They were cheeky, even slightly racy for their time, but always sent with affection from Colchester.

At the start of the twentieth century and with mass communication light years away, Colcestrians used postcards to keep their friends and relatives in touch with the latest happenings and gossip.

While some pictured the town’s tourist highlights, others depicted news events, such as First World War bomb damage or a road accident involving steam engine embedded in the front of a house.

With a war on, the opportunity to lambast the enemy, cartoon-style, was irresistible, but the designers also relished commenting, tongue-in-cheek, on local soldiers’ romantic activities off-duty.

Examples of a wide variety of these postcards will be coming up for auction in Colchester later this year.

They were the lifelong passion of the late David May, who, over the years, turned his Colchester village home into a virtual museum, collecting everything from product packaging and advertising to local crested china, photographs and oyster feast memorabilia.

A one-day auction, devoted entirely to his huge collection, is scheduled for Saturday March 20 at Reeman Dansie’s saleroom in Wyncolls Road, Colchester. It could make as much as £50,000 for charities in Mr May’s beloved home town.

Collectables specialist Michael Bowles has, so far, spent four weeks sorting and cataloguing the many thousands of cigarette cards, and is about to turn his attention to Mr May’s postcards.

Although the sale is some three months away, it is seen as so important that collectors are already showing an interest in the lots that will be on offer.

“We have had lots of enquiries,” said Mr Bowles. “People are very interested and local historians have already made contact with us. It is starting to gain momentum.

“There are a whole range of collectors. Because this is a local interest collection, there will be lots of people who will come along, not just to buy, but to look through the items.”

Postcards showing local views, in particular villages such as West Bergholt, Ardleigh and Great Horkesley are expected to be very popular, as well as the early glamour cards and those depicting disaster scenes. Some could fetch up to £100 each.

• The sale of David May’s collection is on Saturday March 20, starting at 10am.

For more details visit reemandansie.com