The Battle of the Somme • July–November 1916
The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in human history, with over one million casualties. These letters were written by soldiers who fought in that hellish landscape — some of whom would never leave it.
Edith, a VAD nurse at the vast Étaples base hospital, writes to her sister Margaret in London as the wounded from the Somme pour in like a tide. She describes the horror, the humour, and the small graces that keep her going.
Frederick Key wrote 42 letters and 15 postcards to his beloved Zen Hall. This was his last — written on Valentine's Day 1916. He died on the first day of the Somme. She wrote in her diary: 'Letter came saying my darling killed... went to Lichfield.'
Written on the eve of the Battle of the Somme, this letter was found in William's tunic pocket after he fell on the first day of battle.
Thomas married his childhood sweetheart Emily at 8 AM on July 1, 1916. By noon he was on the front. By 4 PM he was dead. His letter was found in his breast pocket, still smelling of her perfume from the ceremony.
Captain Harry Cromie was too shy to propose when he saw Vera on leave. He wrote her a letter on the eve of battle: 'By this you will know that I have been killed. I meant to ask you to be engaged to me but when I was on leave I was too frightened to say anything — I loved you very very much.' He was killed 13 days later.