3.4 A letter from the front

Letters from the home front would give the soldiers hope and allow them to escape briefly from the boredom and horrors of trench warfare. Many soldiers sent letters home as well, so that friends and family could find out how they were getting on. The films on this page provide a snapshot of what this might have been like.

YPRES
13 MINS 51 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1925

Ypres is a silent, feature-length motion picture created by British Instructional Films in 1925. Directed by Walter Summers, it recreates the battles of Ypres with the co-operation of the British Army. This section of the film features a reconstruction of soldiers receiving mail at the Front. The relevant section begins 11 minutes into the film, though the rest may also be of interest.

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POST WOMEN
0 MINS 15 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1914-1918

Footage of post women in England during the First World War. In the film, a woman delivers letters to a house and a group of women pose for the newsreel camera with their mailbags.