Letter to Jack, 18th February 1918

David said...

Many thanks for this. Although there are many books addressing the fate of soldiers in WWI I hope you will turn this into another one.
My interest stems from my two great uncles who served 1915-1918 and my Grandmother´s nephew who was killed in August 1917. Although the common soldier suffers in every war it seems to me that the soldiers of WWI were put through a particularly hellish life for very scant success. It´s a wonder that any of them came out sane.
February 21, 2008

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this fascinating piece of history with us all.

Harry certainly teaches the ultimate lesson in endurance and patience. What a wonderful legacy.
February 20, 2008

Anonymous said...

18th February 1918 was my grandfathers 4th birthday. I would like to know if he realised the war as he was a little child.He died in 1987. But my grandmother is still alive, 94 years old and if she reminds anything it will be the first and second war.
February 21, 2008

Anonymous said...

I'm doing a school work about these letters, they're really interesting :) I hope you good luck with the blog from Barcelona!
February 19, 2008

Anonymous said...

The mention of Willie's birthday coming up made me think, he would be of age to serve in the second world war in 1939. Did he also serve King and country? If so, it would make an interesting post script to this blog.
February 19, 2008

The "plan" (Liable to be modified at any time!) is to tie up the lives of the main characters when the blog finishes. There is a very brief account of Willie's 2nd World War Service in one of the very early posts. BL

VetMichael said...

I'm so happy to hear from Harry - I had worried they had transferred him again, or something else unfortunate had happened.

February 19, 2008

dontneed said...

Hey dear Bill Lamin! I am not very into praise militarism but this project of your is great. it is a nice way to publicize universal type of memories. I am sure many people all over the world will enjoy your effort to bring a human destiny to light. I call this project beyond art.
I learned about it through an article in the frankfurter allgemaine zeitung today. thanks for sharing it. I will read you grammpa's letters. Even if this whole project could be just a way to promote a future book it is still great. The net still doing wonders for us.

February 15, 2008
The intention certainly wasn't to post this in order to promote a future book. However, I confess that the interest has been so great that a book is now quite likely!

Anonymous Roger O'Keeffe said...

Congratulations on a wonderful initiative. It's both of great human interest for just about anyone, and a marvellous pedagogical tool for history teachers.

February 15, 2008

Julie said...

Any idea which papers Jack sent him? And who is Uncle Shelton? Harry seems to be losing relatives a bit at the moment. What a master of understatement - "ready to get back any time".

February 18, 2008
I'm not sure which papers were sent and, I'm afraid I've never heard of "Uncle Shelton" before these letters. I need to research the family tree a little more to sort that one out.

Anonymous said...

Harry sure seems depressed, but also he's trying to keep his letters upbeat.

Is Uncle Shelton connected to the Uncle or Jack Bonser he's previously mentioned dying?

Hang in there, Harry, we're all pulling for you to make it home!

-Gustav's great-granddaughter

February 18, 2008

Blogger Michelle Hays said...

Poor Harry. I wonder if he ever got sick. I'm sure of it, but he never complains.

February 19, 2008

Anonymous said...

"there is some grand scenery round here it would be alright for a holiday in peace time, but I dont know when that will be."

That might be the most poignant thing I've ever read.

The blog is fascinating - thank you for doing this! I hope to find in the end that Harry has survived and gone home to his family.

February 19, 2008
Anonymous said...

I recently watched a story on NBC Nightly News, regarding your blog. I finally sat down this morning and began reading. It is very interesting! it feels real-time! I am surprised there is not more written on the cold - i thought there was a lot of suffering during the war, from the weather. I'll keep reading! Thank you so much for your blog!
Anonymous said...

grüße aus ballu

February 19, 2008

Anonymous said...

Greetz to Harry.
Im reading this letters from Berlin,Germany
Its very interesting

Anonymous

February 19, 2008


HGinCalifornia said...

Harry has used a variety of papers to write his letters. Have you been able to research if they are officially issued military stationery or random pieces that he had to scrounge from various sources? The large lined sheets seem to imply that he is back in a large camp with a "PX". Once again the folds in the paper suggest that he is carrying the letters in his pocket while on the move.

February 18, 2008
I think that the image of a "PX" doesn't sit easily with a World War 1 front line unit! The YMCA, I believe, did supply essentials and minor luxuries. Some of the notepaper is headed "YMCA".

Roger O'Keeffe said...

The "rum bottle" question would be most easily resolved if someone could make an educated guess about which newspaper is referred to and check its archive for a couple of weeks before the date of the letter.

Regarding the fighting patrol, Harry is a likely candidate because the patrols normally bring a lewis gun. The full team is clearly more than two or three, because of the need to carry bulky ammunition drums. His battalion hasn't been lucky because the purpose of the patrols is to capture a prisoner to help build up a picture of the enemy opposite. But because of the long approach (across a half-dozen islands in a wide but shallow river), they are spotted each time before getting close enough to the enemy position.

February 17, 2008