ABC News(HEREFORD, England) — After discovering an 88-year-old book bag in the college where they work, two teachers in the U.K. have finally solved the mystery surrounding the bag.
The owner of the brown satchel was confirmed to be Mona Helen Muriel Stonyer, a student at Aylestone Business and Enterprise College in Hereford, U.K. (originally called Hereford High School for Girls) between 1927 and 1930.
“We sent out a message to see if there were any relatives and did research to see what we would find out about Mona,” assistant head teacher Cal Hendry told ABC News. “A fourth cousin once removed got in touch with us a couple of weeks ago and came and spoke with us. He’s been researching his family for the last 10 years.”
Hendry said it was at the end of June when her colleague Jessica Griffith found the old satchel.
“I was sitting at my desk and she brought the satchel in,” Hendry said. “[Griffith] pulled out some books and then she opened them up and it was nice and neat. My jaw dropped because the way it had been preserved — no torn edges and nearly 100 years old. The quality of the work is exquisite as well.”
Mona’s fourth cousin, David Dewick, visited the school on Oct. 21, Hendry said, after hearing on the local news that the satchel has been found in an old cupboard.
According to Dewick, Mona never married or had children, and she worked as a personal secretary to a real estate agent. She passed away in 1990.
Mona’s satchel contained textbooks from her history, geology, and science classes, and Hendry said it’s been a real treat sharing the lessons with the students of Aylestone.
“It’s been fascinating,” she said. “It’s been a real education, really, into what the girls school was studying. The similarities, but also the differences of what we study today — it was interesting to compare and contrast.”
Hendry said Mona’s books and the satchel are being displayed in the reception area at the college.
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