Charley’s War: A site about Charley Bailey and his letters home.

On Twitter a user (@Charlie_WW1) retweeted a tweet of mine, and as habit is, I went to the profile to check it out. I found a treasure trove of historical information regarding a soldier, Charley Bailey, through the transcription of his letters home.

Site located here.

These sites are a labour of love and should be supported by taking the time to go and read the letters and also the ancillary research the author/transcriber has done. Each letter is faithfully reproduced offer the read the timber of the time; the thoughts of a person in that era; and the experiences of the letter writer in more detail than reading a unit history would ever offer.

The blogger has offered the read a “Letter List” which allows one to read the letters in date sequential order (blogs being the way they are we often publish the stuff that happens first by date and it gets pushed further and further “back” into the blog) which allows us to read the letters in the correct order.

The blogger also intersperses the letters with relevant research regarding the place and times of the events involving Charley and his family which further serve to flesh out the entire picture of Charley Bailey’s life.

For those interested in a well organized and well researched site about a Canadian soldier’s experiences in World War I this site is highly recommended.