Thorne Postcard Archive 

The postcards in this section have been reproduced with the kind permission of Kelvin Thorne. Kelvin grew up in Newbridge and upon marrying Jayne in 1975, he moved to Llanfach in Abercarn where he still lives. If you know of Kelvin, it may well be through his reputation as one of the finest amateur footballers this valley has ever produced - he started playing at youth level for Treowen Stars and spent the majority of his time in senior football playing for Newbridge Town, although he did briefly spend a season at Fields Park. 

 

Kelvin's interests during this time have included photography (especially local views) and collecting vintage postcards, many of which are produced here; they not only include local cards of Newbridge, Abercarn and Crumlin, but other Welsh views and cards from many other parts of Britain. The attraction for Kelvin is very often the stories written on the back of the cards, some from a century or more ago; the back of one such card (of Barry Hotel) is reproduced here - from the time of World War One in 1915 it carries a poignant message of recuperating soldiers in Barry and the fact that someone called Wyn is missing, presumably in action.  It's quite heartbreaking and brings the past vividly to life; mothers, wives and girlfriends are experiencing exactly the same worries with our armed forces at the present time. 

 

Kelvin hopes you enjoy looking at the postcards.