may 12th 1905 unknown to Dorothy rose cruttenden

norwood, London to st. leonards, sussex

58 miles

the message

"Dear Dorothy

This card is from Grandma, she is quite well she says, + will be home tomorrow, I hope you + Nora are both well

give my love to all

from D???"

the sender

The sender's name cannot be deciphered. It looks like "Daip" and does not match anyone in the extended family.

The Recipient

Dorothy Rose Cruttenden (1897-1986) was the younger daughter of Alfred Cruttenden (1870-1943) and Nelly Holman (1870-1965). Alfred was a Grocer. Dorothy's elder sister, who is mentioned in the message, was Nora Amelia (1895-1989).

On October 17th 1912, the family set sail from London on SS Geelong, later to sink in 1916, for Melbourne, Australia. On August 30th 1924, Dorothy married Noel Blaney Boyd (1889-1968), a prominent retailer in New Zealand.

Nora Amelia settled in Victoria Australia where she died in 1989.

Dorothy's mother, Nelly, died in Wellington, New Zealand in 1965.

Alfred died in New Zealand in 1943.

the places

Norwood, London

St Leonards, Hastings, Sussex

what the card says to us

The picture shows a view of the Medieval Court display at the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition. It does not appear to have any connection with the family or the message.

The message mentions Grandma. Grandma is Lydia Cruttenden nee Parsons (1846-1915). Lydia had an interesting childhood. Her mother was Charlotte Parsons (1815-). Lydia was born in 1846 and in 1852 Charlotte married George Swadling (1809-1893). Charlotte was therefore a single mother until for about 6 years and in some of the census records, Lydia is entered as Lydia Swadling. This probably changed when she came to get married to Samuel Cruttenden (1838-1904), Alfred's father in 1868. Samuel and Lydia had 10 children. In 1905, when this card was sent, Lydia was 59 years old and a widow. Where she had been, presumably somewhere in Norwood, is not known but she is well and planning to return home, wherever that is. The card is sent to Dorothy who was only 8 years old. It is an open question as to whether Lydia could write and whether at that age, Dorothy could read joined up writing.