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Uncommon Airmail
The card travelled on a meteorological apparatus (radiosonde) of a weather balloon which had been flied for weather forecast purposes on January 1, 1980 at 23:14 hr at Hemsby (near Great Yarmouth).
Obviously the card was tied with rope to the apparatus. On the back and the front a horizontal imprint of the rope is clearly visible. On the reverse there are instructions for the finder.
This apparatus was found, however, outside the United Kingdom. The balloon first flew across the Channel and landed finally in The Netherlands in the dunes along the North Sea.
Notice the manuscript notation by the finder: "This is found in the dunes in Callantsoog 15 km south of Den Helder".
Because official mail is postage free in the country of origin only a Dutch stamp of 50 cents - the foreign postcard rate at that moment - had to be stuck on.
The stamp was cancelled by machine postmark with the slogan "Postcode gebruik 'm goed" (Zip code use it well) on February 9.
According to the square stamp on the front the card returned at the meteorological office at Bracknell on February 13, 1980.
A great piece for a collection with the theme meteorology !
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