<\/p>\n(Churchill Living via SWNS)<\/p>\n
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By Talker<\/span> Demolition operative Dave Cairns, from HWM Group, was the first to open the capsule and discover the contents.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI was taking extra care around the foundation brick making sure not to damage it.<\/p>\n
“When it came away I could see there was something hidden in behind it, so I stopped everything and peeled open the lead capsule to see what was in there.<\/p>\n
“It was a special moment.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve done this job for 30 years and it\u2019s the first time capsule I\u2019ve ever discovered!<\/p>\n
“Of course I handed it straight over to be looked after properly, and I hope people will be interested to see what we found.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earl Mountbatten of Burma was second cousin to Queen Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n
He served in two world wars, was involved in the partition of India and the Suez Crisis and was killed when the IRA detonated a bomb on his family’s fishing boat in north west Ireland in 1979.<\/p>\n
The unearthed capsule, discovered under the foundation stone of the former Edwina Mountbatten care home, also contained a metal reproduction cypher of Lord Mountbatten – which the letter states “was the custom in India for the Viceroy to provide.”<\/p>\n
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\n <\/p>\n(Churchill Living via SWNS)<\/p>\n
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By Talker<\/span> Two sets of coins were also inside – including the first ever decimal coinage from late 1960s – as well as detailed information about the care home\u2019s construction with names of all the people who worked on it.<\/p>\n
Kevin Sharp, from Churchill Living, added: “We were astonished to find such a carefully crafted time capsule with contents that give us so much detail about the old care home’s links with the Mountbatten family and the royal family.<\/p>\n
“It was also great to be able to read about all the local people involved in the original construction, from the main contractor Jenkins & Sons right down to the individual carpenters, bricklayers and plumbers who worked on it.<\/p>\n
“It’s a really fascinating piece of history which we would never have known about if it weren’t for the care taken by the HWM demolition team in removing the original foundation stone.”<\/p>\n
Churchill have said the team are ‘keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in studying the contents further’.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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