Soldiers’ letters offer glimpse of life at war

default-hero-image

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/vickersletters.jpg” caption=”Daniel and John Vickers donated their fathers’ letters, written during the Second World War, to McMaster’s archives recently. The nearly 1,000 letters, mainly written to the brothers’ parents and girlfriends, include lighthearted anecdotes, descriptions of the drudgery of life at war and the challenges of training soldiers. Photo by Matt Terry.”]Daniel Vickers hatched the idea to donate his father's Second World War correspondence to
McMaster's archives after he opened the box of nearly 350 letters on a Friday morning and
couldn't stop reading until Sunday night.

“It was like reading the first act of my life's play,” he said of the letters written by corporal
George Stephen Vickers, a McMaster alumnus. “I knew how it ended, but I still found myself
rooting for everything to work out for my parents.”

When the University of British Columbia history professor found out that his cousin John
Vickers had a similar collection of letters from his father, George Stephen's brother
lieutenant Fredrick Vickers, also a McMaster graduate, the plan to preserve them at the
University was quickly set in motion.

The nearly 1,000 letters, mainly written to the brothers' parents and girlfriends, include
lighthearted anecdotes, descriptions of the drudgery of life at war and the challenges of
training soldiers, many of whom were illiterate.

Rick Stapleton, an archivist at the University Library, said the letters are unique in that they
are well-written, offer a glimpse of life during the war and involve three McMaster alumni
(George Stephen's wife Elizabeth Smith earned her degree in 1935).

“They are remarkable for their detailed descriptions of life during the war,” he said. “The
Vickers were incredibly articulate writers, and their letters will help students, faculty and
the community learn about the Second World War for years to come.”

John, a professor emeritus in McMaster's Faculty of Health Sciences, said the letters reveal
a very different picture of the man he grew up with.

“He was remarkably romantic back then,” he said of the heartfelt, handwritten notes, some
of which number ten pages. “My mother and father were the stereotypical, mid-twentieth-
century parents, so that wasnt something I often saw.”

He also said the letters vividly describe the sense of community felt by many who endured
the struggles of the war.

They tell the story of Margaret Sargent, Fredrick's girlfriend and future wife, who – with the
help of friends and co-workers who donated flour and eggs despite wartime rationing –
frequently sent him cookies and cakes; rare treats for soldiers on the front lines of Europe
during the war.

The letters reveal that Fredrick's fellow soldiers bribed their unit's mail orderly to
notify them any time a package arrived from Margaret, so that all could be nearby when the
delicious deliveries were made.

“There is a letter from one of my father's friends, on behalf of a number of soldiers,
thanking my mother for the baked goods she sent and he had shared,” said John. “That the
whole community would share their small amount of rations to support them was
something special, and they recognized that.”

George Stephen, who served as an instructor at Camp Barriefield, near Kingston, Ont.,
wasn't forced to share his dessert, but he too faced challenges, not least of which was
being forced to go scruffy after losing his shaving kit.

Daniel said his father's love of fixing things, evident later in life, came through clearly in
his letters. In one, he writes at length about his success at having fixed the broken iron he
had been using on other soldiers' uniforms – a service he provided at 25 cents a week, in
order to supplement his regular income.

The Vickers' letters will join a number of notable First and Second World War materials,
including those of poets Bernard Trotter and Vera Brittain and an extensive collection of
trench maps, in McMaster's archives.

The letters are currently available by request only and will be catalogued and made
available to the public in 2012.