He Never Met His Grandad—Then Found a Message on the Wall

A video about a note left by a grandfather years before his death has captured the hearts of viewers on TikTok.

The clip was shared by @jayrose_nufc and has amassed over 279,000 views since it was posted on June 5. The video was captured in Coventry, a city in the West Midlands county of the United Kingdom.

The message was found in the house that he shared with the poster’s grandmother. “He died in 1986 and wrote this on the wall two years before he died,” the poster, who did not share his name or age, told Newsweek.

Text overlaid on the clip says: “So my grandad, who I never met, left this knowing that one day we would find it.”

The video shows a note on a wall at the top of some stairs. The note reads: “Hello all. By the time you read this, I will be in that great big pigeon pen in the sky. I just want you to know that I love you all very very much. Take good care of yourselves. And always love one and other. Your old dad. xxxxxxxxx (one each).”

A caption shared with the post explains: “My grandad passed away when I was born so never met him. He was a real gentleman and loved his family so much, he had a pigeon pen in garden, worked hard his whole life and a true gent!! until we meet grandad, until we meet.”

The viral post comes as around 6.7 million people or 3.3 percent of adults age 30 and over were reported to have lived with their grandchildren in 2021, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.

The number of grandparents in the U.S. is increasing with the aging population. The number of people in the country over the age of 80 is expected to rise to 19.5 million in 2030, according to the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

‘Priceless’

The poster of the viral video told Newsweek: “We found it [the note] about 15 years ago. But only recently took new video of this and decided to post on TikTok. My grandmother was overwhelmed when we discovered it.”

Viewers on TikTok were moved by the note found in the viral clip.

Graham said: “wow… beautiful,” and @1990xox said: “How absolutley precious is this xx.”

User @teafor277 wrote: “Made me cry,” and Jane Marie Lawson also said: “Aww well it’s made me cry. just lovely, priceless xxx.”

User @dreadfullgirl wrote said: “this gave me shivers,” and user @helloalicechloe said: “the (one each) got me. how gorgeous.”

User elliepops wrote: “This is simply beautiful and shows he will always be with you.”

User @ragga.jungle.reev said: “you can’t buy that stuff, you just can’t, priceless best gift in the world.”