A POSTCARD from South Africa has finally reached Monkton Wyld Court – 53 years after it was sent.

The card was sent from Durban on November 1957, but never reached the intended recipient, who is believed to have been a student at the boarding school at the time.

Staff at the court are hoping to shed more light on the story – but may have to wait until the next reunion in May 2011.

Volunteer co-ordinator Sarah Drewer said staff were surprised by the find.

She said: “We were all really surprised. It’s quite amazing to get something from long ago, which has been lost in the post for so long.

“We were all really pleased and excited by it.”

The writing is faded now but it appears to be addressed to a Miss JS Beasley, and signed off from grandma and granddad.

The postcard talks about their holiday, that they are having a lovely time, and that they met a child who looked like the one on the postcard.

Monkton Wyld Court is a grade II building, which served as a hotel in 1940 for a brief period and then became a school – for cooperative living and learning – until 1982.

But the court continues to serve as an educational centre for sustainable living and hosts a range of courses.