Canadian Heroes

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This post, at this time of the year, before the fun of the Christmas seasons sets in, is just a moment to pause and remember.

Please take a moment to remember the sacrifices far too many have made :(

These Canadian heroes are my uncles. Their story is touching and I only knew one of them as an old man. I have other family members who served, including both my Mom and Dad, and another Uncle who lost his life in WW2, but am so proud that the Ontario government have remembered the Uncles and shared their story.

The Archives has recently acquired a series of letters written from the battlefront during World War One by brothers, Charlie and Wally Gray.



These letters were composed between 1915-1916 by two very ordinary young men. They are touching in their simplicity and, at this time of remembrance, reach us in a way that history texts rarely do.

The Archives of Ontario thanks donors for their gift of these very personal family letters and photographs.

You are invited to read a selection of these letters, listen to excerpts from them and view photographs and drawings selected from other First World War collections held by the Archives.


Here are two of the letters that Charlie Gray wrote to his parents from the trenches at Ypres.
This letter was written when Charlie and Wally had not been long in the trenches. Charlie seems light-hearted, and more concerned about his service pay than with the enemy, even though the Germans are so close he can hear them singing.

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/English/exhibits/gray/charlie_gray_letter1.htm

Letter 2

Here, the reality of life in the trenches has begun to sink in. Charlie and Wally are living with constant noise, mud and the very real threat of having their heads shot off by snipers.


Charlie and Wally also received letters from family and friends. Here is one from their mother, Emily.
Charlie and Wally have been away for about a year, and though their mother is clearly worried, she urges her sons to keep up their spirits.

Letter from Mother

On 3 June 1916 Charlie was killed at the Ypres salient and Wally was badly wounded by shrapnel. While Wally was recovering in a hospital in Wales, he wrote this letter home to his mother
Letter to his mother



The Archives of Ontario
Remembers Our Canadian War Heroes