire

56.3 miles

the message

“I shall want the Horse at Downton as I have my saddle at home. Bring it down Monday Evening then we could arrange to go to Salisbury together.

Alfred Hunt”

the sender

Alfred Hunt (1880-?) was the son of George Hunt (1855-1919) and Mary Ann Hammond (1854-1931). They were a farming family. In the 1911 census he was farming at Woodfalls Farm in Downton, Wiltshire. He was still there in 1920. After that the records become unclear.

In 1908, two years after this card was sent, Alfred married Coral Lilian Whiteman (1877-1947).

the recipient

John Stride (1884-1960) was the son of Sidney William Stride (1850-1888) and Fanny Feltham (1855-1926). Sidney was a dairy farmer at Golden’s farm in Whiteparish, Wiltshire.

In the 1911 census John was working on the family farm.

In 1919 John married Annie Florence Hatch (1887-1971)

In 1939 John and Annie Florence were running Golden’s Farm.

the trees

Hunt

Stride

the places

Dursley to Whiteparish

Dursley, Gloucestershire

Whiteparish, Wiltshire

Downton, Wiltshire

what the card says to us

The picture shows Dursley which is where the card was posted. Dursley is not where Alfred Hunt lived. He lived in Downton which is 4 miles from Whiteparish.

The message is simple. Alfred wants John to bring the horse. Whose horse is it? This is not clear. Alfred and John are similar in age, 26 and 22. They are both farmers. Neither are married at this time and so going out in the nearest big town, Salisbury, is not something unusual.

There are two curious things. Why was the message written upside down? Why is there a formal signature?