Author(s): Anne Nason

Military/War

Extracts from a unique collection of First World War letters provide a moving legacy of one soldier's love and courage and a fascinating insight into life on the frontline.
Lt. Colonel E.W. Hermon died in a hail of bullets on the 9th of April 1917, the first day of the battle of Arras, leading his men of the 24th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers into the attack. He was shot through the heart, one bullet slicing through the letters in his top pocket, including the four-leaf clover his wife had given him for good luck.
This could have been the end of the story but he left a testament of his life and ideals in a unique and hitherto unknown and unpublished collection of long and detailed letters he wrote to his darling wife and his children, "the Chugs." Now, nearly a century after his death, he speaks to us of a past, less cynical life, where selflessness, honour, duty and courage were admired above all else.
The letters have been transcribed and edited by Hermon's granddaughter Anne Nason with the help of James Holland, the distinguished historian. The letters are believed to be unique in their candour and context since Hermon was Battalion Commander and thus his letters were not censored.