World War I soldier's message in a bottle found on remote Australian beach after 109 years

More than a century after it was written, a message in a bottle from an Australian World War I soldier has been discovered on a remote beach in Western Australia, rekindling memories of a life lost to war.

The letter, written by Private Malcolm Alexander Neville on 15 August 1916 and sealed inside a glass Schweppes bottle, was found on Wharton Beach, near Esperance — about 750km southeast of Perth, reports The Guardian.

"Having a real good time. Food is real good so far, with the exception of one meal, which we buried at sea," Neville wrote in the note addressed to his mother, signing it, "Your loving son Malcolm … Somewhere at sea."

A letter in a bottle written by a soldier to his mother 109 years ago has been found on a beach. Photograph: Deb Brown/AP

Neville, then 28, was on his way to Europe aboard the troopship HMAT Ballarat, which was later torpedoed and sunk in April 1917 — the same month he was killed in action during the Battle of Bullecourt in France.

Esperance resident Debra Brown and her family discovered the bottle while collecting rubbish on the beach. "We believe it's been buried because it's so well preserved. If it had lived in the ocean for 109 years, it would have sunk to the bottom. The cork would have disintegrated," she said.

Using tweezers, the family carefully pulled out the two-page handwritten letter, later confirming Neville's identity through the Australian War Memorial records.

Brown also found and contacted Neville's great-nephew, Herbie Neville, in Alice Springs to share the discovery, prompting excitement among surviving family members.

Private Malcolm Alexander Neville was 28 when he was killed in action in France in April 1917

The bottle also contained another letter from Private William Kirk Harley, who survived the war and later married his childhood sweetheart. Harley's note read: "If you find this bottle, I hope you're in as good spirits as we are at the moment."

According to Bryce Abraham, curator at the Australian War Memorial, Neville had struggled to enlist due to his height and poor eyesight but persisted out of determination to serve his country. "He only spent two months on the Western Front before he was killed," Abraham said. "He was keen to do his bit and really wanted to make a contribution."

The bottle is now considered one of only four known message bottles thrown overboard by Australian soldiers traveling from Adelaide to Europe in 1916 — a poignant reminder of the young men who left their homeland never to return.