All photos on this page are copyright of Dennis and Jean Durnell of Wakefield
Postcards to Fred from home
The messages on 4 of these cards are shown below. It is interesting that the two cards in the left hand column are signed by Selina (Lena), Fred's wife; those below are purportedly from Madge, their daughter.
However, as the cards seem to date from 1915 when Madge would have been too young to have written them, and the writing appears to be much the same on all of the cards, Selina probably 'helped' her daughter to write them!
The address in every case is very full, with Fred being termed 'Signaller'.
Cards from Fred to his Family
Embroidered postcards showing national flags and regimental badges were made in France specially to sell to the 'Tommies' for whom they became the card of choice to send home to mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts.
The cards shown here have some less common features.
Each of them features a small pouch containing a message, and two of them are special Christmas cards with no 'military' associations.
A Birthday Card
These two images show the front and back of a birthday card sent by Fred to his daughter Madge.
Uncensored Mail…perhaps
This image shows an envelope which is far from common, and much prized by serving soldiers. A man using such an envelope signed to say the contents were purely private and personal, and his officer would not then read and censor it. It was the only chance troops had to write in total privacy to the addressee. Even then however there was just a chance that some official further down the line might open it for security purposes!
Back to Frederick Carter Gallery