Letter · 24 May 1916 · Flanders Fields, Belgium
A state of nerves
Harry Norton was killed in action on 15 September 1916, at Flanders. His family were not informed of his death for 5-6 weeks, and continued to write to him. Their letters were returned marked with 'deceased'. Harry wrote to his wife everyday - his letters are very descriptive and personal.
Extracts from this letter
"I can only say that it is a lot more nerve trying than I expected. We are under an awful strain of expectation all the time, and sleep is impossible for the first few days"
"Night time is the worst, as we can only guess what is going on across the barbed wire. It is Hell upon Earth at times, and then there comes a time when you can hear the wind moving the grass, but we are getting used to the ping ping of the bullets and the screech & whistle of the shells."
"I must admit I was awfully funky in the legs for the first night. I was not frightened, but very nervous in the head, and my legs & knees kept shaking & knocking together for quite an hour."
