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Letter posted in 1916 delivered 107 years late

Letters - Level 4

Many moons ago, sending messages took a long time. Today, with the Internet, we can instantly send them worldwide by email. A message that arrived earlier this week was not so instant. It was mailed in England in 1916. It got lost in the post and was finally delivered 107 years later to a house in London. A postal worker said it was "uncertain what happened," but was happy it finally arrived. She said it may have fallen behind a piece of furniture.

People used to write letters on paper. They sent them in envelopes, with a stamp on it they bought from a post office. They then mailed it in a post box. A postal worker collected the envelope and it began its journey. It took a few days to arrive if the address was in the same country. If the address was overseas, it went by ship and took weeks. However, there was a slight problem with the 107-year-late letter. The person to whom it was addressed died in 1951.

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Letters - Level 5

Many moons ago, it took ages to send a message. Today, with the Internet, we can instantly send someone on the other side of the world messages via email. A message that arrived earlier this week was not so instant. It was mailed from the English city of Bath in 1916. It then got lost in the post and was finally delivered 107 years later to an address in London. The UK's Royal Mail said it was "uncertain what happened". It said it was delighted the letter finally arrived, but had no idea why it was more than a century late. It said it may have fallen behind a piece of furniture.

People used to write letters on paper. They put them in an envelope and stuck a stamp on it that they bought from a post office. They then mailed it in a post box in the street. A postal worker collected the envelope and it began its journey. It took a few days to reach its destination if the address was in the same country. If the address was overseas, it went by ship and took weeks. Airplanes now transport mail via "air mail". However, there was a slight problem with the 107-year-late letter. The person to whom it was addressed passed away in 1951.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Letters - Level 6

Many moons ago, it took an age to send someone a message. Today, we have the Internet. We can instantly send someone on the other side of the world a message using email. One message that arrived earlier this week was not so instant. A letter was mailed from the English city of Bath in 1916. It then got lost in the post. It was finally delivered 107 years later to an address in London. The Royal Mail postal service in the UK said it was "uncertain what happened". A spokesperson said she was delighted the letter finally arrived, but had no idea why it was more than a century late. She said it may have fallen behind a piece of furniture.

Before the Internet, people wrote letters on paper. They then put these letters in an envelope. The sender then bought a stamp from a post office and stuck it on the envelope. They then put it in a mail box in the street. A postal worker would collect the envelope and the letter would begin its journey. It usually took a few days to reach its destination, if the address was in the same country. It could take weeks if the address was overseas. It sailed on a ship and was called "sea mail". Later, airplanes transported mail and we used "air mail". However, there was a slight problem with the letter that arrived 107 years late. The person to whom it was addressed was no longer living. He passed away in 1951.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson