Love letters sent to French sailors have been opened for the first time in 265 years. For more than 265 years, these letters — along with more than 100 others sent to French prisoners — were left unread. A picture shows one of the long-lost letters addressed to french sailors over 265 years ago. Almost 20,000 French sailors were captured by the British military to thwart France's effort to crew their state-of-the-art ships during the Seven Year War. In 1758, out of 60,137 French sailors, a third were detained in Britain, according to the press release.

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Persons: —, Anne Le Cerf, Jean Baptiste Emmanuel Gilbert, Renaud Morieux, Marie Dubosc, Dubosc, Morieux, didn't Organizations: Service, British, National Archives, Cambridge University, Sciences Sociales Locations: French, Kew , London, France, Britain, Europe, North America, Africa, India, England