Messages in a bottle, written by two Australian soldiers in 1916, have been discovered on Australia's south-western coast more than a century later. The notes were penned during the soldiers' voyage to join the battlefields of France in World War One. One of the soldiers was killed in action, while the other survived the war and returned home. The letters have since been passed on to their descendants.
Discovery Details
The bottle was found earlier this month on Wharton Beach, near Esperance in Western Australia. Local resident Deb Brown located the thick glass bottle in the sand while visiting the beach with her husband and daughter. Ms. Brown stated on Tuesday that the discovery occurred during one of their regular quad bike trips to clear litter.
Contents and Legibility
The bottle contained two letters. Despite the paper being wet, both letters remained legible. One of the letters, from Private Malcolm Neville, included a request for the finder to deliver it to his mother. Ms. Brown initiated the process of tracking down the soldiers' families to deliver the letters.
Soldiers' Backgrounds
One of the soldiers, Private Malcolm Neville, informed his mother in his letter that the food on board was "real good" and that they were "as happy as Larry." Months after writing the note, Private Neville was killed in action at the age of 28. The other soldier, 37-year-old Private William Harley, survived the war and later returned to Australia.