A mystery “kind gentleman” who donated a vintage wedding dress with a touching note attached was at the center of an online frenzy Thursday. He was located but would like to remain anonymous. 

A handwritten note pinned to the original 1950s lace gown, describes the donor’s 56 “happy years” of marriage.

“I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine,” it reads. “I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one, 56 years like I did, happy years.”

Volunteers at a store run by a charity in northern England discovered the romantic message as they sorted through earlier donations.

“One of our volunteers received it from someone earlier in the week – they don’t know who – and when they got it out they noticed the lovely note pinned to it,” Nicola Woodgate, from St Gemma’s Hospice in the Garforth area of Leeds told the Yorkshire Post newspaper.

According to St. Gemma’s Hospice Charity Shops Facebook page, the mystery donor was found:

“We have found the kind gentleman who donated the beautiful vintage wedding dress to St Gemma’s Hospice this week. He is over the moon that we are giving somebody the opportunity to buy the gorgeous gown on ebay. He is a big fan of St Gemma’s Hospice and is overwhelmed with the International attention that his late wife’s dress is generating. He is so happy and proud that the Hospice will benefit from funds raised by the auction of the dress. He wishes to remain anonymous and we fully respect his decision but he is watching the media frenzy with interest and thinks it is wonderful. We have thanked him so much for his kindness and he would like to thank everyone for their support.”

The dress is now being auctioned on eBay and a social media appeal has attracted interest from around the world. Bids on the “stunning” gown had reached almost $600 by 5 a.m. ET Thursday.

“We knew it was something special and clearly from the reaction we’ve had, we were right,” Woodgate said.

The dress, which has no labels, is thought to be custom-made and to date from the 1940s or 1950s.

There are no other clues in the note, which ends with the letters “PTO” – usually meaning ‘Please Turn Over’ – but has no writing on the other side.