Letter, Aubrey Ledden (England) to Stanley White (New Zealand); Ledden, Aubrey; ...
Letter, Aubrey Ledden (England) to Stanley White (New Zealand)
About this object
Letter from Aubrey Ledden (Billericay, England) to Stanley White (Mataura, New Zealand) dated 7 August 1947. This is the fourth in a series of letters that Stan received from Aubrey Ledden who was a Sanitary Inspector with the Billericay Urban District Council. The letter anticipates a food parcel from Stan.
Stan and Aubrey became pen pals after Stan slipped a note into a consignment of lamb livers while working at the Mataura Freezing Works during World War Two. One of Stan's jobs was to pack lambs' livers in tin billies. The billies were then boxed, frozen and exported to England. For fun Stan wrote his name and address on a piece of paper and added 'please write to me'. He then slipped this note between the cellophane that covered the livers and the lid of the tins. Aubrey found the note when inspecting one of the consignments.
Five months after we put the letters online Aubrey’s son, Geoff (who lives in England) found the letters and made contact with us. Here is part of his email:
'I’m writing to tell you about the most amazing discovery that we have just made. I was stunned to discover that you have a collection of seven letters written by my father to Stanley White in Mataura between 1943 and 1948. I have just spent time downloading and reading this correspondence, a very emotional experience as my father died in 1968 when I was living in Italy and, unfortunately, all his papers were destroyed….the correspondence is full of the most fascinating information for me and our family.
My sister, Violet Bridson, will be as thrilled as I am at the discovery of these letters and we cannot thank you enough for preserving them and making them available online. It is the most exciting and emotional discovery that I have come across in 14 years of family history research.'
Stan is now 86 and lives in Main Street, Mataura. Geoff came to New Zealand in February 2014 to meet Stan and close this wonderful circle.
Letter writer
Date Made07.08.1947
Place MadeUK, England, Essex, Billericay
Medium and Materialsprocessed material, paper
Measurements
Envelope
h 95mm x w 143mm
small
industry/mataura freezing works
Subject and Association Keywordsindustry/mataura freezing works/employees
Subject and Association Keywords Credit LineFrom the collection of the Mataura and Districts Historical Society Incorporated.
Object Type Object numberMT2013.12.9
Rights
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