Human connections persist, even in the face of war. Letters from the trenches to loved ones back home currently on display at the Queen Elizabeth II Library (QEII) provide a glimpse into life during the First World War.

Notes, scribbled in a trench, or after a busy shift at the hospital. Was it the act of recalling the familiar: a faraway home, or the faces and voices of those who loved them that calmed the enlisted from the terrors they confronted?

"Dear Mother": Letters Home and Other Words of World War One, an exhibit located on level three of the QEII, showcases holdings of the library’s Archives and Special Collections. By displaying letters, diaries, photo albums, keepsakes and research, curators Joanne Costello and Linda White present a set of wartime experiences that demonstrate how two individuals maintained their connection to home.

“I wanted to use the letters of a soldier and a nurse from the First World War, to get varied perspectives on how the war affected them personally and what they wrote home about,” said Ms. Costello, library staff member and curator of many exhibits in the library’s First Space Gallery. “I chose Frances Cluett, a Volunteer Aid Division nurse, and Lester Barbour, a soldier in the Newfoundland Regiment. The Archives and Special Collections Division had the letters they had written to their mothers so I was able to get a good idea of what they were facing both in the hospitals and trenches.”

“We make materials available,” said Ms. White, an archivist with Memorial University Libraries. “Lester Barbour’s nephew donated his uncle’s letters in 1996. My job was to arrange, describe and make them available to the university community and the general public. Both collections of letters have been digitized and placed on the Digital Archives Initiative.”  

Interspersed with the personal narratives on display are field messages and battalion orders, placing the personal within the official. With a strong collection of diverse materials, Memorial University Libraries fosters research on the numerous ways the global conflict shaped the province. The exhibit is one of many projects that Memorial University is supporting to mark the First World War centenary.

“Memorial University Libraries is a key contributor in the university’s commemorative activities and programming,” said Louise White, associate university librarian. “We are also working on a digital humanities project, Lasting Remembrance, which will integrate historical geographic information systems data with archival resources, digital images, digitized newspapers and historical information about Newfoundlanders and Labradorians during the First World War. These are two of our projects designed to make world-class archives and expertise accessible to everyone.”  

"Dear Mother": Letters Home and Other Words of World War One runs July 2-Sept. 15. For exhibit hours, please visit here.