Auckland Museum · Pou KanohiLetters from the front line

Themes

What they wrote about

282 themes drawn from the letters themselves. The larger the word, the more letters touch on it.

Death13Love13Duty12Life12Shell12Family11Brave9Food8Fire7Guns7Proud7Water7Frightened6Trenches6Uniform and kit6Wounded6Censorship5Faith5Hell5Sleep5Evacuation4Hospital4Nurse4Prayers4Promotion4Shrapnel4Awful3Coming home3Correspondence3Flies3Importance of mail3Kit3Leave3Nerves3Parcels from home3Peace3Pyramids3Trench3Turks3Aeroplanes2Bayonet2Bombardment2Broken2Comforting family2Dug outs2Facing death2Family death2Football2France2Homesick2Leadership2Machine guns2Medals2Mementos2Mud2Nerve2No man's land2Nurses2Nursing2Patients2Rats2Religion2Reporting2Romance2Sand2Smash2Snow2Stretcher bearers2Suffering2Tear gas2Tourist2Uniform2Worry2Wounds2Xmas2A great loss1Advice to son1Air raids1Aircraft1Amazement1Anxious1Anzac1Appetite1Armistice1Artillery1Award1Baby1Bayonets1Beauty of Cairo1Best of mates1Birthday1Blackout1Blighty1Blood1Bombardments1Boys1Brother1Bullets1Bully beef & biscuits1Cairo Museum1Camel1Camels1Camp1Carry on1Celebrations in London1Charms1Chores at home1Christianity1Christmas dinner1Communication1Communication trench1Confident1Construction1Cruel1Crying1Danger1Danger at sea1Dead1Death of pals1Desire to forget1Desolation1Destruction1Digging1Easter1Effects of machine fire & explosions1Engineering1English1English life1Enjoyment1Entertainment1Escapes1Excitement about war1Exciting1Eyesore1Feelings for wife and children1Feet1Fellows1Financial worries1Finest1Firing1Firing line1Fleas and lice1Flowers1French Government1French women1Friends1Friendship1Fritz1Frostbite1Gallipoli1Gassed1Gentleman1Germans1Girls1Good work1Grenades1Gunfire1Heavy packs1Hell on Earth1Home1Honour or Glory1Hospital Ship1Human spirit1Humour1Imagining war1Importance of smoking1Jokes1Knitting1Knock1Knocked1Landscape1Leaving Egypt1London1Looking forward to fighting1Losses1Lost all mates1Lucky beggar1Lucky escapes1Lucky star1Mad1Magnificent1Mail1Marching orders1Memories of friend1Messines1Military life1Mines1Missing home1Mobilisation1Morphine1Mules1Mummies1Murder1Mystery1Narrow escapes1Near misses1New troops1New Years1Night shift1No mail1No Man's land1NZ press1Officer suspended1On leave1Organisation1Overcrowded1Pain1Parcels1Passchendaele1Penalty1Perfect health1Perseverance1Pessimism1Piano and ping-pong1Pluck1Prayer1Presents1Prisoners1Process on ship1Purchasing clothing1Quiet escape1Rain1Reassuring Mother1Recovery1Refugees1Relief1Respect1Respirators1Responsibilities1Restrictions on writing1Returning invalids1Returning to front1Reunion1Revenge1Ruin1Sacrifice1Sad parting1School1Sea sick1Seasick1Shell hole1Shell weapons1Shell wound1Ship life1Ship Life1Shooting1Shooting practice1Showers1Sick leave1Slush1Smack up1Smashed1Snipers1Sorrow1Sounds like prison1Souvenirs1Special training1Stretchers1Sweetheart1Taking charge1Teacher1The front1Thick of it1Thinking of home1Tired1Tired men1Torpedoed1Towns1Training1Trench digging1Troops1Troops departing1Under fire1Underclothes1Victory1Voyage1War misery1War weary1Weather1wire1Wounded, hospital1Xmas day1

All themes, A–Z