2 February 1916
Dear Mum and dad
I am on the ship to France it is so warm here and the fresh air is so nice. Sometimes the boat gets very bumpy and then I get sea sick afterwards. I have met new friends and we are all having a great time on the boat. One of my mates said we should only be in France for 6 months so I should be home for Christmas. They gave us these green uniforms, they are so clean and smart you would be so proud of me. I’ve got to go; they just rung the bell for dinner.
Love you, write to you soon, bye
From your loving son Connor
20 march 1916
Dear Mum and dad
How are you keeping? Sorry I haven’t been writing back to you in weeks I have been busy training. I am in camp waiting with my regiment for our orders, where to go and what to do and am so excited. When we got off the boat we walked to our camp through the streets, as we were doing this people were smiling and cheering us, I felt so important it was great. Some people even gave us food and flowers. The only thing was we could hear shooting and bombs going off in the distance. One of my friends said I bet we are beating the Huns and we all laughed. When we arrived at camp for the first time we were issued with the rest of our equipment. I had a lee Enfield rifle with a bayonet attached to it, a gas mask, a helmet, a very heavy rucksack, and for some reason 4 pairs of socks and to go over the socks we had puttees. I didn’t know what they were at first until one of my friend told me. Puttees are strips of cloth which are wound around my legs. All the equipment was really heavy when I first put them on, but now I have got used to it. Today was the first day I practised with the lee Enfield, it had a heavy kick back when I fired it and it hurt my shoulder. Afterwards we practiced using the bayonet. That was so much fun because we were running up to the sand bags and stabbing them, we were pretending the sacks were Germans. Some days we would have entertainment.
Yesterday we went to see a play, it was a comedy and we all really enjoyed it. I can’t wait till tomorrow we are playing football against another regiment, got to go now, lights out in five minutes.
I will write to you soon love you bye
From your loving son Connor
3rd may 1916
Dear mum and dad
A couple of weeks ago I was stationed near the front line, the conditions in the trenches was not what we expected. They are 7ft deep and 6ft wide. On top of the trenches are sand bags, they are used for cover because the Germans are only 50 feet away from us. The trenches are so muddy and dirty now I know what the four pairs of socks are for. When we first arrived we saw a dead body just outside the trench and I asked a soldier who had been there a while, why is there a dead body outside the trench. He told me he got shot by his commanding officer because he didn’t obey an order. I asked what the order was, and he replied, he refused to go in to no man’s land. I was really shocked when he said this because they didn’t say anything about this in the posters. So when I got in to camp and I got sorted they gave us our rations. We got bread, flour, cheese, tea, dried fruit, salt, sugar, oatmeal and bully beef. I don’t really like the rations but you have to eat or you will starve. Mum right now I wouldn’t mind having one of your gorgeous cooked dinners, mmm, I can taste it now. The best thing is we got loads of tobacco and mum I now I told you I wouldn’t smoke, but sometimes it is the only thing that keeps us occupied. The worst thing is that I can’t have a shower or a bath till I go back to camp, so am smelling really bad. I can’t change my clothes either and to top it all off, I can’t hardly ever sleep because there are bombs and shooting going off nearly all the time. But I am still healthy and still having a laugh with all my friends. I have to go now it’s my turn to keep watch. The enemy keep trying to take over our side; I have to just stand watch with mylee Enfield in the freezing cold and rain.
Love you so much can’t wait to see you
Write to you soon
From you loving son Connor
6 July 1996
Dear mum and dad
How are you both, hope you and all the family are well.
We have finally had the order to go over the top into no man’s land for the final push against the Huns. My regiment is being put right at the front line. War is not what we thought it would be like. They all lied to us.
We had no rations for about a week because our trench too the camp was blown up. So we were eating what’s was around us, like rats, birds and whatever else came in to the trench. The conditions are horrendous, here the rain just comes down so heavy and it fills up the trench so we are standing in muddy water up to our knees. Last month before the Germans bombed the trench leading to our camp, one of our solders took his shoe off because he said there was something wrong with his foot. As he was taking the sock off his toes came off with the sock. He was in severe pain it was the most discussing thing I have ever seen, he had to be rushed to camp hospital. I had never seen anything so gruesome in my life the worst thing was it smelled really badly I nearly was sick. Two days ago another regiment went over the top in to no man’s land, they all but one got slaughtered. He was still out there and alive for two days. He was crying for help but we could not get to him because the Germans would have shot us. No one was willing to take the chance with their own life. We could not get any sleep for two nights, not even for an hour, because all we could hear was his cry’s and screams. The guilt that we felt for leaving him out there all alone in the dark with no help was unbearable. I couldn’t imagine the pain he must have been in, none of us could have. Today we were going to consider shooting him to put him out of his pain. But this morning we heard no more crying no more screams nothing. We left him out there for two god damn days, that man should have had a proper death. He shouldn’t have died that way, no man should have.
Me and my friends don’t laugh any more; in fact we don’t really do anything anymore. This life living in the trenches isn’t for no one; it’s dirty, smelly, horrible and emotional.
Mum and dad I don’t think I am going to survive the next few hours. So I just want to say thank you for making me who I am, thank you for believing in me and everything I have done. Am sorry for leaving, am sure I will see you both again, in heaven. If am going to die at least I am going to die helping my country and making it better for everyone.
I love you both very much from connor
this is my first story type thing lol so hope you like this guys
