Letters from the Front: Wartime Correspondence in Our Archive

Introduction

Among the most poignant items in our archive are the letters written by veterans to their families during the war. These fragile pages, often hastily written in pencil on scraps of paper, offer the most intimate possible window into the daily reality of war. They speak of homesickness and bravery, mundane complaints and moments of profound humanity.

Themes

Common themes emerge across the letters regardless of nationality or theatre. Soldiers write about the weather, about food (or the lack of it), about their comrades, and always about their longing for home. Many letters contain deliberate omissions — the censored details of battles and locations, but also the self-censorship of soldiers trying to protect their families from the worst of their experiences.

Preservation

Our archive holds digital copies of letters donated by veterans' families across the United Kingdom. These letters are in English, Russian, Polish, Czech, and several other languages. We are working to transcribe, translate, and catalogue the entire collection to make it accessible to researchers and the public.

If you have wartime letters from a veteran in our registry, please consider donating copies to our archive.