A letter a fellow invented soldier known as James Brown has written to his wife, Elizabeth Brown, during WWI.

James Brown

France

December 1, 1916

Elizabeth, my love,

I was just remembering you after the Battle of the Somme, and I thought I wanted to talk to you. So I’m sending you this letter. At the camp where I am writing this letter, I am not doing well at all. If you recall 2 years ago, in 1914, when I was contemplating whether enlistment in the canadian army to fight for Canada in WWI was something I wanted to do, all of the propogandas posted on the restaurant’s, stores’, and other businesses’ walls, stated that WWI would be very safe, involved nearly no violence, the soldiers would receive a higher salary, and most of all, they would live a better life. Like me, another 650,000 men swallowed this deceiving belief-pill, and are now suffering unlimitedly. Along with me, thousands of men are feeling absolutely devastated. We feel as if the unending boredom, brutal fighting, and unhygienic environments, that we experience daily, are eating us alive. It has been weeks since our last shower, and over a day since my last meal. The lice on our bodies are literally eating us alive, for a day does not pass by without at least 5–8 lice-bites. Our boredom is so extensive, lasting for days, potentially weeks, we have invented many ways to pass our time. Just yesterday, I was watching two men pick lice from their bodies, and race them to see who wins. As well, us men, we race each other in a competition to pick the most lice out of someone else’s bodies. Truly, these are many sickening ways to pass time, however, they are effective. You can see that all of the promises made by the government of Canada, as to what the war was to offer us, are practically lies, justifying my description of the war being “deceiving.” As have many of my fellow soldiers, I am diagnosed with shell shock, after losing 6 of my 7 best friends in the Battle of the Somme. Absolutely, General Haig, the commander of the Battle of the Somme, is fully responsible for this unacceptable failure. As the battle started on July 1, 1916, I was located at the front-line trench. This position made me very vulnerable to the soldiers on the front-line in the enemy’s side. I was very stressed, the battle was astonishingly horrorous, thus I tried to stay as defensive as possible. Only on the first day did the british army experience the worst results of a battle, 57,470 deaths. However, General Haig demanded the battle to extend. Many soldiers from our (the British) side tried to sprint over the most vulnerable area in the battle-zone, no man’s land. However, a majority were immediately shot and killed by the front-line trench soldiers of Germany, using machine guns. Through this weaponry, they held a major advantage, for these guns were able to shoot at a speed of 2600ft/s (800 m/s). Chlorine, mustard, as well as other poisonous gases were used by both sides, however, it was easiest for us to defend against them. This is because of the defensive mechanism invention, by a medical officer in the Battle of Ypres, to urinate a towel and hold it over your face. After just over 1.25 million casualties and no victory did General Haig finally realize the failure he had committed, justifying my eternal hatred towards him. Through horrendous injuries, I was diagnosed with Trench Foot. I, as many other men, spend a majority of my time walking. My shoes are not waterproof, and it has been over 3 months since my foot was last dry. 3 days ago, my foot was amputated and I am now permanently paralyzed, for this has happened to over 75,000 british soldiers. I realize this will be hard, however not nearly as hard as what I experienced in this war. The shell shock now has me caught in depression, and it is very hard for me to live a few days happily. My only means of motivation is looking at your picture, and I have lost the patriotism to fight for my country. I haven’t had a proper meal in weeks, and am certain I will not have one for the next two weeks, until the food supply arrives again. This lack of proper diet may even cause my amputation to never recover. I request you, my love, to send me some delicious sardines, soups, and biscuits, for food may be my last means of motivation and happiness.

I wish you all the joys of life, and tell my family I love them as well.

Sincerely,

James Brown