A British sentimental postcard || This ornate postcard, with its patriotic Union flag and Christmassy holly-sprig details, was intended to send a loving message to an absent father. Two small girls within a heart-shaped frame are pictured apparently penning the sentiments printed above, which are headed ‘To dear Daddy away from us at Christmas / With lots of love’. The lines read: ‘We’re thinking about you, Daddy, / And wishing that you were here, / It’s Christmas, you know, but it’s not so nice / With you away, Daddy dear: / We miss you and want you badly, / So far from us all away, / And we’re sending our love, / with a kiss from each / To cheer you on Christmas Day’. The composer of the lines’ name – ‘Willmer.’ – is printed below, further details being ‘X.P. 71.’ and ‘ROTARY PHOTO. E.C.’. There is more printed information on the reverse of the postcard: ‘Rotary Photographic Series’ and ‘This is a Real Photograph’. A child’s hand has scrawled the following message in pencil across the back: ‘From Leslie to dady sic with love and kisses / X X X X X X’.

Presented on the front of this postcard are a photographic portrait of an embracing British soldier and child beneath a spray of flowers and a Union flag. The adjacent text is a heading – ‘To my Dear Daddy away on Duty’ – with the verse below reading, ‘Daddy, dear, how much I miss you / Tongue can never tell, / And every night I pray that you / Are keeping safe and well / Although dark times have come, / Your happiness to dim, / I know that God will keep you safe, / Because I pray to Him.’. Beneath that is the name ‘POPPY’, while the details in the bottom corners state ‘7640. A.’ and ‘ROTARY PHOTO.EC.’. Surrounding everything is a flower-embossed frame. The typeset details on the reverse include ‘Printed in Britain’, ‘Rotary Photographic Series’ and ‘This is a Real Photograph’. There is also a message, handwritten in black ink: ‘Wishing our Dear Daddy a very Bright and happy Birthday with the Best of Good luck and a speedy Return. From your Dear Little Daughters Annie & Nora’. || A British sentimental postcard || || Postcard || A British sentimental postcard

A photograph of a sad-looking child, hands clasped in prayer, is inset within the spray of flowers and greenery that takes up half of this postcard. To the right is a heading: ‘To my Own Dear Daddy “on Service.”’ The verse below reads: ‘Dear Father, whilst you’re far from Home and country / And those you Love are all so far away / I’m always thinking of you Dearest Daddy, / And send my Love to you for every day ; / At night I ask Our Father up in Heaven / To keep you safe & bring you Home once more / Where you have such an eager welcome waiting / To greet you when you enter at the door ; / And so I send you many kisses Daddy / With lots of Love and wishes Fond and True / That you may know at Home in dear Old Blighty / Your little one is thinking still of you.’ ‘The name ‘Alleyn.’ appears to the right of the last line, with ‘BEAGLES POSTCARDS’ positioned below that; ‘659.D’ and ‘COPYRIGHT.’ have been printed on the opposite side. A message has been written in black ink in an adult hand on the reverse. It reads: ‘To my Darling Daddy. / From his Little Girlie.’ The same hand has also scrawled a date to the left of the message: ‘July 28th 1918’. The printed information on the back includes the following text: ‘PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY J. BEAGLES & CO. LTD., LONDON. E.C.’ (within the stamp box); ‘BEAGLES’ POST CARDS / BEST IN THE WORLD’ and ‘TRADE MARK’ surrounding a logo that comprises a globe with ‘Best’ emblazoned across it; and ‘J. Beagles & Co. Ltd., E.C., Printers & Publishers. / GUARANTEED REAL PHOTOGRAPH.’ || A British sentimental postcard.