Letters home from Private Edward Ray Jackson who joined the 160th Bruce Battalion of the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Forces in 1916, 8 months before his 18th birthday. He served as a gunner in France with the 1st Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division under Marshal Ferdinand Foch and was wounded in action at Arras on August 30, 1918.
This is Ray's first letter to his older brother Ernie who was running the family farm in Teeswater. He asks him to bring his fiancee (and later his wife) Norma Skilling out to see him.
I hardly know what to say, Ruth, except this is a stunning blog concept. Kudos and heartfelt gratitude to whomever had the foresight to preserve these precious letters. I can't wait to read more.
Cheryl, The concept is not original but it is an excellent one. Scanning the letters chronologically I think makes it more authentic than transcribing them. It's also less work! I'm not sure who saved the letters but probably his wife Norma, whose family wrote and saved a lot of family letters.
Hi Ruth, I have just come across your blog and you have done a marvelous job, well done! It is fascinating and humbling work going back through the personal letters of these servicemen. My own gr-gr-uncle went the same route as Edward Jackson, albeit slightly ahead of time (with the 34th Bn). I will be following your site with interest. JH
Hi John, Thank you for reading and following my blog and for putting a link on your blog. I will check yours out as well.
Ray Jackson was my father-in-law whom I only knew as an old man. But even my husband is finding out things he never knew about his father.It is humbling to read these letters and have a window to understanding their lives and how they viewed the war at the time.
HI Ruth How fortunate to have had the letters preserved. They are precious. They are such a wonderful window into the intimate lives of the soldiers and even of the war itself. I wonder if he realized he was recording history. No history book can compare to such personal records and accounts. You are a jewel for sharing them. Cassie
Hi Cassie, Thanks for reading the letters and for your kind comment. I'm sure Ray never realized he was recording history or thought that the letters would be posted nearly 100 years later for others to read.
I hardly know what to say, Ruth, except this is a stunning blog concept. Kudos and heartfelt gratitude to whomever had the foresight to preserve these precious letters. I can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
DeleteThe concept is not original but it is an excellent one. Scanning the letters chronologically I think makes it more authentic than transcribing them. It's also less work! I'm not sure who saved the letters but probably his wife Norma, whose family wrote and saved a lot of family letters.
Hi Ruth,
ReplyDeleteI have just come across your blog and you have done a marvelous job, well done! It is fascinating and humbling work going back through the personal letters of these servicemen. My own gr-gr-uncle went the same route as Edward Jackson, albeit slightly ahead of time (with the 34th Bn).
I will be following your site with interest.
JH
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and following my blog and for putting a link on your blog. I will check yours out as well.
Ray Jackson was my father-in-law whom I only knew as an old man. But even my husband is finding out things he never knew about his father.It is humbling to read these letters and have a window to understanding their lives and how they viewed the war at the time.
Thanks for your kind words.
HI Ruth
ReplyDeleteHow fortunate to have had the letters preserved. They are precious. They are such a wonderful window into the intimate lives of the soldiers and even of the war itself. I wonder if he realized he was recording history. No history book can compare to such personal records and accounts. You are a jewel for sharing them.
Cassie
Hi Cassie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the letters and for your kind comment. I'm sure Ray never realized he was recording history or thought that the letters would be posted nearly 100 years later for others to read.