THE recipient of a 1977 letter to a Blackburn soldier congratulating him for a ‘triumphant’ march has been found.

The dispatch to Lance Corporal Alan Whittle of Walnut Street, Blackburn, came from Lieutenant Colonel Frank Pedley of the Royal Signals Regiment in Sheffield.

Former journalist and lecturer Jeanette Smith, who found the letter in a book she borrowed from the library in her home town of Formby in Merseyside, appealed to the Lancashire Telegraph to try to return the letter.

After an article in the paper’s Bygones section on September 4, a delighted Mr Whittle came in to collect it.

The 64-year-old former BAE engineer, who rose to be a Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army section of the regiment, said he had no idea how the letter ended up in a book in the Formby library.

The married father-of-two, educated at St Alban’s Primary School and St Mary’s College in Blackburn, joined the volunteer part-time soldiers as a radio operator in 1975. He now lives in Lostock Hall.

Two years later he was part of a team of 12 from across the North of England, including his pal from Darwen, Barry Crewdson recruited by Sergeant Major Derrick Sivell to take part in the gruelling four-day Nijmegen March in The Netherlands.

Following their completion of the annual event which dates from 1909, the hardy dozen were invited to march past at special display at Norfolk Park, Sheffield, where Lt Col Pedley was taking the salute.

The team’s contribution and achievement gained extensive local and national publicity.

Lt Col Pedley, commander of then L/Cpl Whittle’s 38the Signal Regiment (Volunteers), afterwards wrote to each member of the team to tell them:”I am writing to say how pleased I was to receive such such a smart and triumphant Nijmegen March team at Norfolk Park last weekend. The team has been a credit to the regiment.”

Mr Whittle said: “I was surprised when I heard about the letter from my friend Bob Bond in Blackburn.

“I am delighted to get it back but have no idea how it ended up in a book in Formby Library. It was very considerate of Mrs Smith to try and get it back to me. I shall write to to say thanks. I haven’t seen the letter since 1977.

“Sgt Major Sivell got the team together because the Nijmegen March is a real challenge and a lot of military and indeed civilian teams take part.

“It’s four days of marching 25 miles a day with 22lbs on your back.

“It’s really hard and a lot of the teams, even the military ones, did not manage it.

“The effort was aimed at making sure the whole team made it and got a special medal.

“There was a lot of marching and effort but a lot of socialising and celebrating afterwards.

“We did and than Lt Col Pedley, who had done the march himself, heard about it and asked us to take part in the display at Norfolk Park.

“The team didn’t really want to but we did as we were told and that was a great occasion.

“It was a lovely gesture to write to each of us individually afterwards.”

Now Mr Whittle is to show the recovered letter of congratulation to his Accrington-born wife Pamela and children Philippa, 28, and David, 25.

He said: “I’m really pleased to have it back.”