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Postcard finally arrives — 92 years late

Private in WWI had sent it to sweetheart, who later became his wife

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Overdue delivery
Feb. 17: It took 92 years, but a postcard a soldier sent to his sweetheart from the trenches during World War I has finally arrived.

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updated 3:55 a.m. ET Feb. 18, 2007

LONDON - A postcard sent from the trenches during World War I by a private to his wartime sweetheart finally arrived — 92 years after he had sent it.

Pvt. Walter Butler wrote to Amy Hicks in 1915, telling her he was alive and well — but the army issue postcard never made it to her home in Wiltshire, 60 miles west of London. Butler survived the war, and the couple went on to marry.

The postcard turned up in a postal sorting office, which sent it along last week to the post office near Hicks' address. A local postman called the home of the couple's daughter, Joyce Hulbert, to announce the discovery.

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Hulbert, 86, a grandmother of three, said that her late parents rarely discussed the war and that the relic of the past had little meaning for her. She wondered what the fuss was all about.

"I think it's rather excessive," Hulbert told The Associated Press. "There's lots more interesting things going on than a postcard arriving 92 years late."

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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