Private Papers of Canon J O Coop DSO TD

Photocopies of ms letters (158pp) to his wife in Liverpool written while he was serving on the Western Front as the Church of England chaplain to the forces with the 4th West Lancashire Brigade Royal Field Artillery (RFA) (2nd Canadian Division) from September 1915 - January 1916 and then as the Senior Chaplain of the 55th Division, January 1916 - January 1918. The letters describe conditions and life styles on active service, particularly highlighting the difference between a Brigade and Divisional HQ, and occasional contracts with local people, but principally concern themselves with domestic interests such as food and food parcels and his horse. There are also worthwhile references to a self-inflicted wound (6 October 1915) and to censorship of the men's letters (13 November 1915, 22 February 1916).

Cataloguer PHR

Catalogue date 1986-12