An uneaten Easter egg from 1939 is set to go on sale.
The egg has survived its 84th Easter unbroken, having been given to nine-year-old girl in 1939.
With the Second World War looming, she was advised by her uncle to ration the egg and eat it slowly.
But instead, she refused to eat a single piece of the egg for the rest of her life.
Sybil Rees (nee Cook) from Neath, South Wales, died at the age of 91 in 2021.
The egg, wrapped in blue and white paper, remained intact and included a decorative garden scene.
‘Sybil Cook’ is written in pencil on the box, along with the year ‘1939’.
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The 84-year-old egg will be offered at auction at Hansons Auctioneers, between 18-23 May, with a guide price of £600-800.
Her daughter, Gill Bolter, said her mum “loved life and chocolate” but she was “so disciplined and respectful to her elders she never ate a single piece”.
“When we asked mum how she’d managed to keep the egg for so long she told us that having kept it all through the war it didn’t seem right to eat it,” she said.
“She did scratch a bit of the paper off the front when she was little, just to check there was chocolate behind it.”
‘Happy memories’
Ms Bolter added that the egg was “very precious” to her mother.
“Having kept it safe through her childhood she took it with her when she left home to get married in 1955 and for 60 years had it tucked away on a shelf in her bedroom in Bilton Road in Neath. The egg has now ended up in a cupboard in my bedroom.”
Sybil deteriorated in early 2021 and passed away a week after her 91st birthday.
“I still get upset at the memory of us trying to sing happy birthday to her through a window,” Ms Bolter added.
“Her Easter egg brings back happy memories for us all including my daughter, her only grandchild.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “Food rationing lasted for 14 years in Britain, from 1940 until 1954 – nearly 10 years after the war ended. In 1946, when food was just as short as during the preceding years, bread was added to the ration and the sweet ration was halved.
“Sybil’s egg is a reminder of those difficult days. She came from a generation who understood hardship. They learned to cherish and appreciate the smallest things. That’s a very fine character trait to have.”
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Sybil “loved” antiques shows according to Ms Bolter, and she would be “thrilled to be part of this”.
“It would be lovely if the egg went to a museum alongside mum’s wartime memories.”
