#Battle text online full#
#Battle text online download#

Can you get a sense of the experience of those who fought in Greece, India or Egypt, East Africa?.

What were conditions like for those who were sent to the Dardanelles?.

Describe conditions for those in the trenches on Western Front.

Do you get a sense of what these soldiers miss from home? Is this unsurprising/shocking?.

What can be found out about tactics/weapons/equipment used in combat?.

How did the men feel about their experience of training?.

What training was carried out before they were sent to fight?.

How does their experience of the First World War vary among these letter writers?.

Student work could be presented via various media for example Powerpoint Presentation, video film, radio documentary, newspaper article, role play interview, poster, blog, web page or classroom exhibition.

Use this resource in conjunction with our second online resource including letters from the later war period Letters from the First World War, part two (1916-1918) to consider further themes and ideas.

Our research guide can help get you started.

Carry out research on the life of an individual soldier.Students could curate their own exhibition on the letters based on a theme/question of their choice using additional original material/secondary sources.Assign groups of letters on a given theme to groups/individuals in order to explore and interpret.Discuss any of the suggested questions below on a group/individual basis.It included photographs of all those who served in the First World War from the GWR as a whole and employees could catch up on company business and news of sporting or social events. Some soldiers mentioned having received the magazine or asked for it to be sent out. Unsurprisingly, in the letters many men showed a keen interest in all matters connected with railways or engines, other Great Western Railway ‘fellows’ and the Great Western Railway Magazine. Due to their knowledge and understanding of the railways, many became Railway Troops based at railheads. The Great Western Railway Company formed four companies of Royal Engineers as many men from the company, including these clerical workers from Paddington, had enlisted to serve. Railheads were the nearest points to the front from which men and supplies travelled by train and were then taken to the battle line by motor vehicle or horse. There are three accompanying PDFs, each containing a collection of letters on the themes of the Dardanelles, training and the trenches. Others have touched on the technology of war, the movement of troops or conditions at the railheads in France. For example, some letter writers have detailed their experience of the trenches, injury, or active service in the Dardanelles and India or training prior going abroad. We have labelled each letter according to a theme from the First World War. Letters from the First World War, part one (1915) is based on the first half of the RAIL record. For this reason is it is helpful to see the letters as a whole group to get the most out of them and appreciate the nature of the collection.

In such cases we have shown part of the letter in order to provide a sense of the original.Īcross the online resources Letters from the First World War, part one (1915) and Letters from the First World War, part two (1916-1918) it is possible to find more than one letter from the same person, or find references within the letters to those who have written.

#Battle text online full#

However, we have not included full images for several letters as these would have proved too difficult to read online. Unusual or technical terms have been defined within the text. You may spot spelling or grammatical errors in the transcripts as we have transcribed the letters as they stand. Teachers may also wish to use the collection to develop their own resources. The documents should offer students a chance to develop their powers of evaluation and analysis. All letters have been transcribed, and selected letters have an audio version too.

There are 32 letters and 16 photographs in this resource.

#Battle text online download#

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