Letters home to the next of kin of the fallen

[Perth Digger]

The whole issue of military letters of condolence to the next of kin of casualties is fascinating. It was obviously part of the official doctrine of paternalism that was instilled in young officers under training, but it was frequently more than that. Did battalions have unwritten rules about who was to write? One would imagine that, for the ordinary soldier in the trenches, platoon commanders would be first cab off the rank, followed by company commanders and then the Adjutant or 2ic if the officers nearest to the individual soldier had been themselves killed. Presumably, given the high number of subaltern casualties in big "pushes", any normal system broke down then. As officers had to censor soldiers' letters, they probably knew more about their men than the men often realised. This might have helped with the framing of letters of condolence. Also, what was done about the missing or those sent back down the lines wounded who may subsequently have died? I'm guessing, but I would think that in the aftermath of big battles, only a small number of soldiers' next of kin received letters of condolence.

Then there is the issue of men writing to dead officers' next of kin . . .

[Seany]

The MP was JH Thomas - Labour for Derby first won in 1911 with the help of his electoral agent James Bennett, signaller in 293 SB RGA who was the chap unfortunately killed in October 1917 whilst serving in Flanders. Bennett had a strong and respectable socialist pedigree before the war being active in the trades union movement and one of the first Labour Councillors to be elected, I've pretty much pieced together his history and found it sad that the autobiography of JH Thomas made no mention of him. I'm in Belgium now and popping to Dozinghem cemletry to pay my respects to James Bennett tomorrow.

Seany

Can you please give us a bit more information? Who the MP was, for example; when it happened; and which regiment was involved?

Thanks

Mike