Letter of condolence

item details

NameLetter of condolence

ProductionReverend George Cruickshank; author; 3 October 1918; France

Classificationletters

Materialspaper, ink

Techniqueshandwriting

DimensionsOverall: 250mm (height), 202mm (length)

Registration NumberGH011681/1

Credit lineGift of Miss Phyllis A Rolfes, 1966

Overview

The duties of military chaplains included giving dead soldiers a decent burial and writing condolence letters to their families, giving, if possible, details of the circumstances of their deaths and the location of their graves.

Chaplain George Cruickshank
Chaplain George Cruickshank of the 2nd Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, was so busy with this work during and after the Battle of Bapaume in northern France that he was unable to write to Mrs Rolfes until 3 October 1918, six weeks after her son was killed.

The letter
In the letter, he expresses his condolences, tells her that her son was killed instantly when he was struck by a machine-gun bullet on the afternoon of 24 August, and gives her a map reference for the location of his grave.

The letter may have been some comfort to Mrs Rolfes - at least she knew where her son was buried - but she had to wait 10 years to see a photograph of the grave he shared with four of his comrades.