Letters of War
Many letters sent to and from soldiers on active service during the Great War have been lost over the passage of time. Some, however, remain with family members and on the public record.
Some letters relating to Private Horace Isaac Hill, of the North Staffs & Durham Light Infantry, tell the story of an ordinary young man in wartime. Horace joined up by April 1917 but he did not leave for France until April 1918. During this time it would appear Horace wrote regularly to his mother, girlfriend and great uncle.
Horace was lost at the 3rd Battle of the Aisne 27-30th May 1918 having been in France for around 6 or 7 weeks. His name appears on the Eccleshall War Memorial.
Dear Mother,
It is with the greatest of pleasure that I write these few lines to you hoping they will find all of you in the best of health as it leaves me in the pink. Well dear mother I was sorry I could not send you a litey sum. And I hope when you get my letter in the morning that you will not upset yourself. We go tomorrow for France and I am going in the hopes of coming back soon. I will write you as soon as I get, it won’t take us long. I am send[ing] a parcel to you and I hope you will take care of my book as I may want it out there. We are going out as signallers. If it is that we don’t go I will send you a letter from here as soon as possible. Well mother I hope you will excuse a short letter this time as I am in a hurry we have a lot of things to get tonight. Well mother I must close now with the very best health. So cheer up there is better days in store.
From your loving son
Horace