Time to meet some of the characters that you will come across in Harry's letters....
ETHEL . This is Harry's wife. They married in March 1914 in a civil ceremony in a Registry Office in Basford, a suburb of Nottingham. Harry's Occupation was recorded as a Lacemaker, Ethel a spinster.
The two were married a few months before the outbreak of the war.
WILLIE is their son. He was born in March 1916, almost a year before Harry joined up to fight.
There was another son, Arthur, but the only record I have found so far, is a baptismal certificate from the Parish Church in Ilkeston. No one alive can recall any mention of Arthur so we must assume that he died in infancy. A helpful reader has possibly identified the record of Arthur's death so I may be able to find more. Update;- I now have Arthur's details. He did, indeed die as an infant.
Willie grew up and became a successful textile salesman. He had a brush with the military in WW2 but, apparently, missed being shipped to Singapore by minutes. His transfer to the PT Corps came through as he was on parade, ready to go! Willie is, as I write, still alive and living in a nursing home in Derbyshire. Harry frequently mentions Willie in his letters. It must have been a terrible wrench to leave behind a baby son to go to the horrors of the War.
I will add short descriptions of the other characters in later posts.
Characters in Harry's letters
Useful Reading!
The book has clearly been extensively and meticulously researched.
Harry was involved, in real life, in some of the events used in Faulks' novel. The experiences described by Harry sit very comfortably within the frame work of "Birdsong".
If you're interested in the period, read the book. It's a very good read and fits in well with this blog. As a personal view, I enjoyed the book but was less than convinced by the last few chapters.
Private Harry Lamin - Introduction
Harry Lamin was born in August 1887 in the East Midlands of England. In 1917, aged 29, he joined up to fight in the First World War.
The picture shows Harry at school. I've marked him - he's on the second row from the front. Unfortunately, there's no date but he looks about 7 so the picture must have been taken around 1894.
During his time in the army, he wrote letters home to his brother and sister. They were kept and handed down to me, his grandson.
I have transcribed the letters and added commentary so that references can make sense.
What has been produced is a moving and poignant account of an ordinary man's experiences in an extraordinary situation.
I have edited nothing. The spellings and grammar are exactly as Harry wrote them.
The intention of this blog is to publish the letters exactly 90 years after Harry wrote them. His first letter from the training camp was written on February 7th 1917. It will be published on the blog on February 7th 2007.
Each letter will appear on the correct date from then on. There are gaps where no letters are available for several weeks. I have no explanations. Maybe they were lost. I have no idea.
If you wish to find out Harry's fate then you'll have to access the blog as the new letters arrive.
Please feel free to let me know if you are interested in following the blog. There is within, a fascinating insight into the fate of the ordinary soldier in those horrific times.
Those who are even more interested in the Great War should look to study online. WW1.
