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Description: | Collection of 19 photocopied ms and ts letters (47pp) sent primarily to his sister Florence and other family members during his service in the Russian Army with the 12th Artirsky Hussars in the First World War; he was the first Englishman to fight in the Russian Army, which he did because of his pre-war work in Siberia and his desire to join up as soon as possible, and was awarded the St George's Cross four times for valour in battle and died 26 May 1915 after being wounded in the stomach. The letters home describe why he fought for Russia rather than Britain, the conditions on the Eastern Front and of the Austrian prisoners he saw there, the circumstances of winning his first St George's Cross at Stanislaus, difficulties in fighting on the Eastern Front and descriptions of the awards system for the St George's Cross; the letters to his family following his death include two letters written by nurses giving descriptions of the events surrounding his wounding and his last night on the hospital train. Also included are a photocopied obituary (12pp) from The Roll of Honour Book by Stanley Southey and 8 photocopied newspaper clippings concerning his death.
Cataloguer KAW
Catalogue date 2006-12 | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Schack-Sommer, George | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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