A LOST postcard from 1955 has finally been delivered to its rightful owner after it was handed into a Dorchester charity shop.

Chris Hermon, 75, who lives near Pershore in Worcestershire, was thrilled when he received a Facebook message from a volunteer at

Weldmar Hospicecare - a specialist end of life care provider for people living in Dorset.

The volunteer had found a postcard, dating from 1955, addressed to him at the Dorchester branch.

It was handed in to the charity as part of Weldmar’s stamp collection fundraising appeal.

The postcard was addressed to the then 10-year-old Chris and had been sent from his ‘uncle Fred’ (not a blood relative) all the way from New Jersey in the United States.

Mr Hermon, a retired salesman, had never seen the postcard before and was delighted to receive it 65 years after it was sent.

The postcard arrived just before Christmas.

He said: “I was absolutely elated when I got the message telling me about the postcard - I could not believe what I was reading, it was just so out of the blue.

“The card was addressed to Barclays Bank House in Peacehaven, Sussex, which is where I lived as a child. I have no idea how it ended up in a hospice charity in Dorset and I would love to find out more about it. It really is quite bizarre.”

Mr Hermon and Fred Kendall, a publisher living in Short Hills, New Jersey, were pen pals when he was a child, however, the pair had not had any contact since the 1970s.

Mr Kendall passed away a number of years ago, but Mr Hermon did try to track down his address while on a visit to the United States 14 years ago. Sadly, he was unable to find it.

Mr Hermon has thanked the hospice charity for finding and sending the card to him.

He said: “I am very grateful to the team at Weldmar for tracking me down and sending me the postcard along with a lovely Christmas card from the hospice themselves.

“They are wholly responsible for giving me the best Christmas present ever.

He added: “The card will be framed and truly treasured forever.”