Description
Object description
Lively and informative correspondence to his family in East London (177 ms letters and cards with ts annotated transcripts and 39 ts transcripts without originals) written while he was serving as a Private and NCO in the 2nd Battalion Honourable Artillery Company (22nd Infantry Brigade, 7th Division), October 1916 – February 1919, covering his service overseas, principally: on the Western Front in the Somme sector (October 1916 – January 1917) during the Battle of Bullecourt and operations in the Arras sector (May – August 1917); in the Ypres sector during the Third Battle of Ypres (September – November 1917); in Italy, on the Piave River and on the Asiago Plateau (November 1917 – November 1918 and February 1919); with the Army of Occupation in Austria (November 1918 – February 1919); he gives useful details of all aspects of Army life in and out of the front line, including living conditions, drunkenness (see May 1917, September 1917, April 1918), a brothel visit (5 August 1917) and graphic descriptions of his experiences under fire, especially while advancing on the enemy (see May 1917 and October 1917, when he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and July 1918, when he was awarded the Military Medal, also October 1918) and makes many references to his comrades, including those who were casualties and a Sergeant unhinged by battle (see December 1916), also mentioning German attempts at a Christmas fraternisation (see 10 January 1917), poor relations between British forces and Italian civilians and servicemen and cordial post war relations between the Battalion and Austrian civilians. Further papers include three copies of a detailed duplicated ts memoir of his war service (32pp), based in part on diaries (not extant), newspaper cuttings and photographs.
Content description
Lively and informative correspondence to his family in East London (177 ms letters and cards with ts annotated transcripts and 39 ts transcripts without originals) written while he was serving as a Private and NCO in the 2nd Battalion Honourable Artillery Company (22nd Infantry Brigade, 7th Division), October 1916 – February 1919, covering his service overseas, principally: on the Western Front in the Somme sector (October 1916 – January 1917) during the Battle of Bullecourt and operations in the Arras sector (May – August 1917); in the Ypres sector during the Third Battle of Ypres (September – November 1917); in Italy, on the Piave River and on the Asiago Plateau (November 1917 – November 1918 and February 1919); with the Army of Occupation in Austria (November 1918 – February 1919); he gives useful details of all aspects of Army life in and out of the front line, including living conditions, drunkenness (see May 1917, September 1917, April 1918), a brothel visit (5 August 1917) and graphic descriptions of his experiences under fire, especially while advancing on the enemy (see May 1917 and October 1917, when he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and July 1918, when he was awarded the Military Medal, also October 1918) and makes many references to his comrades, including those who were casualties and a Sergeant unhinged by battle (see December 1916), also mentioning German attempts at a Christmas fraternisation (see 10 January 1917), poor relations between British forces and Italian civilians and servicemen and cordial post war relations between the Battalion and Austrian civilians. Further papers include three copies of a detailed duplicated ts memoir of his war service (32pp), based in part on diaries (not extant), newspaper cuttings and photographs.
History note
Cataloguer SJC
History note
Catalogue date 2005-12-09