THE TIMES GREAT WAR LETTERS

A selection of letters from the pages of The Times during the Great War (1914-1918), covering every subject – from war hints for recruits, the dangers of the coca leaf and the bad influence of nightclubs to the shortage of leeches in London (“down to the last few dozen . . . and they were second-hand,” writes AE Shipley in 1915).

It’s a fascinating snapshot of a nation at war, from the unknown to correspondents such as H.G. Wells, Nancy Astor, Millicent Fawcett and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes creator Conan Doyle had letters published four times: in 1914 he shared his suggestions on reserve forces, and in 1915 he spoke on the treatment of prisoners (“an average German has no more understanding of chivalry than a cow has of mathematics”). He penned his thoughts on prostitution in London in 1917, and in 1918 he called for equal punishment for German prisoners.

The real flavour of the war, though, is from those who were taking part. “One Who’s Tried It” writes about frostbite in the trenches: “we had no hot shower-baths, stoves, drawingroom carpets, or other luxuries which abound in these Aladdin’s-cave-cumRitz-hotel trenches I have read about in the papers”. And, poignantly, “The Father of an Officer Killed in Action” calls for sensitivity in returning the swords of fallen officers.

For any fans of newspaper letters pages, it’s a must as both a vivid portrait of a different time and a dramatically different set of circumstances.