Postcard Project aims to reunite families with old cards

A man has begun a challenge to reunite families with vintage postcards to give them a "snapshot of their history".

Joe Ward, 34, started the Postcard Project after rediscovering a lost card of Christchurch Park in Ipswich in a storage box six months ago.

Mr Ward has since collected 32 cards of the park dating from 1904 to the 1920s and would like to find descendants of those who sent or received them.

He said it felt important to return evidence of "small moments in lives".

Mr Ward, who lives in Ipswich, said he believed despite the age of the cards, which he has bought on eBay, the messages would hold special memories for the descendants of the people who sent and received them.

"There are such a range of messages, from one line sentences of 'hope you are quite well', all the way up to things like one which documented their child starting to walk," he said.

"It's a little snapshot of people's lives there and then, that's why it's quite important to return them. These are small moments in their families lives."

He also hopes to learn more about the "heartfelt" moments shared and the history of the cards through the project.

The majority of the cards were sent within Ipswich but others made their way to London and other towns across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Kent.

"I'm getting to the point where I value smaller, tactile memories more," he said. "I'd like to be reunited with one if it was my relative, it's a family memory which is nice."

He hopes relatives will come forward after recognising names and addresses on the cards.

Anyone who thinks they may have a connection to one of the cards can get in touch via the project's website.

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