A fascinating collection of wartime letters has been transcribed and made available online. Sent by Welsh soldier Dewi David to his family, the letters recount the experiences of his service in the 'Near East'.
During four years serving with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Gallipoli, in Egypt, in Sinai, at the battles of Gaza, and in Palestine Sapper Dewi David of the Royal Engineers wrote more than 50 letters home to his parents and sister in Wales, totalling 120,000 words.
The letters offer an intriguing insight into the trials and tribulations, the risks and hardships, the boredom and frustration, and the fun and excitement of military life and will be of particular interest to those who had relatives who served in this theatre of the war and wish to know more about where they were and what they did.
We learn much, too, about society in the Britain of the early years of the 20th century, about the life and leisure and the attitudes and preoccupations of a typical family and about the growing impact of the war on the Home Front. The writer took part in a now often forgotten but nevertheless important campaign of World War One, which culminated in the capture of Jerusalem in 1917 and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at Megiddo. It is a campaign which will come into stronger focus during the course of the year ahead as the anniversary of the ill-fated expedition to Gallipoli is commemorated. The letters can be found at http://www.rhysdavid.net/
An account of the campaigns illustrated with extended extracts from the campaign is also available in a recently-published book by Rhys David: TELL MUM NOT TO WORRY: A Welsh Soldier’s World War One in the Near East. (ISBN 978-0-9930982-0-8. Deffro). £11.99.
For further information or to obtain a copy for review please contact rhys.david@btinternet.com.
