Lost love letter found in Leyburn RSL, written more than 80 years ago, begins quest to find answers

While rearranging a Southern Downs museum staff made an unexpected discovery when they found an 80-year-old love letter. Now they’re on a quest to find its unknown sender and the woman it was addressed to.

Almost 80 years ago, a man wrote a letter to his love at the end of World War II but somewhere between then and now, it ended up in a hidden in a folder at Leyburn RSL.

Now staff are trying to reconnect the lost love letter with its desired recipient or their family.

Dated November 11, 1945, the letter is addressed to a Miss M. Williams, and was found when staff at the RSL were rearranging a cabinet of wartime memorabilia while remodelling their museum.

Leyburn RSL museum co-ordinator Sheryle Wieden said she was extremely excited when discovering the letter, which no one at the RSL had seen before, with no one having an idea how long it had been there.

Wartime-era love letter found in a cabinet, dated 1945, at Leyburn RSL (Photo: Facebook/ Sheryle Wieden)

While the letter is cryptic in parts – the author refers to himself as ‘Mr Hyde’ (which Mrs Wieden described as like Jekyll and Hyde) – Mrs Wieden said the letter was undoubtedly sweet, referring to the woman it is addressed to as “sweetheart”, “honey bun” and “my sweet”.

“It’s so important to preserve the local history. I moved to Leyburn 10 years ago and found that I had connections to the original founding family, so keeping the history alive is a personal quest for me now,” Mrs Wieden said.

“Some parts of the letter are quite sad, he talks about being depressed and having ups and downs. The letter is addressed to a woman he truly cares about, likely a lover, but it could be a sister or family member too.”

Mrs Wieden said they had received word of a Williams family from Moree, and said that the family could have moved anywhere in the country since the letter was written.

“It’s a real find, there’s no pretence about it, it’s physical and frail of course, but it gave me great excitement to trace the treasure and find a family connection. It belongs here alongside the soldier’s photo and to be preserved as history,” she said.

“We’d love to identify the gentleman who wrote it, and find the woman it was addressed to, this soldier has probably long passed, so any family that did find it would be excited as well.”

Any information can be passed to Warwick Daily News via Facebook, or get in contact with Leyburn RSL on [phone].