Messages from WWI Soldiers Discovered in a Bottle After Over a Century

In a remarkable historical discovery, messages written by two Australian soldiers during World War I have been found more than 100 years after being cast into the sea inside a glass bottle.

The bottle, containing handwritten notes dated August 15, 1916, was discovered on Wharton Beach, located in Western Australia, by a local family cleaning the shoreline.

According to reports, Peter Brown and his daughter Felicity spotted the bottle while collecting debris along the coast. “We’ve cleaned this beach countless times and never ignore a single piece of litter — this bottle was clearly waiting for us,” said Peter’s wife, Deb Brown.

The notes were written in pencil by soldiers Malcolm Neville and William Harley, who were en route to France to fight in the war as part of the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion. They had departed from Adelaide on August 12, 1916.

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Tragically, Malcolm Neville was killed in action a year later, while William Harley survived despite being wounded twice, later passing away in 1934 due to cancer.

Neville’s message asked whoever found the bottle to deliver it to his mother in Wilkawatt, South Australia, writing, “I’m doing well, the food is good, the sea journey is rough but we’re happy.”
Harley, meanwhile, wrote that whoever found his note could keep it as a memento, mentioning that their ship was somewhere near the Great Australian Bight.

Experts believe the bottle likely remained buried under coastal sand dunes for more than a century before reappearing as the dunes recently eroded. Despite partial moisture damage, both notes remain legible.

Deb Brown was able to trace the descendants of both soldiers and share the discovery with them. Ann Turner, great-granddaughter of William Harley, said the family was “stunned and emotional,” adding,

“It feels like my great-grandfather is reaching out from the grave — it’s almost a miracle.”

Members of Malcolm Neville’s family expressed that the discovery had brought their extended family closer together, calling it “a piece of living history returned to its people.”

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