A retired salesman has declared himself elated after a long-lost postcard from 1955 was unexpectedly delivered to him. Chris Harmon, 75, was sent the letter by an American pen pal when he was a young boy living in East Sussex – but it took 66 years to finally reach him, according to The Metro. The correspondence was recently discovered at a charity shop in Dorchester, after being handed in as part of Weldmar Hospicecare's stamp collection fundraising appeal.
A diligent volunteer saw the postcard was addressed to Chris Harmon and searched for him on Facebook.
He messaged Harmon, from Pershore, on the off-chance the document was meant for him and the pair was delighted to realize it was.
The letter – featuring a Grand Central Station marking and vintage airmail stamp – reveals American Fred Kendall had more luck receiving a pair of Dutch clogs from his boyhood friend. Harmon, who spent his childhood in Peacehaven, was thrilled to at last receive the October 13 reply from Kendall, who signs off as "Uncle Fred" despite not being related and promises a 10th birthday present.
The pair remained pen pals across the Atlantic until the 1970s, when they lost contact. Harmon had tried unsuccessfully to track down New Jersey's Kendall – who was a publisher from Short Hills – on a visit to the US in 2007, but has since discovered that his friend had died a number of years ago.
