October 10, 1915
Dear Father,
Fighting in this war is not what I thought it would be when I joined the military. This is the first letter I have written to you. Hopefully there will be more ahead of us. Everything that we have been taught we have been told to forget. Nothing that we learned in the academy is any use to us here. I thought I wouldn’t have a single regret about joining the military and yet I fight here with so many. I wish I was back home with you. Mother, and Jane. I guess i’ll have to live with this mistake until this war is over.
We have just gotten back from fighting in those god awful trenches. The trenches are completely covered in mud, rats, and lice, not to mention that the smell of death is so extreme you feel as if you will never smell anything nice again. I can never get any sleep, the square heads are constantly firing their guns at us. This war is far from over but the troops and I are glad to be away from the trenches and back to cushy living quarters.
I hope that all is well at home, even though I have only been gone for a couple weeks it feels like an eternity to me. How is Mother? I hope that she has finally gotten rid of that dreadful flu she has been suffering from. How about my sister? I hope she hasn’t been in too much trouble lately.
At least we have been fed well. We are given barkers and bread in the trenches but when we are on break we are fed quite well. I have made some friends here, I am afraid to befriend them though because I fear the pain will be too great if they cop it. The war seems to never end here I hope life at home is better.
With love,
Mervin
October 25 1915
Dear Son,
All is well at home. Your mother finally recovered from that flu, she did require a hospital visit though. Your sister has been staying out of trouble as you wanted. She has met a nice man and they plan to wed this April. She and your mother miss you dearly and are ecstatic when you send your letters. Please keep sending them whenever you can, I think they are the only thing keeping your mother bright these days.
I hope that the guys out there are treating you well. The trenches sound like a horrible place, I’m sorry you have to go through that. On another note your mother is insistent that we send you socks and whatever else you need so please include that in your next letter.
The farm has been doing well in the harvest season. Your sister and mother are doing a man’s labour to make up for your absence. The corn has been popular so far, the locals really seem to like it. You can tell there is a heavy aura hanging around the city, with everyone’s sons gone the only thing people do now is pray for their healthy return.
Please be safe out there. When you return home their is a job waiting for you at the farm. We will send everything that you need soon.
Love,
Father
Nov. 11 1915
Dearest Father,
Thank you for the letter I am glad things are going well at home. Jane has finally found a husband? That is great! I can’t wait to meet him and see Jane again. It gets lonely out here sometimes. You may be surrounded by men all of the time but nothing about this atmosphere makes you feel cushy or at home.
We have been sent out twice more since you have wrote. I am sad to say that one of my closest mates kicked the bucket from being shot in the head. Since this war has started I have only seen the blighty ones [other than soldiers in a casket] go home. Everyone thinks that they are lucky and sometimes I wish I was one, but I realize that they stopped fighting one battle and began fighting another.
I would do anything to see Mother and Jane’s face again. How are they? I am barely dealing with the stress of being away from home. I hope that they feel better than I. Has Jane set a date in April yet? I am not sure when I will be home but I will pray to god that I am home for her wedding. Is mother doing okay? I hope that when you receive this letter that she will have some sort of relief. Can you tell her I truly am sorry for joining this war and that I will be home soon.
Please do not read this section to my sister or mother as it will upset them greatly. I was almost killed by the pear drop just last week. All of a sudden the men around me were screaming to put our gas masks on. Mine had got stuck in my pack you see, and I couldn’t retrieve it. I thought just quick enough to save my life and stole one off a fallen Tommy. I only knew I was safe when the good night kiss was fired. It has been very traumatizing fighting in this war and I can only imagine how much worse it will get.
As for the things that I would like; three pairs of socks, maybe a novel or two to keep me from boredom, and maybe some chocolate? We don’t have any delicacies out here so the chocolate would be nice but not necessary. Tell mother I will write again soon.
With Love,
Mervin
Nov. 29 1915
Dear Mervin,
I am pleased to know that you are safe now and so is your mother and sister. Your mother has been doing ok although the war has definitely taken its toll on her. Your sister has set the date of the wedding to be April 24th. Can you see if you can get leave for then? I’m sure she will understand if you can’t though. She is also missing you not unlike her mother. They desperately want you to come home but I have to tell them not to get their hopes up of seeing you in the next few months.
I understand that this war has been hard for you. I hope that at least you are in the pink and not sick or injured. That gas mask scare sure was scary to read about. I can only imagine what it would of been like to experience it first hand. I wish that the conditions were better for you and the rest of the troops but I think that It is a great thing to help our country like you are doing.
Things at the farm have been relatively uneventful. It looks like we have been making a decent profit off of our goods. Do you remember betsy the cow? She finally had her calf just yesterday! We named the male calf Mervin after you, hopefully you can come meet him soon.
We have sent all of the things that you have wished for in your previous letter. I hope you receive them soon. Your mother wants to know how you really are but I know I can’t tell her the truth, it would be too much.
Please be safe and careful while in combat. We love you very much and hope to see you soon.
Love,
Father
Dear Father,
Fighting in this war is not what I thought it would be when I joined the military. This is the first letter I have written to you. Hopefully there will be more ahead of us. Everything that we have been taught we have been told to forget. Nothing that we learned in the academy is any use to us here. I thought I wouldn’t have a single regret about joining the military and yet I fight here with so many. I wish I was back home with you. Mother, and Jane. I guess i’ll have to live with this mistake until this war is over.
We have just gotten back from fighting in those god awful trenches. The trenches are completely covered in mud, rats, and lice, not to mention that the smell of death is so extreme you feel as if you will never smell anything nice again. I can never get any sleep, the square heads are constantly firing their guns at us. This war is far from over but the troops and I are glad to be away from the trenches and back to cushy living quarters.
I hope that all is well at home, even though I have only been gone for a couple weeks it feels like an eternity to me. How is Mother? I hope that she has finally gotten rid of that dreadful flu she has been suffering from. How about my sister? I hope she hasn’t been in too much trouble lately.
At least we have been fed well. We are given barkers and bread in the trenches but when we are on break we are fed quite well. I have made some friends here, I am afraid to befriend them though because I fear the pain will be too great if they cop it. The war seems to never end here I hope life at home is better.
With love,
Mervin
October 25 1915
Dear Son,
All is well at home. Your mother finally recovered from that flu, she did require a hospital visit though. Your sister has been staying out of trouble as you wanted. She has met a nice man and they plan to wed this April. She and your mother miss you dearly and are ecstatic when you send your letters. Please keep sending them whenever you can, I think they are the only thing keeping your mother bright these days.
I hope that the guys out there are treating you well. The trenches sound like a horrible place, I’m sorry you have to go through that. On another note your mother is insistent that we send you socks and whatever else you need so please include that in your next letter.
The farm has been doing well in the harvest season. Your sister and mother are doing a man’s labour to make up for your absence. The corn has been popular so far, the locals really seem to like it. You can tell there is a heavy aura hanging around the city, with everyone’s sons gone the only thing people do now is pray for their healthy return.
Please be safe out there. When you return home their is a job waiting for you at the farm. We will send everything that you need soon.
Love,
Father
Nov. 11 1915
Dearest Father,
Thank you for the letter I am glad things are going well at home. Jane has finally found a husband? That is great! I can’t wait to meet him and see Jane again. It gets lonely out here sometimes. You may be surrounded by men all of the time but nothing about this atmosphere makes you feel cushy or at home.
We have been sent out twice more since you have wrote. I am sad to say that one of my closest mates kicked the bucket from being shot in the head. Since this war has started I have only seen the blighty ones [other than soldiers in a casket] go home. Everyone thinks that they are lucky and sometimes I wish I was one, but I realize that they stopped fighting one battle and began fighting another.
I would do anything to see Mother and Jane’s face again. How are they? I am barely dealing with the stress of being away from home. I hope that they feel better than I. Has Jane set a date in April yet? I am not sure when I will be home but I will pray to god that I am home for her wedding. Is mother doing okay? I hope that when you receive this letter that she will have some sort of relief. Can you tell her I truly am sorry for joining this war and that I will be home soon.
Please do not read this section to my sister or mother as it will upset them greatly. I was almost killed by the pear drop just last week. All of a sudden the men around me were screaming to put our gas masks on. Mine had got stuck in my pack you see, and I couldn’t retrieve it. I thought just quick enough to save my life and stole one off a fallen Tommy. I only knew I was safe when the good night kiss was fired. It has been very traumatizing fighting in this war and I can only imagine how much worse it will get.
As for the things that I would like; three pairs of socks, maybe a novel or two to keep me from boredom, and maybe some chocolate? We don’t have any delicacies out here so the chocolate would be nice but not necessary. Tell mother I will write again soon.
With Love,
Mervin
Nov. 29 1915
Dear Mervin,
I am pleased to know that you are safe now and so is your mother and sister. Your mother has been doing ok although the war has definitely taken its toll on her. Your sister has set the date of the wedding to be April 24th. Can you see if you can get leave for then? I’m sure she will understand if you can’t though. She is also missing you not unlike her mother. They desperately want you to come home but I have to tell them not to get their hopes up of seeing you in the next few months.
I understand that this war has been hard for you. I hope that at least you are in the pink and not sick or injured. That gas mask scare sure was scary to read about. I can only imagine what it would of been like to experience it first hand. I wish that the conditions were better for you and the rest of the troops but I think that It is a great thing to help our country like you are doing.
Things at the farm have been relatively uneventful. It looks like we have been making a decent profit off of our goods. Do you remember betsy the cow? She finally had her calf just yesterday! We named the male calf Mervin after you, hopefully you can come meet him soon.
We have sent all of the things that you have wished for in your previous letter. I hope you receive them soon. Your mother wants to know how you really are but I know I can’t tell her the truth, it would be too much.
Please be safe and careful while in combat. We love you very much and hope to see you soon.
Love,
Father