Sheffield soldier's World War One postcard reunited with his family

Kate Bayburt with the postcard sent during World War One by her great uncle, Thomas Henry Temprell

The postcard, which was kindly donated to Bluebell Wood by a volunteer, was sent to a Mrs E O'Brien of Main Road, Handsworth in Sheffield – but signed only by ‘Tom’.

The charity shared the postcard on social media with the hope of tracking down a relative and had a fantastic response from members of the public.

After her husband saw the story in the Sheffield Telegraph, the soldier’s great niece, Kate Bayburt, contacted Bluebell Wood.

The postcard sent during World War One by Sheffield soldier Thomas Henry Temprell

Mrs Bayburt, who was taken aback by the discovery, gratefully collected the postcard.

The mystery soldier was Private Thomas Henry Temprell of the York and Lancaster Regiment, from Sheffield, who sadly died in 1916 at just 19 years old.

He is buried in the Salonika Military Cemetery in Greece.

Madeleine Oldale, head of communications at Bluebell Wood, said: “When we discovered the postcard we felt it was only right to try and reunite it with a member of Thomas’ family so we were delighted when Kate came forward.

“We’d like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and kindly researched the postcard for us; thanks to your help it’s back with his family who will no doubt treasure it for years to come.”

The postcard features a picture of a soldier and a young woman who are thinking of each other.

Written in French, the card says: “Tommy au Front. Nous combattons bien, en Belgique, en France, De notre succes garde l’esperance”.

Translated into English it means: “Tommy at the Front. We are fighting well, in Belgium, in France, Continue to hope for our success”.

Thomas simply wrote on the back: “With best love from your ever-loving brother, Tom.”