The ship began to sail away carrying thousands upon thousands of soldiers aboard, including my son Jamie. As the ship turned around the headland and out of site I turned my back and sadly began to walk home from the beach. Millions of soldiers had left that beach to come home in wooden boxes or not at all, I just hoped my Arthur wouldn't be one of them. Around the table at dinner time it was silent, no one spoke it was impossible to comprehend that my son might never come back. All through the night I was tossing and turning not getting any sleep over that thought. In the morning I awoke to a dull sky I went through all the usual chores and then went to the post office to see if Arthur had sent the letter he had promised to I went in to the post office to find that it was crammed with the mums and dads of the soldiers who had left all harassing the poor receptionist for their letters behind her were bags and bags of mail and staff were rummaging through the bags trying to give the right letters to the right people what chaos. I finally pushed my way to the front to find the glass separator shut. Luckily I knew a the person who ran the post office and he had shown me a back entrance I walked round to the back entrance it was open i stepped inside it was eerily quiet like a graveyard I heard a rustling noise in a corner I carefully approached a deep voice boomed "good morning Elizabeth what do you want" "hello David I'm looking for my sons letter he went off to war yesterday and he promised he would send me a letter" "I will have a look in the bags of war letters". Here's your letter but I think something bad has happened because it's in the injured pile" my heart raced I ripped open the letter and began to read.
25/4/1944
Dear Mother
4:00 pm
We have just arrived at our destination for our training. My bed has leeches in it, for dinner I had grey thick sludge with rock hard biscuits. We are on a fast track course because we have to perform a emergency night attack but I better stop writing before my commander comes and sees me.
2:04 am
I am sitting in the hospital the attack went horrid we climbed out of the trenches and every single one of us got blown up by land mines I was lucky only my leg was blown off I have just had my operation apparently they are developing robot legs but they are still at the planning stage. I will be coming home soon on the hospital ship HMHS Aquitania I hope everything is okay back home I can't wait to get back.
Love from Arthur
The news hit me like a whip, my son disabled for life. I went home slowly, my mind a jumble to tell the news.
25/4/1944
Dear Mother
4:00 pm
We have just arrived at our destination for our training. My bed has leeches in it, for dinner I had grey thick sludge with rock hard biscuits. We are on a fast track course because we have to perform a emergency night attack but I better stop writing before my commander comes and sees me.
2:04 am
I am sitting in the hospital the attack went horrid we climbed out of the trenches and every single one of us got blown up by land mines I was lucky only my leg was blown off I have just had my operation apparently they are developing robot legs but they are still at the planning stage. I will be coming home soon on the hospital ship HMHS Aquitania I hope everything is okay back home I can't wait to get back.
Love from Arthur
The news hit me like a whip, my son disabled for life. I went home slowly, my mind a jumble to tell the news.