RETURN TO SENDER
After Sarah Quic discovered love letters dating back more than 60 years under her floorboards she vowed to track down the couple who wrote them
AWOMAN who discovered a bundle of love letters underneath the floorboards of her new house has tracked down the elderly couple who wrote them more than 60 years ago – and found they are still together and happily married.
Sarah Quic, 38, stumbled on the pile of letters written in the 1940s and 1950s by RAF airman John Titley to his teenage girlfriend Rena Milton while she was renovating the old cottage she shares with her partner and daughter in Pontypridd, South Wales.
She said: “The letters were really romantic. It was like finding a lovely piece of history.”
Most of the letters were sent by John while he was in the RAF stationed in Melksham, Wiltshire, and Rena was living with her mother in Pontypridd. They tell the story of a couple at the beginning of a blossoming relationship but separated by circumstances.
Sarah added: “We read quite a lot of the letters and they were really romantic and innocent love letters from John, as well as sketches and notebooks.
“They would be counting the days until John was on leave so he could come down and see her. They would talk about the stuff they were going to do like going to the pictures and he would say: ‘I think about you all the time.’ It was really romantic stuff.
“There were lovely drawings too that John did. He sketched a view from his window. It was all very heartwarming and it was like your own little romantic film.”
Despite the letters being forgotten for many years and even surviving a fire that left some scorched around the edges the documents are still in good condition.
After reading the letters Sarah vowed to track down the couple and went on Facebook to appeal for information. Fortunately, Rena’s nephew Aaron Morgan got in touch and revealed the love-struck pair went on to marry in 1961. They had two children and now live in retirement in Cardigan. Sarah is planning a visit to John, 82, and Rena, 78, to reunite them with the lost love letters.
MUM-OF-ONE Sarah said: “They are a snapshot of an age where love and communication was more simple. My partner has never written me a letter. It’s all digital now, so this is an era we are losing touch with.
“It was like a history lesson. Rena has written her shopping lists and estimated amounts, how much the train fare was to Cardiff. There are also letters about little quarrels she had with her mum and sister.
“They are so lovely and I am hoping the couple will let me keep a few of them to stay in the house.”
Sarah plans to sell the house when it is renovated but the love letters have inspired her to leave something for future owners. She said: “We are going to put our own memory box under the floorboards and hopefully it will be a lovely little discovery for someone in years to come.”