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Saturday, 8 November 2025

Messages in a bottle found after 100 years

Here in the UK it is Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, so I thought it a good moment to post this rather amazing story ...

Messages in a bottle found after 100 years

photo credit - Deb Brown

"Letters written by two Australian soldiers more than one hundred years ago have been found on a beach on the country's south-west coast.

They were rolled up inside a bottle which had been thrown into the sea as the pair sailed to France to help during the First World War.

The cheerful notes were written in pencil and were dated August 1916.

The letters have now been passed onto to the relatives of the two soldiers, who were "stunned" by their discovery.

photo credit - Deb Brown

The messages were written by two soldiers - Private Malcolm Neville and Private William Harley.

According to Private Harley's letter, the bottle was thrown overboard "somewhere in the Bight", which refers to the Great Australian Bight - a large open bay off the country's southern coast.

The bottle was found earlier this month by a local family on a remote beach, near the town of Esperance in Western Australia.

They were clearing litter from the beach when they spotted a thick glass bottle in the sand.

Though the paper was wet, both letters were still readable, so the family began looking for the soldiers' families in order to pass them on.

When both soldiers' families were located, the notes came as a real surprise.

Private Neville's great-nephew told ABC News the experience had been "unbelievable."

While Private Harley's granddaughter said that she and her family were "absolutely stunned" by the message.

Experts think the bottle may only have been in the water for a few weeks before it landed on the beach, where it may have remained buried for 100 years."
Story and images from here

What an amazing find ...

All the best Jan

47 comments:

J.P. Alexander said...

Muy interesante. Te mando un beso.

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

This is indeed amazing, Jan!!! Thank you for sharing this ❤️ 🙏 💜

Jeff said...

that would be a neat find!

My name is Erika. said...

That is an amazing story. It's even more amazing that in all the years since the bottle was thrown over board was that the bottle didn't break. I bet their families had to think it was so wonderful they could be found too. Happy weekend.

🍁 Debby said...

Wow that is so cool.

Martha said...

What a great find!

Susan Kane said...

I wonder how many bottles have been found? What a great discovery.

DeniseinVA said...

Thank you for sharing this Jan, it really is an amazing story! Happy weekend to you :)

Granny Marigold said...

I can definitely see why the families were surprised to get these letters from so long ago. It's amazing.

Kay said...

This is absolutely incredibly. Amazing that writings in pencil lasted this long in the elements. Granted, if it were buried... then perhaps that preserved it.

Fun60 said...

What a remarkable story.

Jules said...

Wow! That's incredible.

River said...

That is truly amazing, after all these years!

Margaret D said...

Oh gosh yes, Jan heard about this, so amazing.

Elkes Lebensglück said...

That's a huge surprise, finding something like that and even tracking down the soldiers' relatives!!! Thank you for sharing this.
hugs Elke

Chris said...

Wow, how extraordinary, what a find and wonderful for the relatives.

chica said...

Muito legal esse achado e que bom entregue à família! beijos, lindo fds! chica

Giorgio said...

I think the families of the two soldiers, Neville and Harley, felt surprise while they were getting such unexpected message. Thanks for sharing :-)

Iris Flavia said...

Isn´t the word a crazy and wonderful place? Such a message I found in WA Museum, Perth, Western Australia - from Hamburg, Germany. (Sadly blogger is stubborn or I never blogged about it).

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Truly amazing.
God bless.

Shari Burke said...

It's exciting when a historical artifact such as this suddenly appears!

jabblog said...

What an extraordinary story and how wonderful for the descendents of these two men,

Bijoux said...

A very cool story!

Tom said...

...an amazing story indeed.

olga.t said...

Blog interessante,se ti piace il mio iscriviti!

Christine said...

Fascinating

David M. Gascoigne, said...

It was certainly a long shot that these messages would survive and have been rediscovered. Great handwriting, too!

an artist reflects said...

What a fascinating story ~ amazing ~ thanks and hugs,

https://anartistreflects.com

Norma2 said...

It is very likely that the waves buried the bottle in the sand. That is the reason why its contents remain intact. On the other hand, degrading glass in the sea would take 4,000 to 5,000 years.

Jeanie said...

This is a wonderful story and really special to share at this time of year.

Sandra Cox said...

What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing, Jan.

Debbie said...

what an amazing find and story, i am so happy you shared it!!

DVArtist said...

That is a happy and amazing story.

Stefania said...

Ma che storia stupenda ❤️

HappyK said...

Wow isn't that amazing!!!

The Furry Gnome said...

What a heart-warming story!

Marco Luijken said...

Hello Jan.,
It's always special to found an old bottle with a letter in it. Sure when it is over 100 years.
I remember the time when I was younger and I have had a surfboard. I was surfing from the beach through the sea and take a bottle with a letter with me. When I was far enough I threw that bottle in the sea with my adress in it. After a few weeks I get a postcard by post that someone has found that bottle in the North of the Netherlands and once in Belgium. That was nice to do.

Greetings, Marco

Ananka said...

A brilliant find :-D

Mary Kirkland said...

Wow, that's a long time.

MELODY JACOB said...

Wow, I love stories like this, they feel like a tiny miracle from the past. Can you imagine holding a message that’s crossed oceans and a century just to reach someone? It’s so touching that the families got to see these notes, a real connection across time. Makes me want to write a message in a bottle myself, just to see what happens.

www.melodyjacob.com

William Kendall said...

Quite a story!

Mrs.B said...

What an amazing story, and what a surprise for the relatives.
Avril xx

Lorrie said...

That's quite the story! Thank you for sharing it, Jan.

Conniecrafter said...

Wow that would be amazing that no one found them all of these years, fun treasure to fine.

The Happy Whisk said...

Wow, Jan. 100 years. This is an amazing story that I didn't get to hear about until today on your post. Much thanks for sharing this story. Just so cool.

Teresa said...

Una historia muy bonita. Besos.

Back2OurSmallCorner said...

What a wonderful discovery and so special for the families of those men. A poignant yet heart warming story.