Letter · 16 Oct 1916 · Dunedin, New Zealand
Anzac and a gentleman
Eric died on the 7th of October 1916 during the Battle of Somme.
Extracts from this letter
"I am writing to offer you my heartfelt sympathy on your cruel loss. ... I took part in the same action & heard that he was suffering from shell shock but had been carried away to the hospital quite cheery & and smoking a cigarette."
"Eric was terribly wounded but put up a magnificent fight & kept it up to the end..."
"Spuds and I were always good friends & I feel his loss keenly. It seems strange, that some of us should get through without a scratch, while others are taken. I think we old hands grow careful & do not take so many risks. The men tell me Eric led them like a Hero Lion ......you have the consolation that Eric died like did live like a gallant Anzac & a gentleman."
