The love letters of a World War II couple have been discovered in an oceanside hotel in England, where they were concealed underneath the floorboards for nearly eight decades.
Found beneath a first-floor utility room at the Esplanade Hotel in Scarborough during renovations, the letters tell the story of two lovers pining for one another during World War II.
The letters are estimated to have been written between 1941 to 1944 according to Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society, reported BBC.
In the notes, they share the details of their daily lives, how time drags on during the war, and how much they love and miss one another, the report said.
The nameless man in the letters writes, “I’m so glad I’m coming home again… Oh darling I’m so lonely without you.”
Other objects found with the letters include chocolate wrappers, cigarette packets, and ticket stubs, the report said.
The Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (SAHS) said that they will be collaborating with the Esplanade Hotel in researching the origins of the letters.
“We will be working with Esplanade Hotel Scarborough on a new World War II project,” the SAHS said in a statement. “We are looking through and researching some of the objects, which include love letters, ticket stubs, cigarette packets and [an] array of chocolate wrappers and tins.”
Researchers hope to uncover the identity of the lovers and have been tracking down clues.
According to the BBC report, the writers’ names have been chewed away by mice over the years. The only clue to their identity was a letter “M” signed at the bottom of one of the notes.
During the war, the Esplanade Hotel was used for military accommodations, for soldiers in training, or on their way to a new assignment.
Mary Woods, with the Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society, who is heading the investigation, told BBC that there is evidence that the hotel was used by different squadrons during the war.
Among the squadrons who utilized the hotel were the 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade; the Royal Signals; and the 184th Tunneling Company of the Royal Engineers, the report said.
On March 11, Woods had a breakthrough in her research, iNews reports.
Woods and her team found out that the address mentioned in the letter was occupied by the couple named Jessie and James McConnel. This exciting update led to finding that the McConnells had a son named John, who was in the Royal Air Force (RAF).
“We think the letters may have come from him and been written to a girlfriend while he was stationed at the hotel,” Woods told iNews.
Sadly, John McConnell died in a plane crash at the young age of 19. The SAHS is now searching for relatives of John or his sister, Annie, who was also in the RAF.
The SAHS said in a statement: “The letters are extremely evocative and bring home the personal emotions of people who experienced the traumas brought about as a result of war. It would be truly wonderful if by some miracle, we were able to find out more about these wartime sweethearts and their lives after the war.”
Whoever these lovers were, one thing is certain, their love has been immortalized by this incredible find.
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