(L-R) Paul Siddle, Alfred Siddle, Anthony Gibbons and David Siddle. (Image: Anthony Gibbons / SWNS)
Anthony Gibbons, a 39 year old site manager, and his crew stumbled upon the intriguing note inside an old bottle on Tuesday (January 28) while they were converting a former swimming baths into 49 luxury flats.
Originating from 1973, the faded document details the names, trades, and origins of the original construction team.
Speaking of the extraordinary discovery, Anthony shared the group’s sentiments: “Everybody was quite thrilled and excited to have a read of what was inside the time capsule.
“It’s not very often that you find time capsule in old buildings.
“As construction workers, we don’t get the chance to work in buildings at these age and these jobs don’t come in every day.”
The Newcastle native and his team felt a profound connection with the past, expressing both excitement and pride at their connection with the builders from decades ago: “Everybody is quite excited and proud to find the note.
“We’ve had a little look back in history and have reminisced at how things have changed.”
The area in the swimming baths where the message was found. (Image: Anthony Gibbons / SWNS)
He concluded with a sense of appreciation for the legacy of the original workers: “We are quite proud to be working on the same building that those guys worked on all these years ago.”
In a nod to the past and with an eye to the future, Anthony and his fellow workers have returned the bottle to its original place and contributed their own time capsule for future generations to find.
He revealed: “After we found it, I wrote a note stating the names of the guys who are site and said how we are converting the swimming baths into luxury apartments.
“I got pretty much everyone who was on site that day to sign the document and put what area they are from – just like there was on the original note.
“We more or less copied it, but with a 2025 version.”
The area in the swimming baths where the message was found. (Image: Anthony Gibbons / SWNS)
Anthony took to a local Facebook group to share the find and has been inundated with over 1,000 messages from people suggesting their relatives might be among the men who penned the original note.
He said: “We’ve had over 1,400 likes and comments and there is a lot of people claiming and asking if it could be their dad or uncle or friends.
“It seems like a lot of the men still have relations in and around the local area.”