"No man and no force can abolish memory."
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Title.
Monday - July 22 - 18
Dearest: -
And then - you honey bunch sweetheart, we got married without a nickel! But dear - you are a sweet little thing. Honest Brownie Wifie!
But see here - I must leave you now. Its time to climb my sick looking tree and see what I can make out of our friends - the Boche.
Be awfully careful of Brownie now - for me yes - and rid her entirely of that cold. And please dearest - how are you otherwise? Well and happy I hope and pray. Please do be happy - just as happy as possible - and think heaps of that day, which is soon coming, when the war will be over, and we will be together once more. Won't we be happy then? You dear (x) there and a million more too! xxxxxxxx
Bye - dearest girlie
Heaps of love from
your Husband - [Hem.]
Ed.
14th May 1915, from Reg F. Knight (Royal Engineers),Field Post Office (France) to his brother, Mr Charles Graham Knight, No 19 Lord St, Wolverhampton. Staffs. England
14/5/15
My Dear Brother,
The other day I was with the Officer and the sight I saw would make you cry there were men lying in the road like cattle, they had been killed two or three days before, some of them in their full kit I saw one poor chap belonging to the same Company as Greg, he had been on carrying ammunition, we asked him what he was doing and he told us his mates had been killed in the afternoon, and there he was in the evening still watching them and sure enough we found his mates all in a heap by a ditch. Dear Brother I hope I have not wearied you but I hope you will understand, for I believe those at home think we are having a fine time, what with yarns of Coffee Shops just behind the fighting lines and the yarns we get baths, and have reading tents is all damn lies, all we have is filth and misery. Will tell you more if you want to know. One favour if you can. and it is a disk about as big as a penny: like this –
with this on it
21704 R.F.Knight
C. of E.
Royal Engineers
For I have lost my one and cannot get another one. I hope you can manage it.
love to all at Home
xxx Brother Reg
32507/9th Y&L
C.Coy
I.E.F
Jan 22/1919
Dear Kate
I have just received your letter and was very pleased with it, it was such a long time since I heard from you. I am glad that Connie is getting on alright I hope she will soon be able to walk. I have not wrote to the firm yet I think it is not much use, as I dont think they have much work. Ethel has not said anything about the other men writing I dont think they all have if they want us they ought to send for us. I am going on as well as possible but I am just about fed up. Well I think we all are its about time we all got home but I expect we shall have to wait a bit and be patience things are very dear out here and I am very short of money as we dont get much pay. Glad to hear that you enjoyed you holiday with Jack and to hear that he is getting on alright. Write as often as you can and let me know all the news. If you can spare a shilling I should be very pleased as it would come in alright, hoping to see you soon
With Best Love
Harry
Harry's frustration is clear in this letter. "The firm" would be the lace factory where he worked before the war. He doesn't seem to be very optimistic about a job there. You may recall that Connie, now 9 years old, is at school in Liverpool, around 100 miles (160 Km) from home. BL
