Letters from the Western Front - Episode 1 - Keeping the fires of love alive

During the First World War about 2 billion letters were delivered by the British army postal service and in 1917 alone 19,000 mailbags crossed the Channel every day.

​This correspondence was a vital means of reassuring sweethearts, wives and mothers of continuing love and care.

​Historian, Hayley Louise, of the University of Worcester, has studied archives of letters and cards between men at the Front to women from Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.

​In the first of a series of three audio podcasts she explores how mothers, wives and soldiers at the Front sought and gained reassurance from this intimate exchange of news and feelings.

Acknowledgements:

• The private collection of Sean Brown.
• Monica Parker daughter of Arthur Chaytor Pepper. Letters archived within the RAF Museum, Cosford. 

Keywords: Women, World War I, Worcestershire