a WWI correspondence

[Tony Walker]

A Correspondences

Last year I acquired a personal diary written by a seamen on board HMS Canopus during the first two or three years of WWI.  Canopus took a peripheral part in the Battles of Coronel and the Falkland Islands in 1914, which was my main interest.

However with the diary was a bundle of about 100 assorted letters/covers, many in pencil and crudely folded and creased, often with two or three bundled into one envelope.  Circumstances prevented me from looking at them other than casually until quite recently.

One would have anticipated most if not all the letters would have been addressed to Harry, the Canopus seamen, but no way, although there were around 30 addressed to him, including from his mother, and from diligent reading and deduction (says he with a hint of triumph), his three brothers and two sisters.  The remaining letters were mainly between these members of the family, and it was not until I came across a letter from Harry's mother to one of his brothers did it all fall into place, and explain why Haryy had so many letters most of which were neither to or from him.

His mother wrote in a letter to Frank : ' Don't forget to send this letter on to Harry when you write to him and also the one I had from Stan which I have enclosed'.  Thus Harry would have received in one envelope a letter to him from brother Frank, a letter to Frank from his mother, and a letter to Stan to his mother via Frank.  A similar system operated for several of the letters in the bundle.

I still have a long way to go on this one as you can imagine, and I expect to be seeking the expertise of Forum members in due course.  I have found from the letters that all four brothers survived the war, Harry in the navy and the other three in the army, although one was wounded and discharged.  The censor is remarkably absent from most of the correspondence which has some fascinating details.  The family home was in Devon and father appeared to have also been in the navy.

I would be interested to hear how other members collect/write-up/display or otherwise present such a correspondence.  It would be a massive task to transcribe all the letters without a clear purpose.

Back to the allotment in this fine weather......

[akennedy]

This sounds an interesting correspondence!.
I would suggest you start by sorting the envelopes into a chronological sequence so far as possible (according to earliest dated letter enclosed).
Then list the contents of each envelope, keeping contents together at this stage.You may have a rather complicated listing, noting the envelope in which each letter was contained, perhaps keeping a slip with details in each envelope.
In due course I would suggest separating int separate writers.
Do not write numbers on envelopes or letters, only on your listings.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Hello Tony

I remember you showing me this correspondence at the SPH meeting at Cockermouth, I'd go with Alistair on this, firstly listing everything and then looking at transcribing them.

Difficult to display I know, all I can suggest is once transcribed reproducing everything in a word document, scanning in the covers with details of the FPO etc and any censorship.

This was how I've approached similar correspondence but not with a number of correspondents as in this case.

I wish you luck.

Cheers

Chris

[Colin Tabeart]

Hi Tony, If the material content warrants it you might one day like to try writing a smallish book based on the letters – a sort of social diary of the times? Could be v interesting, not just to postal historians maybe? It is interesting for instance that letters were passed amongst family members – in those days few people could afford telephones or telegrams, letters  being the only available way of passing on family news. Would definitely suggest transcribing them all - a massive time-consumer, but until you do that you don't really know what you have got.

[Tony Walker]

Thank you for your replies and advice.

If you don't hear from me for two years you'll know I'm transcribing the letters !

Tony