September 10th 1906 J A to mrs bettle

forest Hill, London to Lowestoft, suffolk

128 miles

the message

"4 M - P - H - G - P

They say everything happens for the best, had I come away I should have had to return again at once. We have had the boy laid up since Wednesday after affects of the heat. Just my luck, perhaps I can return with you, as you think of breaking your holiday. Must wait and see how things go on, am glad you are having a fine time.

Love

J. A."

the sender

There are no clues to J.A.'s identity, if it is J.A.

the recipient

There are no clues to Mrs Bettle's identity. At 49 Lawson Road, South Lowestoft in neither the 1901 or 1911 census is there anyone with a name remotely like Bettle. The message suggests that Mrs Bettle is on holiday and so this might be a temporary address.

the places

Forest Hill, London

Lowestoft, Suffolk

Cookham, Berkshire

what the card says to us

The picture shows a painting of Cookham in Berkshire. Cookham is famous for being the home of the artist Stanley Spencer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Spencer) and he used the town as the location of some of his most famous paintings. The painting on the card is not by Spencer.

The card has what looks like a coded message at the top of the message. Was this a common thing in 1906 or is it as unusual as it looks? It has not been deciphered.

The message itself tells a story of holiday and illness and is an example of the 1906 equivalent of an email.

Sadly the actors in this drama remain anonymous.