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Description: | 145 ms letters written home to his sweetheart during service as a NCO with the 11th Battalion (until August 1915) and as an officer with the 18th Battalion Welch Regiment (119th Brigade, 40th Division) in the United Kingdom, September 1914 - April 1916, referring to his training and practice attacks, living conditions, precautions against German air raids, and his impressions of the Salamanca Barracks at Aldershot; then on the Western Front, June 1916 - April 1917, describing relations with the French, life in the front line trenches, the intense shelling and casualties sustained, recreational activities, Christmas celebrations, his dugout and living conditions, and his anticipation of leave; hospitalisation back in the UK, April - July 1917, describing how he was wounded while offering his opinion of the Countess of Pembroke's Hospital in Salisbury; and then with the 11th Battalion Welch Regiment (67th Brigade, 22nd Division) in Salonika, December 1917 - March 1919, referring to his voyage out, excursions into No Mans Land, an inspection parade, receiving parcels from home, the Macedonian landscape and birdsong, casualties and changes of personnel within his Battalion, his hopes for an end to the war, and recreational activities including sport. Also held with the collection are a small number of ms letters written to Gibbs during and after the war, concerning matters such as the Armistice and investigation of the whereabouts of fellow soldiers; and an extensive collection of miscellaneous documents relating to his wartime service including maps, operational orders, copies of THE BALKAN NEWS and newspaper cuttings.
Cataloguer APR
Catalogue date 2003-07-21 | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Gibbs, B D | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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