Wartime letters help us remember.
by Lorraine Syratt

WWI Victory Medal awarded to Private J.M. Faulder – a Treasures photo

When I was a child, I remember tagging along with my brother and his friends to explore an old abandoned farm.  While I would never sanction trespassing today, we were just kids and we probably didn’t realize there could be consequences.  I remember the grounds were strewn with old papers – handwritten and printed materials dating from the late 1800s.

Even in our childhood, my brother and I were drawn to old things, and while his friends were practicing the art of window breaking, we were practicing the art of foraging, picking up those “neat old papers” that were hiding in the field stubble.

This is where I first learned about The Great War. I had found an old letter written by a Canadian soldier in France dating to about 1916.  I remember reading the sadness in the words as I scanned the first few lines – recognizing the writer’s sense of dread and homesickness.

As antiques, old letters from soldiers who were stationed in faraway lands are not that valuable, but they are certainly treasures to the writers’ descendants, as well as being important historical documents.  They speak of the hardships of war, and the loneliness of being away from loved ones.  The letters tell the story of war from those who experienced world-changing events as they happened.

Many people collect war ephemera, especially handwritten items such as letters, postcards, and diaries.  They are collected due to interest in the events and to gain an understanding of the men who fought and died in those wars.

I don’t have that old letter anymore. Shortly after finding it, I gave it to a school teacher who I knew to be a descendant of the writer.  It was never mine to treasure, but I do treasure the memory of that day, as well as what I learned about that war. 

Letters from the front help us remember.