A nine-year-old Welsh girl from Neath received an Easter egg for the 1939 holiday,
despite the impending threat of World War II. Uncle advised Sybil Cook to ration and cherish every bite of the Mary Mary Quite Contrary egg she received.
The chocolate was too valuable to consume, so Sybil kept it unopened and untouched until her death in 2021, at the age of 91.
Gill Bolter, Sybil’s 61-year-old daughter from Cardiff, recalls her mother’s fondness for chocolate and how her uncle advised her to ration it during food shortages.
Ms. Bolter explained, “When we asked my mother how she’d managed to keep the egg for so long, she said that after keeping it throughout the war, it didn’t seem right to eat it.”
Hansons Auctioneers is currently auctioning off the 84-year-old egg as a memorial to Sybil and her family. The carton still carries her pencil-written name, Sybil Cook, and the year 1939. The proprietor of Hansons Auctioneers, Charles Hanson, remarked, “The story surrounding this Easter egg melted my heart.”
In Britain, food rationing persisted for 14 years, from 1940 to 1954, nearly ten years after the conclusion of World War II. In 1946, when food was as scarce as in previous years, bread was added to the ration and the dessert ration was cut in half. Sybil’s 84-year-old egg is a reminder of those challenging times and of her generation’s ability to appreciate even the smallest of things.
Hansons Auctioneers will auction an 84-year-old Easter egg in May as a tribute to its owner, Sybil Cook of Neath, Wales. Sybil’s uncle gave her the egg for Easter in 1939 with the advice to ration it due to the rationing caused by World War II.
Sybil heeded his advice and kept the chocolate unopened and intact until her death in 2021 at the age of 91. The carton still carries her pencil-written name, Sybil Cook, and the year 1939.
Her 61-year-old daughter from Cardiff, Gill Bolter, recalls her mother’s fondness for chocolate and describes how she preserved it throughout the conflict. Ms. Bolter stated, “Eating it didn’t seem right.”
The proprietor of Hansons Auctioneers, Charles Hanson, stated that this egg is a reminder of the hardship and deprivation endured during World War II: “Sybil’s egg is a reminder of those trying times. She was of a generation that had experienced hardship. They learned to revere and value even the most insignificant objects. That is a very admirable trait of character.”
The 84-year-old egg will be auctioned off between May 18 and May 23 by Hansons Auctioneers, with an estimated price range of £600 to £800. What began as a piece of advice from an uncle has evolved into a treasured family memory that will be commemorated through the auction of this one-of-a-kind Easter egg – a remembrance of a time of adversity as well as resilience.
