'To dear Daddy away from us at Christmas.'

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’.