A mini postcard depicting the opera singer Clara Butt and her family, hand dated 14th May 1904. The child is probably her daughter, Joy (b.1901). Clara subsequently had two sons but outlived them both, as one died in childhood of meningitis and the other committed suicide.
What caught my eye, though, was not the postcard but the message on the back, which is written in code.
I think the address is incorrect, as there is no River Street in Bath. The sender probably meant Rivers Street. Unable to crack this code myself I placed it on a forum where a former USAF officer found it and worked out that it is a letter-substitution code. She was able to decipher most of it for me:
STILL WAITING TO HEAR
FROM YOU DEARIE.
IT IS [???], I WONDER
WHERE YOU ARE.
VERY FONDEST LOVE &
PLEAS [sic] COME SOON &
TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE GOING.
It seems such a love-sick message. Census records show that this address was a nursing home. It still is. Miss Allen was probably a young nurse living there.
Great sleuthing work - thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI just passed on a ledger I found in my Grandparents belonging's that is full of code's that = words... the only people I know of that were in a war from this family was from WWI. You have inspired me to have my daughter post the ledger to find out more information. Thank you for sharing!
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