November 11th 1916 unknown to harold ryan

eastbourne, sussex to workington, cumbria

390 miles

the message

"Dear Harold

Just a P C for you. This were I have been this afternoon.

Love from

SH"

the sender

There are no clues to the identity of the sender. The initials look like SH but may not be. There does not seem to be anyone with those initials close to the recipient.

the recipient

Harold Ryan (1902-1981) was the son of Thomas Ryan (1865-1936) and Hannah Holmes (1867-1946). Thomas worked as a steam crane driver at a steelworks.

At the time that the card was sent, Harold was 14 years old and World War I was raging. In 1939 Harold was working as a Fitters Labourer in a steel works.

In 1924 Harold married Alpha Omega Little (1903-1983). Alpha was one of eight children, six of whom had conventional first names. Her brother Barwise (1899- 1951) was the other exception. Alpha's father Thomas Little (1865-1932) was a coal miner and his wife was called Margaret (1876-1926). Harold and Alpha had three conventionally named daughters.

the places

Eastbourne, Sussex

Workington, Cumbria

what the card says to us

The picture shows the Grand Parade, Eastbourne. The card was posted in 1916, but it is unknown when the photo was taken. The picture is fascinating. Who were all those people? What happened to them? Did they survive the war? The cars are fantastic. There is a boat being launched. There is one umbrella raised. Or is it a parasol? It looks neither sunny nor rainy. What time of year was it? And who are the two people on the left in what looks like white coats, and what are they doing?

The message has a few errors and it quite innocuous. It gives no clues as to who SH is and why they are in Eastbourne and why that is of interest to young Harold in Workington.