I am currently publishing scans and transcriptions of the 1,000 or so letters and documents exchanged by my Grandparents during WW2 online. Items are posted in chronological order with supporting material wherever possible. It’s a free resource for all interested parties and details life on the home front and overseas. I hope people find it entertaining and useful, and can use it as a resource when investigating other stories that cross paths with this one. Today’s letter from my Grandmother details the complex feelings people have towards the start of the war. After so much tension now that war has been declared there’s almost a frustration at the lack of action. In her letter she details a number of friends whom she’s seen, all of whom are being drawn into the war effort, her cancelled evening as Hugh is drafted to Portsmouth, Iris’ frustration at having nothing to do with her ambulance, and one-eyed Standing’s call-up despite his disability. The scan and transcript are here.
FYI - I have just added comments to every page in the letters archive. They are now active on all the letters published so far. Please feel free to leave your mark (NB. comments will be moderated by me to prevent spam and abuse so don’t fret if they don’t appear instantly). It’s a bit of an experiment so if no one is interested I may shut them down. However I think it may be fun to see people’s feedback in-situ, and make finding conversations about content easier than bouncing between two places. I will continue to post here, nothing in that regard will change. It’s just another place to speak, which should be especially useful for anyone reading everything and piecing together the story. I have additional plans for making things easier to navigate. Thanks once again for all your help so far.
