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Letters (Etc.) Delivered Despite Odd / Minimal / Missing Addressing

EDIT: This post's original content was replaced with spam (now deleted). Here's the original news article to which others responded ...

Map leads postman to right door

A letter sent by a woman to an old friend addressed with only a first name, the town name and a map, arrived at the right house the next day.

Maureen McCartney, 72, from Hitchin, in Herts, needed to contact friend Monica, but did not know her married surname.

She had visited her home in Louth, Lincs, but did not know the address.

Ms McCartney, who wrote "Monica", "Louth", and drew a map of roads in the town and marked X where the house was, said she was amazed at the service.

'Very impressed'

She said: "I needed to contact Monica to tell her my sister was ill.

"I drew the main road out of Louth with two roads coming off it and marked where her bungalow was with an X.

"I was amazed when Monica rang me the next day to say the letter had arrived.

"I was very impressed as I had only posted it at 1500 BST the previous day. They could easily have put it in the bin."

Ms McCartney added: "Monica has not been able to track down the postman who delivered it to thank him. I have written to the post office to say thank you."
SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/beds/bucks/herts/5341572.stm
 
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Do you have a source for this anecdote?
 
Years ago, I just used to address letters to my Mum as 'Mum' and then put on the address. Of course it got to her OK, but she told me off about it. Apparently, the postman used to have a laugh about it as he handed over the letters.
 
My father would write to my uncle (his brother-in-law) at the correct address but under a variety of absurd names.
The one that sticks in my mind is Mr Claude Earmuff.

I do wonder what the postman must have thought. To my knowledge he never mentioned it.
 
There's a thread somewhere with more stories about incomplete addresses on letters which are nevertheless delivered to the right place, but I can't think of its title. And in this heat my brain's not working well enough to figure out how to search for it!
 
There's a thread somewhere with more stories about incomplete addresses on letters which are nevertheless delivered to the right place, but I can't think of its title. ...

There are also multiple stories of odd addressing in:

Christmas Card addressed to "England" reaches right address
http://forum.forteantimes.com/index...essed-to-england-reaches-right-address.60676/

Edit: Updated title & link:

Letters (Etc.) Delivered Despite Odd / Minimal / Missing Addressing
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...despite-odd-minimal-missing-addressing.60676/
 
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have heard about the Royal Mail delivering letters with vague addresses along the lines of:

The woman in the cottage,
by the river,
across the bridge,
in the village with the big church,
near Bristol.

I worked on the Post Office years ago and admired the sorters' efforts to decipher obscure addresses like that.

This made me confident enough to try it myself. I sent my son mail addressed thusly -

Aid
Trin
Ox

and it reached him. He was the only undergrad called Aidan living in at Trinity College, Oxford.

When living in Hungary I tried
Aid
Trin
Ox
UK

and that also worked.

Oxford undergraduates' mail is sorted and delivered by the astoundingly intelligent and shrewd porters. They knew everyone's handwriting and my silly ways so once the letters hit the gatehouse the game was up.
 
My mother once sent a letter to an army base, with just the first name and regiment written on it. Luckily it reached the intended recipient, so they could go on a date. This year is their 45th wedding anniversary.
 
NOTE:

We have two threads dedicated to odd or notable deliveries of posted items. The contents of both have been reviewed and re-sorted in accordance with their different themes.

Letters (Etc.) Delivered Despite Odd / Minimal / Missing Addressing
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...despite-odd-minimal-missing-addressing.60676/

THEME: Successful deliveries specifically noteworthy for overcoming addressing weirdness, loss or damage.


Long Time Coming: Errant Messages, Lost Letters & Misdirected Mail
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...messages-lost-letters-misdirected-mail.14696/

THEME: Delayed deliveries notable for the time lapse until delivery (regardless of cause)
 
I love these kinds of stories where people either screw things up or just make a desperate attempt and trust in providence.
There are numerous examples from rural Ireland, where in the past, postmen were viewed as local sages and keepers of knowledge.

Here's just one example:
Postman turns detective to deliver letter with cryptic address in Ireland

Inside the envelope from a friend to Barry Henderson, a phD student over the border in Belfast, was the message: ‘If this has arrived, you live in a village’

I've heard of various cases reported of similarly addressed material arriving to the right person due to local knowledge. I find them strangely reassuring.
 

That's a lovely story. It's also interesting because 'stretcher bearers' were from certain non-combatant military occupations such as musicians and catering staff.
So It seems Stretcher Bearer Gumm was probably a chef who went on to greater things after the war.
 
I love these kinds of stories where people either screw things up or just make a desperate attempt and trust in providence.
There are numerous examples from rural Ireland, where in the past, postmen were viewed as local sages and keepers of knowledge.

Here's just one example:
Postman turns detective to deliver letter with cryptic address in Ireland

Inside the envelope from a friend to Barry Henderson, a phD student over the border in Belfast, was the message: ‘If this has arrived, you live in a village’

I've heard of various cases reported of similarly addressed material arriving to the right person due to local knowledge. I find them strangely reassuring.

I've mentioned this before but it fits here.

When my son Aidan was at Trinity College, Oxford I'd send him post addressed thusly -


AIDAN
TRINITY
OXFORD​

which always reached him.

At the time he was the only Aidan in Trinity and the mail went via the gatehouse where the Porters sorted it. They know EVERYTHING.
So I upped my game by abbreviating it to
AID
TRIN
OX​
which of course still worked. Can't get anything past those Porters!

When I lived abroad I sent him postcards from various countries addressed
AID
TRIN
OX
UK​

This aroused suspicion in former Communist Eastern European countries. Probably looked like thinly-disguised espionage.

In Hungary you still had to buy stamps in the Post Office, stick them on your letter or card in front of the clerk and hand the whole thing over on the spot. The clerk would scrutinise the letter and I'd be asked in Hungarian something along the lines of 'Are you taking the piss?'

They sent it all though and he received everything.
 
Here's a Guardian article about the Royal Mail delivering letter with no address, just a description.

This doesn't surprise me. When I last worked on t'Post I saw this done all the time.

‘Lives across from the Spar’: bizarrely labelled letter finds way to UK address

Writing on Twitter, the County Antrim musician Feargal Lynn said the postal system deserved “hearty applause” for successfully delivering the letter addressed by following a brief history of his family in the area.

Describing his parents and the “Spar his ma and da used to own”, the description of Lynn also included his later move to the nearby Waterfoot and the fact he is “friends with the fella [who] runs the butchers” in the neighbouring village.

As I've mentioned, I used to send my son cards and letters when he was at Oxford -
First,

Aidan
Trinity
Oxford

which always reached him.

Upped my game to

Aid
Trin
Ox

and he still got everything.

When I lived in Hungary it was

Aid
Trin
Ox
UK

which presented no problems whatsoever for the Hungarian postal service either. :chuckle:
 
There's a reference to this kind of thing in Derek and Clive, where Peter Cook tells Dudley Moore that he's sent a letter addressed as follows.

"C*nt.
London."
 
Yesterday I watched the highly enjoyable Shakespeare in Italy with Francesco da Mosto. He featured the Club di Giulietta in Verona. This is a group of ten young women who receive letters from all over the world, addressed to Juliet/Giulietta (as in Romeo and Juliet.) The girls reply individually to the letters, which seek advice in matters of the heart.

iu


Many of the letters are addressed simply to:

Juliet/Giulietta

Verona

-
but they all get through.

Charming.

maximus otter
 
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I just had an email from my sister thanking me for her birthday card. Thing is that I sent it in September.
Apparently I'd put one number wrong on the address and the woman in their retirement community had only just taken it to the office.
They only moved this year and I'd got the address from my other sister so now I've fixed it.
 
I think I read somewhere way back (probably Readers Digest) of a letter addressed to 'Two funnels, Three funnels', being successful delivered to Queen Elizabeth College and Queen Mary Hall (London).
 
Sometimes the odd address is standard. Someone once told me he knew a family in a rural section of New York State whose official street address was "Big Yellow House". I wonder what would happen if they decided to paint it.
 
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