Letters
For soldiers and nurses stationed at the front during the First and Second World Wars, letters were the primary form of communication with loved ones. While some told their families of the horrors they were enduring, others chose to remain upbeat and encouraging for the sake of their loved ones. The letters collected here record some of the most important moments in their author's lives, and demonstrate the impact of war on individuals and their families.
First World War
William Coleman tells his wife of an injury he received in battle.
June 4, 1916
My dear wife,
Just a few lines to let you know I am safe and well, although I suppose I will have been reported in the casualty lists as wounded. I cannot tell you very much about what happened. We went into the line on Wednesday night nearly seven hundred strong, and on muster parade today we had seventy six. We have hopes that perhaps some more will turn up, but it is not very likely and our only hope is that some may be prisoners.
My wound was very slight, a small piece of shell about as big as a marble in my leg just behind the knee.
Love and kisses for you all.
Lovingly,
Dad
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19650038-014
Harold Brown joined the 11 Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 5 July 1915. He also served in the Canadian Machine Gun Corps from May 1918 to Nov. 1918.
Dec. 25th, 1916
Dear Mother,
It is Christmas Day and I am sitting in a deep dugout just in sight of the front line. The Germans are very quiet but our artillery is pounding away at their front line. Last night one of the fellows got a couple of parcels and we had a good feed. He was sure lucky to get them on Christmas Eve. I got two from Victoria the night before but they don't last long. Well, dinner is up and so I will stop until afterward.
Dec. 26th, 1916,
After dinner yesterday I went down for water. You have to go quite a ways for water here because there is so many dead in this part of the line.
Will try and write a little oftener.
With love,
Herb
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19670065-156
Katherine Macdonald was a nurse stationed in the north of France where she worked at a hospital caring for injured soldiers. She was killed in a bombing raid two months after she wrote this letter.
March 14, 1918
Dear Mum and Sis,
The war news does not look very good does it - we are simply rushed. We get patients from the field since the casualty clearing station was bombed, very quick work in the line in the AM and here at night. Poor fellows - they have some awful wounds. We have one very sick man. Amputation of both legs above the knee. We had to send him to the operating room again tonight and when he came back he would not rest unless he had my hand.
Katherine
Second World War
Sergeant Worden, a Canadian soldier with the Regina Rifles wrote this letter to his wife in England. He wrote it shipboard while crossing the English Channel on June 5, 1944, the day before he went ashore on D-Day at Normandy, France.
June 5, 1944
To my darling wife,
Lee darling, I find it very hard to write this to you. As I write this we are out on the water, so the big day has come. I often had wondered how I would feel, but I don't feel any difference. I know I can truthful say if it was not for you I would feel different, but it is the love and trust I have for you and that will help me over many a rough spot. I am glad in a way that it has come for it means you and I can be together sooner.
So now darling I'll say good-night and God bless you till we meet again soon.
Yours forever,
Ted
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM19800396a
Lance Corporal Martyn was captured at Hong Kong in 1941 while a member of the Winnipeg Grenadiers. He was released at the end of the Second World War in 1945. This letter is from his father, a veteran of the First World War.
September 19, 1945
Dear Ford,
Well, son, I am so happy I don't know what to say. Welcome home to Canada from a Grenadier (last war) to a Grenadier (this war). Mother has had quite a life son, worrying for you and I, two wars, and over ten years of it combined, but thank God you're safe. I guess I'll have to take a back seat now, with my service last war over 4 years, and yours over 6 years. Anyway, Mum is down at Winnipeg just eating her heart out to see you.
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19810276-039
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