Message in bottle arrives after 85 years.A FIRST World War soldier's message in a bottle to his family today reached its final destination - 85 years after he threw it into the English Channel English Channel, Fr. La Manche [the sleeve], arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.350 (560 km) long, between France and Great Britain. It is 112 mi (180 km) wide at its west entrance, between Land's End, England, and Ushant, France. Its greatest width, c. from a troop carrier.The note in a ginger beer bottle was written by Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was formed in 1881 from the 68th Regiment of Foot which had originally been raised in County Durham by General John Lambton in 1758. History The 68th Regiment of Foot was transformed into a light infantry regiment in c. Private Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes (October 20, 1822 – March 22, 1896) was an English lawyer and author. as he headed for the battlefields of France in 1914. He died in action days later and after the war his widow Elizabeth and 10-year-old daughter Emily emigrated to New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. . The bottle was dredged from the Thames Estuary by fisherman Steve Gowan gow·an n. Scots A yellow or white wildflower, especially the Old World daisy. [Probably alteration of Middle English gollan, a plant with yellow flowers; akin to Old Norse in April and Emily, now 87, was traced to New Zealand. Emily, now Mrs Crowhurst, has presented it to Durham Light Infantry Museum. She said: ''When I first got the bottle it felt wonderful to have something that put me in touch with my father." The letter read: ''Dear wife, I am writing this note on this boat and dropping it into the sea to see if it will reach you, ta ta sweet for the present, your hubby.'' |
|
||||||||||||

Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion