Post Office returns letter stuck behind drawer 48 years later

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Tizi Hodson, from Gedney Hill, Lincolnshire, applied for a job in 1976 but her application was never delivered

BBC Tizi Hodson stands in the garden of her Lincolnshire home. She has short brown hair, is wearing a leopard-print top and is holding pages of a letter. — Tizi Hodson, from Gedney Hill, Lincolnshire, applied for a job in 1976 but her application was never delivered

A woman who spent 48 years wondering why an application for her dream job was never answered has finally found out why.

Tizi Hodson, 70, from Gedney Hill in Lincolnshire, could not believe her eyes when she opened the post to discover her original letter applying for a job as a motorcycle stunt rider, sent in January 1976, had been stuck behind a post office drawer all these years.

Despite it getting lost in the post, the setback did not hamper her daredevil career as she found a job that took her all over the world.

Describing the letter being returned as “amazing”, Ms Hodson said: “I always wondered why I never heard back about the job. Now I know why.”

Tizi Hodson demonstrating her motorcycle stunt-riding skills

Submitted A black and white archive photo showing a woman riding a motorcycle over an equestrian-style jump at a village fete-style event. In the background, people watch from behind a cordon, which is stretched in front of parked cars and camper vans. — Tizi Hodson demonstrating her motorcycle stunt-riding skills

At the top of the letter is a handwritten note that reads: “Late delivery by Staines Post Office. Found behind a draw [sic]. Only about 50 years late.”

Ms Hodson doesn’t know who returned the letter, or how it even found its way to her.

“How they found me when I’ve moved house 50-odd times, and even moved countries four or five times, is a mystery,” she said.

“It means so much to me to get it back all this time later.

“I remember very clearly sitting in my flat in London typing the letter.

“Every day I looked for my post but there was nothing there and I was so disappointed because I really, really, wanted to be a stunt rider on a motorcycle.”

Luckily for Ms Hodson, the silence following her application did not put her off from trying for other jobs.

She moved to Africa, worked as a snake handler and horse whisperer, learned to fly and became an aerobatic pilot and flying instructor.

The job application with a note from the Post Office, explaining it was found behind a drawer

Tizi Hodson holds up the letter found by a post office after 50 years. A note written in black pen explains that it is a "late delivery by Staines Post Office" and that it was found behind a drawer, only about 50 years late. — The job application with a note from the Post Office, explaining it was found behind a drawer

Looking back at the letter she sent when she was just starting out, Ms Hodson said: “I was very careful not to let people who were advertising for a stunt rider know that I was female, or I thought I would have had no chance of even getting an interview.

“I even stupidly told them I didn’t mind how many bones I might break as I was used to it.

“It seems incredible to get the letter back after all this time.

“If I could speak to my younger self, I would tell her to go and do everything I’ve done. I’ve had such a wonderful time in life, even if I have broken a few bones.”