Description
Object description
A collection of 16 ms letters written home to his mother and sisters while a private in No 11 Platoon, 'C' Company, 1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish), London Regiment (168th Brigade, 56th (London) Division) (May - November 1916), describing burying a comrade prior to their departure to France, his experiences on the Western Front, with details of the conditions in the trenches and working as a batman, attending a instructional course on bomb throwing, requests for parcels, seeing a fellow soldier shoot himself in the foot to escape the trenches, taking a German trench (July 1916), and being treated for shell shock after being struck by shrapnel while retiring, writing from East Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich, describing going over the top, being under 'strict orders not to take prisoners' and shooting dead three wounded Germans, details of the hospital, the wounded, and his treatment, hearing that there were only '121 fit men left out of 1200 after the attack', and transfer to a Convalescent Hospital in Eastbourne. Together with two postcard photographs of Hubbard in uniform (one as a Corporal), and two ms letters (September - October 1916) from a Mrs Lindsay asking him for any information about her husband, Major F H Lindsay, who, unbeknownst to her, was killed in July 1916. Hubbard took his own life after the war (March 1929) and shell shock was cited as a contributing factor. Together with: photocopies of photographs of Hubbard with his mother and one of his sisters (c.1893); photocopies of six ms letters (25pp) to his mother and family following his surprise enlistment in 'E' Company, 6th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, based in Hounslow Heath (June - July 1911), initially looking forward to it, but soon becoming disillusioned with the poor food, the harsh treatment, his fellow privates, and the parades in full kit in the hot sun, talking of buying himself out as soon as he can, even if it means selling his bicycle, and receiving £3 from his parents to buy himself out; a ms letter (4pp, 21 July 1911) from his former employer offering him a second chance when he leaves the Army; photocopies of two studio portrait photos of Hubbard, a photo postcard of Hubbard and another in uniform of London Scottish with a message saying there was a measles outbreak in his hut in Surfleet (March 1916); a photocopy of a ms letter from Hazeley Down Camp, Winchester (April 1916; a photocopy of a London Scottish embroidered postcard; a photocopy of a photo of Hubbard in tropical gear in East Africa (September 1919); a Christmas card (n.d.); and a photocopy of a memorial card from his funeral (2pp, March 1929).
Content description
A collection of 16 ms letters written home to his mother and sisters while a private in No 11 Platoon, 'C' Company, 1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish), London Regiment (168th Brigade, 56th (London) Division) (May - November 1916), describing burying a comrade prior to their departure to France, his experiences on the Western Front, with details of the conditions in the trenches and working as a batman, attending a instructional course on bomb throwing, requests for parcels, seeing a fellow soldier shoot himself in the foot to escape the trenches, taking a German trench (July 1916), and being treated for shell shock after being struck by shrapnel while retiring, writing from East Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich, describing going over the top, being under 'strict orders not to take prisoners' and shooting dead three wounded Germans, details of the hospital, the wounded, and his treatment, hearing that there were only '121 fit men left out of 1200 after the attack', and transfer to a Convalescent Hospital in Eastbourne. Together with two postcard photographs of Hubbard in uniform (one as a Corporal), and two ms letters (September - October 1916) from a Mrs Lindsay asking him for any information about her husband, Major F H Lindsay, who, unbeknownst to her, was killed in July 1916. Hubbard took his own life after the war (March 1929) and shell shock was cited as a contributing factor. Together with: photocopies of photographs of Hubbard with his mother and one of his sisters (c.1893); photocopies of six ms letters (25pp) to his mother and family following his surprise enlistment in 'E' Company, 6th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, based in Hounslow Heath (June - July 1911), initially looking forward to it, but soon becoming disillusioned with the poor food, the harsh treatment, his fellow privates, and the parades in full kit in the hot sun, talking of buying himself out as soon as he can, even if it means selling his bicycle, and receiving £3 from his parents to buy himself out; a ms letter (4pp, 21 July 1911) from his former employer offering him a second chance when he leaves the Army; photocopies of two studio portrait photos of Hubbard, a photo postcard of Hubbard and another in uniform of London Scottish with a message saying there was a measles outbreak in his hut in Surfleet (March 1916); a photocopy of a ms letter from Hazeley Down Camp, Winchester (April 1916; a photocopy of a London Scottish embroidered postcard; a photocopy of a photo of Hubbard in tropical gear in East Africa (September 1919); a Christmas card (n.d.); and a photocopy of a memorial card from his funeral (2pp, March 1929).
History note
Cataloguer SJO
