The Dundee Time Capsule

The “Dundee Postal Workers War Memorial Shrine” was put together in 1921 to commemorate postal staff involved in the First World War. 240 Dundee postal workers served in the War of which 36 died.

A group of Dundee postmen who signed up to join the war effort.
A group of Dundee postmen who signed up to join the war effort.

The contents of the unique shrine remained a secret for 93 years as it was not to be opened until the one hundred year anniversary of Britain’s involvement in the First World War on the 4th August 2014.

Postcard of Pte. J. Brady in postal uniform
Postcard of Pte. J. Brady in postal uniform

Download and a letter by John Jack Edward from the time capsule.

The Lord Provost and staff from Royal Mail and the Post Office opened the shrine to discover letters to themselves by their equivalents from the past. Many documents and photographs were tightly packed inside.

A message to the future

Fascinating contents include letters from soldiers at the front and from those stuck in prisoner-of-war camps. One particularly poignant and insightful letter was written by 21 year old Annie Lamont, a telegraphist with the Dundee Post Office. Annie speaks of life in 1921 and wonders what the next 100 years will bring. Her words are a message to us all and you can hear them bought to life below in an audio piece by Jennifer Tracey for BBC Radio 4’s iPM programme.

Credits: A group of Dundee postmen...  Postcard of Pte. J. Brady... and Letter from John Jack Edward... courtesy of Royal Mail Group and British Postal Museum & Archives. Annie Lamont letter reading... courtesy of Jennifer Tracey, BBC Radio 4.