Don't tell anybody you got this...

I've been collecting Carlisle postcards for a few years now and I don't have any specific criteria for choosing what to buy and what not to buy - except the obvious: cards have to be used, and posted from Carlisle.

Whilst the photos provide interest, there's always going to be a finite number of views to see. It's the messages that intrigue me more, the written word of someone who passed through or lived in the city holds stories, secrets, inanities. One can only imagine how the recipient felt to receive a note from a loved one, a family member, a friend.

Some messages are banal, most are entertaining whilst a few others are just plain mysterious. Today's card is the latter....

I picked this one up from Ebay; posted in September 1902, it's one of the earliest cards I have in my collection, and the only one with this view.

This is English Street at the turn of the 20th century. Very nice photo of a tram in the centre (advertising "James" Cycles - read more about the company on this wonderful blogpost at OldBike) and you can see J. Gibson's shop on the right. Is that a police constable standing right in the centre of the picture, too? Or just a fellow with hat on?

The message is an intrigue. It's more interesting for what it doesn't say than what it does.... simply:

"Don't tell anybody you got this".

That's it. There's no name, signature, or initials of any sort. The recipient is  Miss McGowan, Royal Restaurant... where? I can't make out the lettering for the final destination either but the Royal must've been fairly well-known for the card to have got there.*

So, who is he? A clandestine lover, a young suitor, a man on the run? We'll never know. This 110 year old mystery remains as enigmatic now as when the postcard was first sent.

*Thanks to the commentators, and some sleuthing Twitter users, it's been suggested that the lettering on the address side is "Dfs" and this likely stands for Dumfries. This seems very likely, being so close to Carlisle. A quick Google search indicates that there was a Royal Dumfries Restaurant there (in 1924 at least). So, now to find Miss McGowan....

To Mr & Mrs Parris, Station House, Catford Bridge, London, SE6 (1935)

19/7/35

Rain cut short my activities to-day. I covered about 16 miles of the site of the wall (there is no wall visible or scarcely any) when rain came on about 3.30p.m. I spent a long time over tea hoping that it would clear up, but returned to Carlisle [....] at 6.0pm. Reg.

Reg seems to be having a rather disappointing time whilst touring Hadrian's Wall (in the rain) and finds himself back in Carlisle for the evening. He has chosen one of the rarer postcard views of the city, the 'new' bridge over the River Eden. It's hard to find postcards with this view these days as most concentrate on Carlisle's tourist hotspots in town, but at one time the Memorial Bridge was a sight, well used by those paying their respects at the cenotaph.

The suspension bridge joins Rickerby Park on the north side with Stoneyholme golf course on the south. It was built after the First World War when the park was dedicated as a memorial to the fallen. It provides pedestrian access from St Aidan's Road to the park and the war memorial and it was officially opened on 25th May 1922. The Memorial Bridge now forms part of the Walton-Carlisle Hadrian's Wall Walk and Reg may very well have taken this route back into town.

My own memories of the 'spenny' bridge are from 1980s summer holidays when we used to spend time along the river between this and Eden Bridge; jumping off the centre of the spenny bridge into the river was a real test of nerve. I certainly wouldn't do it now!

Postcard info:

Publisher: Unknown

Postmark: 19th July 1935