16th October 1919 gertie to william edwin dixon

horsham, sussex to salisbury, wiltshire

63 miles

the message

“Oct 16th

28 Albion Terr

Horsham

Dear W

We have been so disappointed because you have not written after the promise you made when here. Perhaps this P.C. will hurry a letter along. Hope you are still keeping well as we are the same as when you left us.

Love from us all

Gertie

the sender

There are no clues to the identity of Gertie.

the recipient

Details of William Edwin Dixon can be found by following this link to another card.

the tree

the places

Horsham, Sussex to Salisbury, Wiltshire (

what the card says to us

The picture shows Horsham Grammar School (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_College_of_Richard_Collyer) which apart from the fact that the card was posted in Horsham does not seem to have any connection to the family or the message.

The message has an element of sadness. Reading between the lines, William Edwin Dixon has been living in Horsham, probably at a boarding house, and has returned to his parents house after the war. He promised to write but has failed to do so. What his life was like in Horsham we will never know, but it is from there that he went to war. A year later he had moved on and married. Did he ever reply to this card? Why has the card survived for over 100 years? What became of Gertie?