Dear Alice

Kenneth Hague was one of the many who went 'over the top' in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He had previously served his country in the Boer War before joining up again for a different war in 1915. These are his letters, written to his beloved wife, Alice, from both wars. His writings from World War I are not as detailed as those from the Boer War, as the censor's pen was at work. However, they show signs of discomfort, hunger and cold, which kept his spirits low. His letters are...
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Kenneth Hague was one of the many who went 'over the top' in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He had previously served his country in the Boer War before joining up again for a different war in 1915. These are his letters, written to his beloved wife, Alice, from both wars. His writings from World War I are not as detailed as those from the Boer War, as the censor's pen was at work. However, they show signs of discomfort, hunger and cold, which kept his spirits low. His letters are often poignant, sometimes humorous, but always written with love. He asks for bits of family gossip, 'ciggies' and food, anything to make life as normal as possible. During his time in South Africa, he seemed to treat life as a soldier as an adventure, but in 1916, just two days before he was killed, he wrote, 'I wish I was at home from this damn place. I have had enough of it.' Ken left his beloved Alice and their four daughters to make their way in life as best they could without him. His letters and other documents form an intriguing insight into what life was like for a soldier serving his country a century ago.