British man finds 82-year-old message in a bottle, sparks hunt for sender

A British man has reportedly found a message in a bottle on a beach in Jersey from 82 years ago that asked the finder to 'send a photograph'. Nigel Hill, 55, found the bottle at Bel Royal on the Channel Island Tuesday while he was walking his dog.

According to the reports, the note was dated September 5, 1938, and was written on a cardboard placed inside a bottle by a man named John Stapleford and had miraculously survived 82 years in the sea. It said to 'communicate with a photograph' to an address 245 miles away in Barnet, Hertfordshire.

Nigel told the media that he was taking a walk along the beach with the dog and spotted a message bottle that looked interesting. He said that he immediately noticed a note inside the bottle and had to, unfortunately, smash the bottle in order to get the note. He further added that the note had been inscribed on the flipside of a cakebox addressed to Cawley Bros Ltd, and was placed in a Smith's bottle, both based on the island.

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Social media assisted in finding the writer

The message asked the finder to communicate with John Stapleford, 18 Fitzjohn Avenue, Barnet, Herts, England with a photograph. According to the reports, Nigel began the hunt for the said person and was shocked when social media assisted in finding the writer of the message, confirmed reports.

Nigel has reportedly been able to track down a lay who currently resided the property from the message with the help of Facebook. He told the media that initially, the message led him to believe that it was a hoax, he later found out that it wasn’t. 

He further added that the lady had lived at the property for 30 years and wasn’t a relative of John. She, however, investigated into the deeds of her home and found that a man named John Stapleford had bought the property in 1921, and was presumably residing in Jersey in 1938.

John had unfortunately passed away on 2 December 1980, aged 91, said Nigel. He is survived by his wife Nellie who resided in John Stapleford, 18 Fitzjohn Avenue, Barnet, Herts, England, he added. Nigel has reportedly been trying to contact John’s family members to hand over the bottle and the note to them which could be an heirloom for the family, said reports.

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