Top 10 Captivating Messages and Letters Discovered in Bottles

Picture finding a bottle washed ashore, only to uncover a message penned many years ago. The author, a complete stranger who may no longer be alive, could be reaching out for a response or asking you to pass it on to someone else. Alternatively, the note might hold secrets that many would find intriguing.

It’s more common than you’d imagine for individuals to jot down notes or letters, seal them in bottles, and cast them into the ocean. These bottles drift with the tides, often landing in distant, unexpected locations. When discovered, some have transformed lives, while others have unveiled secrets meant to remain hidden.

10. The Message That Revealed a British Ship’s Refusal to Save a Stranded German Aircrew

In February 1916, the German Zeppelin L 19 (LZ 54) was on its way back from a bombing run over the UK when it plunged into the North Sea. The 16-man crew was spotted in the water by a British trawler named King Stephen, but the vessel declined to assist. Tragically, the crew eventually drowned.

This event might have stayed hidden if not for a note penned by one of the stranded crew members, placed in a bottle, and cast into the sea. The bottle held two messages. The first, written by the Zeppelin’s captain, Oto Lowe, stated, “February 2, around 1 pm, will likely be our final hour.”

The second note, detailing the incident, was authored by an unnamed crew member. It read: “My love to my wife and child. An English trawler arrived but refused to rescue us. It was the King Stephen, hailing from Grimsby.”

Six months later, the bottle washed ashore in Sweden. Germany exploited the note for propaganda, but British media defended the King Stephen’s captain, claiming he feared the Germans might take over his ship. The bishop of London further stirred controversy by calling the crew’s actions “understandable.” A German newspaper retorted, accusing the bishop of being “less a messenger of Christian compassion and more a nationalist agitator.”

Before the bottle’s discovery, the King Stephen was sunk by a German U-boat. Its crew was rescued by the Germans and held as prisoners of war until 1918, when they were finally repatriated to Britain.

9. An American Soldier Nearly Found Romance Through a Bottled Letter Until the Media Intervened

On Christmas Day in 1945, 21-year-old American soldier Frank Hayostek was sailing back to the US from France when he penned a heartfelt note, sealed it in a bottle, and tossed it into the Atlantic Ocean, 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) off the US coastline.

The message read: “I have no material reward to offer the person who finds this bottle, as I am simply an ordinary American who values life and happiness. However, I can promise you the gift of friendship.”

The bottle eventually reached Lispole, Ireland, where it was discovered by Breda O’Sullivan, an 18-year-old milkmaid. Breda responded, Frank wrote back, and the two continued exchanging letters until Frank visited Ireland in 1952. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse.

The press caught wind of their story, and Frank’s journey to Ireland became a media frenzy. In the end, the anticipated romance never blossomed, Frank returned to the US, and Breda ceased responding to his letters.

Frank held the media responsible for the relationship’s collapse. Breda, being a reserved individual, was overwhelmed by the sudden spotlight, which ruined any chance of their connection deepening. Frank also mentioned that Breda wasn’t prepared to leave her mother in Ireland to marry him in the US. Breda echoed his sentiments, blaming the media as well. She admitted she might have left the bottle untouched had she known it would thrust her into the public eye.

8. A Woman Married the Man Who Penned a Letter She Discovered in a Bottle

Staying on the theme of romance sparked by bottled messages, a man once found true love after a woman responded to a letter he had written and cast into the sea. The man was Ake Viking, a Swedish sailor, and the woman was Paolina, the daughter of a Sicilian fisherman.

In 1955, Viking composed a letter, sealed it in a bottle, and released it into the ocean. He titled it “To Someone Beautiful and Far Away,” sharing details about himself and inviting any woman who found it to write back.

The bottle eventually reached Sicily, where Paolina’s father discovered it during a fishing trip. He handed it to Paolina as a jest, but she decided to respond. In her letter, Paolina explained that she didn’t speak Swedish but managed to translate Viking’s message with her priest’s assistance. She admitted she didn’t consider herself beautiful but felt compelled to reply, given the bottle’s long journey.

Viking wrote back, and the two continued their correspondence until Viking made the trip to Sicily to meet her. They eventually married in 1958.

7. The Auschwitz Letter

Not all bottled messages are cast into the sea. One such note was discovered concealed within the walls of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 2009, 65 years after it was written. Dated September 9, 1944, the letter was authored by Bronislaw Jankowiak, a Catholic Pole who arrived at the camp in 1943. In it, he named six other men and offered a glimpse into their harrowing lives in the camp.

Jankowiak passed away in 1997, but at least three of the men he mentioned—Karol Czekalski, 83, Waclaw Sobczak, 84, and Albert Veissid, 84—were still alive when the letter was uncovered.

Veissid was the sole Jewish member of the group; the others were Catholics. He was astonished to see his name in the letter. While he couldn’t recall their names, he recognized their faces. They had met at the camp, where he assisted them in concealing stolen supplies in exchange for soup. At the time, prisoners were working on the wall, and Jankowiak likely took the chance to hide the bottle within it.

6. Jeremiah Burke’s Final Message from the Sinking Titanic

Jeremiah Burke was among the passengers aboard the RMS Titanic when it sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912. The 19-year-old was journeying to New York with his 18-year-old cousin, Nora Hegarty. Both perished in the tragedy.

As the Titanic went down, Burke hastily wrote a note, placed it in a bottle, and secured it with one of his shoelaces before tossing it into the sea. The message read, “From Titanic, Good Bye all, Burke of Glanmire, Cork.”

The bottle eventually washed ashore in Dunkettle, just a few miles from Burke’s hometown of Glanmire, Cork, Ireland, a year later. Burke’s death devastated his mother, who passed away within the same year, never having the chance to read her son’s final words.

5. The John Sands Mailboats

Mailboats were once the primary means for the inhabitants of Scotland’s St. Kilda archipelago to communicate with the outside world. These weren’t traditional messages in bottles or actual boats. Letters could be placed in any waterproof, buoyant container. One mailboat discovered in 1904 was crafted from a sheepskin bag, a tin can, and cotton wool.

Most mailboats eventually reached the shores of the UK, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Although St. Kilda was evacuated in 1930, visitors and workers continue to launch mailboats to honor the tradition. Occasionally, mailboats sent before 1930 still surface.

The first mailboats were sent out in 1876 by John Sands, a journalist stranded on St. Kilda with a group of Austrian sailors. Facing a dwindling supply of food, Sands feared starvation and launched two mailboats, urging anyone who found them to notify the Austrian consul. The first was discovered in Orkney after nine days, and the second in Ross-Shire 22 days later. Both messages reached the consul, and a British ship eventually rescued the men.

4. An Unknown Passenger’s Final Note from the Sinking Lusitania

The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed off the Irish coast by the German submarine U-20 on May 7, 1915, during World War I. Although a civilian vessel, the Lusitania was suspected by Germany of carrying weapons to Britain.

Germany had declared unrestricted warfare on British ships and even placed newspaper ads warning Americans against traveling on them, as they could be attacked without notice. The Lusitania departed New York on the same day the first ad was published.

Two explosions were heard aboard the Lusitania on the day it sank. The first was unmistakably the torpedo, but the second remains unexplained. Germany claimed it was caused by exploding ammunition. Regardless of the cause, 1,198 people lost their lives, while 761 were saved.

As the Lusitania was sinking, an unknown individual began writing a note but didn’t finish before sealing it in a bottle. The message reads: “Still on deck with a few others. The last lifeboats are gone. We’re sinking quickly. Some men nearby are praying with a priest. The end is near. Maybe this note will . . . “

It’s believed the writer stopped mid-sentence to place the note in the bottle just before the ship fully submerged underwater.

3. Private Thomas Hughes Passed Away Two Days After Writing a Letter to His Wife, Who Never Received It

On September 9, 1914, Thomas Hughes, a British Army private, wrote a letter to his wife, Elizabeth, while en route to France for World War I. He placed the letter in a bottle and tossed it into the English Channel, including a request for whoever found it to deliver it to his wife.

In his letter, he penned:

Dear Wife,

Your Hubby.

Hughes died just two days after writing the letter. Elizabeth never saw it, passing away in 1979. The letter was discovered in March 1999, 20 years after her death and 85 years after it was written. Fisherman Steve Gowan found the bottle in the River Thames and delivered the letter to Thomas and Elizabeth’s daughter, Emily Crowhurst, who was 86 at the time. Emily was only two when her father left for the war.

2. The Letter That Helped a South Vietnamese Soldier Reach the US

On December 28, 1979, John Peckham and his wife Dottie were sailing from Acapulco, Mexico, to Hawaii when they composed a letter, placed it in a wine bottle, and tossed it into the ocean. The letter contained their names, a postbox address, and a request for whoever found it to return it to them. They even included $1 to cover postage costs.

Three years and 14,500 kilometers (9,000 miles) later, Vietnamese refugee Nguyen Van Hoa discovered the bottle 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the coast of Thailand. Hoa, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, had fled Vietnam with his wife and brother after South Vietnam’s defeat in 1975.

He mailed the letter back to the Peckhams, and the two families corresponded for two years until Hoa asked for their assistance in moving to the US. The Peckhams agreed, and five years after finding the bottle, Hoa, his wife, their baby, and his brother arrived in Los Angeles.

1. The Oldest-Known Message in a Bottle

The oldest-known message in a bottle was discovered north of Wedge Island, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Perth. The bottle was cast into the Indian Ocean on June 12, 1886, by the crew of the German vessel Paula. The Paula was involved in a research initiative by the German Naval Observatory to study ocean currents, which spanned from 1864 to 1933.

Thousands of bottles were released into the ocean during the research period. Captains were required to include details such as the date, coordinates, route, ship name, and home port in the letter inside each bottle.

The Paula was 950 kilometers (590 miles) off the coast of Australia, en route from Wales to present-day Indonesia when the bottle was released. The letter included a request for the finder to note the date and location of discovery and return it to the German Naval Observatory or a German consulate.

Researchers speculate the bottle washed ashore within a year of being thrown into the ocean but remained buried in the sand until its discovery in 2018. Prior to this, the last bottle was found in Denmark on January 7, 1934. This recent discovery is the 663rd bottle recovered out of the thousands released.