TWO years ago a letter from a nine-year-old girl from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, requesting "a few toys" was discovered behind an iron fireplace in an upstairs bedroom, where the letter to Father Christmas had lain for some 68 years.
The little girl's name was Mabel Higgs and among the presents she asked for was a cardboard sweetshop.
Despite the letter remaining undiscovered by the 'friend' of the hopeful children, I somehow believe little Mabel Higgs' wishes were granted on that Christmas Eve. (Girls still requested sweetshops in the 1950s).
After Mabel's letter was found, read, and written about in a well-established daily newspaper, the neatly written letter dated December 8, 1911, was returned to its former chimney resting place among the accumulated remnants of nests which birds had made.
Thousands of letters must have stuck in chimney breasts over the years!
Kenneth Lucas
Park Road, Hindley, Wigan
PS: Mabel Higgs was a very considerate and good girl by all accounts for she wrote in her letter: "Remember the very poor children in the slums".
True stories like this gladden people's hearts.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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