Letters from the trenches during First World War kept loved ones in Timmins informed
Officials with the Timmins Museum say that during the First World War, 12 million pieces of mail travelled between Canada and the front lines every week.
Karen Bachmann said mail was a necessity to maintain morale in the trenches. It's all they had to hang on to when their loved ones were away.
“It’s a very touchy kind of thing to look at when you start looking at these and they can be really quite emotional," said Bachmann.
She said the local newspaper at the time, 'The Porcupine Advance,' would print letters that people received from local soldiers as a way to keep those at home informed.
In one of those letters, C. Digby Salkeld wrote in 1915:
"George, you do not know what mud is, the whole map is nothing but mud ... Dan McRea who you know well had a near shave when his cycle was blown up by a German high explosive."
And in another by Len Dunsford in June 1916, he wrote:
"Well, I had all the bad luck to get shot in the calf of the right leg. We were coming back to the trenches and I caught it coming overland about 600 yards from the line."
Bachmann said it was a time when everyone knew everybody in the Porcupine Camp. The population was only around 3,000 and 651 men enlisted.
A young soldier by the name of Frank Fettes shared one of his observations in France when he wrote a letter to a friend:
"The girls in this vicinity all fall for the Canadians, to the intense disgust of the other soldiers."
Bachmann said it's interesting to learn what local soldiers were longing for from the trenches.
“What they really missed in Timmins was the camaraderie and talking about the boys and going out on Saturday night and (wrote), you know, I miss playing cards with so and so and being home with my wife or mother.”
Bachmann said although all that happened more than 100 years ago, there are still families living in Timmins with ties to the First World War.
In fact, she lost a great uncle two weeks before it ended.
As a sign of respect, the city shines a modern display of remembrance on the McIntyre headframe. The digital poppy signals all who pass by it that Timmins still has connections to that historic event.
Bachmann said the war letters may be read at the Timmins Public Library, which has transferred all the Porcupine Advance newspapers onto a computer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
developing A bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Kinew, Poilievre meet at Manitoba legislature, discuss each other's priorities
Premier Wab Kinew and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre met at the Manitoba legislature Thursday afternoon.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.