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
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.