On 6 November 2008, we will launch our Last Post: Remembering the First World War exhibition at the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms in London. The exhibition is about the Post Office and the First World War, and touches on the importance of the post in maintaining communication between the troops and their families. We would be interested to hear why you think the post can play an important role in any wartime/armed forces context.
This part of the BPMA website is a Wiki. This means that users can create their own content and add to/edit other people’s pages. We would like you to share some of your stories about the letters and parcels you have sent and received during wartime. We'd like to hear people's memories from past conflicts/forces experiences, but also from people who are in similar situations today.
The following questions will help get you started:
- How did/do you feel when you receive a wartime letter?
- Do you remember a particularly important letter/parcel that meant a lot to you, or brought significant news?
- Do you prefer receving letters to emails/text messages?
- Are there any extracts from letters that you have kept that you could share with us?
- Was there a time when you went for a long time without receiving a letter? How did that feel?
Feel free to correct typos or spelling mistakes in other people's entries, but please do not significantly change what they have written.
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Post your entries here:
Ewan, former Naval Officer:
At sea with the Royal Navy in the western Atlantic in 2004 and the Far East in 2005 we were nowhere near as cut off as previous generations must have been; through the ship's satellite system we had access to regular email and phone contact with home, and actual mail would only catch up with us when we made a planned port visit, or occasionally if the ship's helicopter was able to make a pickup. But real post was still very worthwhile, after a month or more at sea I was surprised just how impatient I was to get that next batch of mail. There is always something far more personal about receiving a handwritten letter, and of course 'aid parcels' were always very welcome - you can't send chocolate, the newest Harry Potter book or birthday presents by email!
Alex, 42 Commando Royal Marines.
Having completed tours of Northern Ireland, Iraq and more recently Afghanistan i'd say the one thing that everyone looked forward to was the mail flight coming in. Sometimes it could be two to three weeks between deliveries, but even if we'd had a bad day you could see morale rise once you had a letter from a loved one or a parcel from home containing Harribo or tea bags!
Dee, wife of Royal Marine (40 cdo)
Using a telephone is great to hear their voice but you always forget to tell them things and then have no way of phoning them back. Sending letters is a way of talking to our loved ones every day even if they have to wait for the letter. Putting feelings down on paper also helps you deal with those feelings especially when you know that there will be a smile out in Afghanistan when he reads it again and again and again. Email and txt are great but you can't always download or print off, where as a letter is theirs to read again and again.
Pink, Wife of A Sailor
Writing letters has for centuries been the best form of communication for our troops on the grounds/sea /and air. As mentioned above that they can hold the letters in their hands and read them again and again when feeling a little sad and so far away from home is so important. Emails and phone calls are great as they help keep a lot of contact , but letters are the ones everyone loves to receive the most I think . Even e-blueys now have become extremely popular as they too can be read time and again .
Boo, mum to Royal Marine
My son has never been that fussed on receiving parcels and letters during 3 years in the Marines - until his current tour in Afghanistan. For him, in a war zone, hand written letters are the ones he can read again and again, the ones he can take out and re read to remind him of the person who wrote the letter, and of others at home. Emails are good for information, and so are telephone calls, but he can't take them out and look at them again whenever he wants in very sparten conditions. He also mentioned that letters sometimes smell of people or home - a whiff of another world in the desert, and something a call or email can't replicate. From a Mum's point of view, feeding the family is one way of expressing how we feel, and sending parcels has been my way of trying to let my son know we are all thinking of him and sending our love with each box of requests/ideas of what we think he might want. Without the post, it would have felt as though he had gone away forever into a big black hole. So, for different reasons, the post seems to fulfill needs in both senders and recipients.
Wife of RN
Using a telephone is great to hear their voice but you always forget to tell them things and it is very frustrating if you miss their call. Sending letters is a way of telling our loved what we have been doing/going to be doing. Putting feelings down on paper also helps you deal with those feelings especially when you know that the letters can be read over and over again.
Victoria, Royal Marine sister
It can be extremely hard when a loved one is away in a war zone, you spend much time thinking about what they are up to and hoping and praying that they are safe. They also think about the things that are happening at home and back to their 'normal' lives. Phone calls are great, even if there are time delays in speaking but you just listen to the voice more than what is being said. Letters are a great way to say all of those things you forgot to say in the phone call, a chance to talk about your daily routine of being at home or for a child to draw a fabulous picture that can be hung up in a tent. One thing I have found that likes to be told is the mundane aspects of what I get up to so that they can be read and re-read when sitting defending an outpost or late at night when watching the stars in the desert. Much joy is felt when receiving a letter from a warzone, the fact that your soldier, marine or who ever has had a spare moment to write back home means so much. In our house, receiving blueys through the post or now e-blueys brought much delight - even if the main content is a requst for t-bags, harribo and loo roll. but that is another aspect of the BFPO, sending our parcels of goodies to those risking their lives, at Christmas the parcels are free to post and many get sent out, it is our way of showing that we are still thinking of the lads/lasses and understand that a care package can be of great comfort, for our family I lost count of the quantity of fruitcake sent out in shoe boxes. Without the BFPO, contact would be much harder and rarer and at a time when a loved one is in the middle of a war zone, hearing from home is what keeps them fighting and also what keeps those back at home strong.
Kathleen, 11 year old daughter of airman in Second World War.
My father was a Leading Aircraftsman on a fighter (Spitfire) station at Middle Wallop in Wiltshire. 604 squadron. I wrote to him and knitted balaclava helmets and gloves in airforce blue for him to wear while on guard duty on winter nights. Photographs were sent regularly with other comforts like sweets and cakes and these were very important to the men who missed their families so much. We also looked forward to reading his letters. Vera Lynn had a forces programme on Sunday nights when she passed on messages received from wives and sweethearts and sang requested songs. She was called the Forces sweetheart and made everybody cry!
Bookworm Mum of a Royal Marine
Sending and receiving emails, letters and eblueys has been something we have come to rely on. It's been a life-line for my family and helped us cope while our son has served away. It has kept us in touch and has kept the communication channel open between us which is what every worried mum and dad want. At times it has been hard for our son to get in touch with us while out on special ops but when back at camp and that email arrived home it was such a wondeful feeling for us all. Just a few lines saying he was ok made all the difference to our life back home and helped us cope another day. The ebluey system is brilliant and is easy to get to grips with allowing photos to be sent to your loved ones too. Parcels have been great to fill and have given us a sense of being closer to our lad while he served away. Filling the parcels kept us busy and also allowed other members of the family such as grandparents to get involved with too. To be able to send special parcels for birthdays and christmas is very important for the morale of the soldier and also for the parents and family back home. I am just so grateful to all concerned that have helped keep the mail going out to the men and women serving in war-zone countries. The link is vital and helps us all cope in these stressful and worrying times.