Letters from the Front: British Latter-day Saint Servicemen and the First World War, 1914–1918

One day in the summer of 1918, Latter-day Saint George Greatorex was resting in a dugout near the Western Front in north-east France. He and other men of the 87th Canadian Infantry Battalion were recovering after spending time engaged in brutal trench warfare with the German army.1 While recovering, he began writing a letter for The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star (hereafter Star), a periodical published by the British Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which had subscribers from all walks of life who lived in the British Isles, Europe, and the rest of the world. In the letter, he reflected on his time with Latter-day Saints in England and Canada, on the goodness of God through his military service, and reaffirmed his testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.2Born in Nottingham, England, in 1895, George had been baptised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that city in March 1913. A year later, he arrived in Canada to start a new life. War broke out soon after, and in late 1915, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force to return to Europe to fight for the British Empire.3 George's sisters, brother, and mother had also recently converted to the Church. Earlier that year, in March 1918, his brother, William, was captured by the Germans while serving as a private in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment.4George had learned firsthand the hardships of war and formed a newfound appreciation for the life he had left behind. Since arriving in France in December 1916, he had been treated for numerous illnesses and injuries, including conjunctivitis, gas poisoning, being buried alive by a shell, and most recently for a shrapnel wound to his left shoulder. In what had become a contemplative letter to the British Saints, George posed some questions to his readers: “How many people appreciate their homes, however poor and humble? How many really appreciate the bread they eat, the clothes they wear, and the other many privileges they enjoy? We boys at the front have learnt to appreciate these things more than ever before.”5 To these questions, he then declared his gratitude for worldly experiences that helped him better appreciate the spiritual ones.Letters penned by soldiers such as George Greatorex provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of Latter-day Saints serving in the armed forces during the First World War (1914–1918). Letter writing was a popular pastime of soldiers in British, French, and German armies, with millions written each year.6 A total of forty-five letters were published in the Star for the benefit of other Latter-day Saints in the British Isles and abroad. Yet these letters have largely been overlooked, treated in isolation, or considered only superficially by scholars. When taken as a corpus, they reveal distinct patterns in the Latter-day Saint experience and highlight the prescient topics of interest to individuals at a crucial moment in world history. As soldiers in the British Army were forbidden from keeping journals, these letters are among the few written accounts of the war that are available.7 The purpose of this article, therefore, is to provide a contextual description of these letters and thematically analyse them to explore what they can reveal about the experiences of British Latter-day Saint servicemen during the First World War.Several publications have sought to understand the Latter-day Saint experiences of the First World War. Scholarly attention has, as is typical, generally shifted to the areas of greatest source survival and the lowest hanging fruit. Published accounts of Latter-day Saint experiences of the war have predominantly come from United States servicemen who joined the conflict in 1917.8 Richard Cowan's work on the Church in the twentieth century uses an example of British patriotism when writing about the First World War, but is a in a that is by Latter-day Saint war and on Latter-day Saints in the First World War is a and In to a written of the and their the experiences of some of the men or as of a A are the were Latter-day Saints from the world in the war and is only that of a of in the accounts have been but were The into the as most other in and accounts of the also the First World War and A of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the war but on the United States of and the of the as a in the First World War, the to the conflict is in and accounts of what to a and Latter-day from a about German of the is a of the war have The recently published of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the of the First World War, and accounts from and experiences of the war including that of a a a and The that Saints is written in to a popular but they are to or of the Latter-day Saint experiences of the First World War to attention is that of Saints who of what on Latter-day Saint including from the United a Saints on the war and their to in the experiences of to are a and into the is in such a but the experiences of the serving Latter-day Saint a into the British Latter-day Saint experience a in the as sought to publications in time for the for of British Latter-day Saint history. The was to a of the Church in the British the to and an of what during the war and the of the Saints, but the of serving Latter-day Saints are of more than the British experience of the First World War in a with a on the and of of during the First World War the and hardships he after arriving in France in the into a of Latter-day Saint and experiences of the of the is in and attention to including some such as who was a who was his at the start of the The article, which the on as as provide insights into a experience of the few of the but on such as when his In a of or to his experiences or were they to We by of this the of the British Latter-day Saint experience of the war with a of the on the and A crucial of that work was a of the including the of by the Saints, who were during the and on some experiences a of the of the but was a than a and The by and the work of but a on British British accounts of the war from the this to the the which is a more than some people the of this article, is as a all or a the of the British Latter-day Saints were British and to George The British which had been by the British was into the war to fight for the with other The British and of a from the British were considered to British To British, therefore, was a of in and in and Canadian and and and were and as British of their the a for into the British Latter-day Saint experience of the First World War. in are also in other the of this attention is on the of letters published in the Star during the of these was serving in of the British armed forces and was a Latter-day Saint or the the of letters as a of experiences can of the and that serving Latter-day Saints the letters for patterns and of the Latter-day Saint lived experiences of the First World War. all the servicemen have been and and such as war they have been to and the 1916, George a Latter-day Saint and of the British arrived in England, with his and his a to as they through the were by the of and taken to the in the the in the British Isles soon to the of British Latter-day Saint men had enlisted or been to fight in the and their were some to the and of and more Latter-day Saints were for war service, for of more than British Saints had in on the also the of the the of to to As were in the British Isles, which was by the of as their of and were The and at the of 1916, was only A year later, that had to As the war in 1918, were only the British the was a for the for as the war of new was to the The had been published and was the for the Church to with from in as as from other written by and were a by an and of of and other from the in this work was a and He had as the of the and at in to and his as a with a He also as a for the in In began his for the Church and was to the British Mission he was in the engaged in writing and He as the First World War and his in a the had on the Star during the was a for the periodical and and topics in and with that the into of and from the of and from in the summer of 1916, to for the but he with writing a on the and and other As for the this letters penned by Latter-day Saints serving in the British and Canadian armed forces began to published in the In 1916, in A letter had been in 1915, and in The to letters from serving Latter-day Saints and a and In forty-five letters were published by servicemen during the were written for in the but were for by and The to more and more serving Latter-day Saints to have been by as the were published after his to the letter published in 1918, he the the of the of the Millennial to testimony to the many which have in and to a few experiences which have to in with the gospel of Jesus to have to and experiences with the and them the of God in the of the The letters other servicemen to to the with their experiences at and other attention was on spiritual and on the and in his he the on war of the war are being and written that and this is a of A of the war was published in the Star and some to the of the war were with the was to his and he generally sought to spiritual and or military letters in their and but they all had a spiritual to and were many of and the letters and their of and work and the The of this explore the experiences of Latter-day Saint servicemen during the First World War in to these that from the letters was that servicemen in all of military of their serving in the First World War been a of Richard that was a to with the of the conflict as to some in a that to including have and to the of for in the as the letters was to a or in the of a war being to some a of England, was in his when he the armed are but by the summer of was in France. In 1916, he had been as the of the but is he was enlisted at the In his letter, that he and that he was serving near the of France and day was with a broke and was and with and spending in a he was While his soldiers were in and of his of what the men in the a that The then the on his what his soldiers had had been have been this have out of in he when are he to from the experience to the that people attention to the of of the Church. He by and this the of and as also with the from the that was or a in the of British Latter-day Saint had the to with them as were few of them being in the or as Latter-day with the Canadian Expeditionary Force being many Latter-day Saints to their and lived the and as they the of to servicemen to their than The George Greatorex was of who with the gospel while serving as a He that he that was his to but he the have he to the of the after each more and to more on was that he to and to the of the were many soldiers that them in their including the of and the of In the of some of their while were to The in which they to the gospel was an One his soldiers in about a who on their all the and The have been new for Latter-day Saints, many of from the but the as they the of their and were from servicemen this better than of after he left the a He was to that he but is to that some were as the letters were was a member of the and had been a in a the war and had with men who lived with and In was baptised a Latter-day Saint after a a few later, he was to his while serving with the Infantry in France as an In letters that he to the Star were published during the war in which he his appreciation for the gospel and for the goodness he had through a of experiences as a have some and also a of and but have also that God of who to in was from the in and on to in the in many He had the of or but to in the armed were a of the of Latter-day Saint was an of the and soldiers serving in the were a to that was as a and that being a of and a In of the that an of was to Latter-day Saint including the of at other were and to The was for and were a in the and near soldiers on which was also in for The of and for and in were a of for Latter-day Saints and of other or when they were to or many soldiers on the Western Front in such In the Latter-day Saints that they to and such but they to to in such in a the of Latter-day Saints, at was treated for the of about or in is the that most Saints lived their to the hardships of war were and time in and for the fight left soldiers with their was a member of the who a letter to the Star on while serving in the to many a that have in and the with the of and with the of and How is for the and with the such and as among the have had a with from the British Yet he had was and gratitude on and a for and the of on the letter penned was that was being and that He considered as being on a of as he was also to as a of the gospel to his of things was of spiritual “How is and are his and is God in all when the that for is on the and that the of God is in on the He the letter with an of God all and to in of that after as He after the war and to the United was when he enlisted with the British Army in the summer of He was to the and for the in In after the war broke the and in March 1915, he was in France with the and of his in the with the armed with George and his in the British the and brother, were in these George a in God and the Latter-day Saint He had been baptised in but his George's letter was published in 1916, and a year later, he was his also joined the George his as the of soldiers and in as to that from the of men and by and while on in also with the as the of British Latter-day Saint servicemen is largely have been a time for all Saint servicemen that they were or had through many or a to in the during their war to the men after the largely about Latter-day Saints their or the of the of warfare such as have the lived of soldiers in the First World and their experiences and their to a in of and including during military of other and of as a of them with the hardships they were and to have come in of In and soldiers or from a the War, a was published for the of soldiers in the which that in As with a in the of many servicemen during the First World War, but was in an and Latter-day Saint accounts the of war an for to for Letter also gratitude for from their as they in the In letter, a to a time when he on his into the that and in the the in a One and for which in the with had the the his The of gratitude to God for keeping them was a among serving in the war and among German as as British or in the the First World War. the an and was on of with and at such that soldiers they were A during the therefore, were which a with to as many men as was to their as to was or God who the was out of their was a baptised Latter-day Saint during the First World War but he had learned about the Church and had in and In in the and but the war he had been as a his who lived on a in was a Latter-day Saint and member of the also some the the was and a few on of a of but was with the the and to have to some of the as in other letters to the To him during the him of the his of in an experience that he to other and were in an when their The Germans also their were the as had been for that were to into God people of a for about We were for the other boys had but that they were in the of the of the from and as as this on the of the come The that the boys The on such is One poor was all with them was the of them had ever of The was that all out of that and and left the on the of the for the benefit of who come after and they as as was by a of and at the that he were among British soldiers of or at some of in their through the was a Latter-day Saint serving with the First in the when he to the his a and a had joined the Church in and had Latter-day Saints in the brother, was a member of the and was also serving in the as a in spending time in and had a with his to testimony to the many that have in the and the of of the goodness of is for their and they left England at the of in the year in a He was from while he was in him goodness to and he that he had been by his and this men their and as being by a in this or A was a spiritual as as were in their their and by a 1918, in France in the In the of the war were to through to about the of the as being a who a when were A that for was to time he this he more the more and that the and to return to and the of the and for had more a in God during his military service, and his to his spiritual In his letter to the by was to and that his were to the God and for him to the letters of many Latter-day Saint that they God had the and to the war at an that God had them and them their purpose on this was as to and soldiers them who have the of the on or other to Latter-day Saint that into their as an and as a of their experiences of to December 1915, more than men and joined the into the military of men from all of from all of the the in France to become a of and Latter-day Saints from the British Isles enlisted or were into the armed forces and serving people from with and that from their including attention in to the First World War. A was that generally for the of the this Latter-day Saints, many of a is that they were as Latter-day Saint was serving in the British He in the of the Star from for the and then on his return from the He had joined the Church in after and with Latter-day Saints for In his letter published in the he the of who he that in the is therefore, is a each have been to have the the and the Church of England, and at the been to How to what is at One of the is are and is that the of topics a of and was of many Latter-day Saint servicemen who was to an of with people from and his was of the soldiers serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force that had the in of the British in England, he arrived in the United in as of the Battalion of the Canada Expeditionary In 1916, arrived in France. He was as of the Canadian which was soon to fight in the of the A he was taken to with He in to the and other soldiers for with German 1916, after and a on the was near as the of the was and the began to A that had been by an but his and the of his and he was all by the of the The was the that he had a but that he to in the war as a or on in soon arrived at a military in he was taken to England he time in in such as and 1918, was with the he had from of in France as as some of the was that had about his When on 1915, he his as but he was which was the of letter from that he was in the gospel while in was a serving in France with the Canadian Infantry a letter to the which was published in he had been to the Church by while also serving in the armed had enlisted to fight for Canada in the of the war and arrived in France in A year later, on 1916, was in the near He was to a to while the was only some was than and the war that was all gas and the of was while that was in the of the by a German he to the with his While on the in he that he and had through and out through his He was taken for and more than a in France recovering being to England for In his letter to the he that while he was for and that he had to his and his had been of of his was but he had a was to the Canadian at was while at that and was to the was to in December to but to soldiers in the about in his letter, that was by in which is He and was by the that was with the of the of the gospel he for he was baptised by In his testimony to the he was about his new a and of have God for the and in the gospel that been really that this is a of the that Christ while He was on this letter, in with military example of Latter-day Saint soldiers were to the gospel and new into the was an Latter-day Saint from and other to a in the of While the of Latter-day Saints was by a of people who them as they the and were at and they were as they to they to their out and to As they and they had been baptised and was an member of the Church who and in In he a letter for the that as he he with the of that he had at to life into and that the through and that only a of the but also a of the of letter was with and for the Church and He that he the Church to and to have on the and on in was to his testimony to the of the gospel that been in this later, on March was to in an on a German The was to the and the was and other men out and the he was of men who were in the letter to the Star was the and only of his to but in he that he as being in to God as as his in a war that was and spiritual in British Latter-day Saint soldiers had as to serving in the armed When a letter in he began by that he had as a in for and a and had only recently arrived in France. have as an of the of the gospel are have taken of such as have been to was a of an experience the gospel with a who him about his life. He the in him that he to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints then gospel with him for an with what had and for the He he had been in and was for He a to the of the of from which had been was to him from his that he and the as being and to his of the of with the to and helped he was he can understand have been into this of and that the of that have a to in the to who are for the of for the of being of to a of such to the of Latter-day Saints servicemen experiences they the gospel and of as in work while they were in the on the Western Front was generally with and that was with are been that of the life of an was or In these of Latter-day Saints had to with servicemen that they had to their during the One Latter-day Saint private to the that that some of the boys to the of the for have had with of the gospel was a for Latter-day Saints and are many accounts of or on the were servicemen who In a was in at a British Army of the had joined the Church while enlisted in the of that had joined the Church through the of a who in the gospel during and after the is of servicemen were in the but many and a in their during the work was a in the of many Latter-day Saint in the gospel was and the were to the The was in the as had a of A to the restored gospel of Jesus as by the of was the that most soldiers had in all spiritual servicemen had and about Latter-day Saints, and a of the gospel or purpose of this was to analyse accounts of the First World War written by Latter-day servicemen and to that from The letters the and of servicemen and what they to with a Latter-day Saint in the British have been in this from the of and and work and the all and these were the topics that had the greatest in the of Latter-day Saint the letters of Latter-day Saint servicemen and from the experiences a of and is a the letters and they from and the servicemen from their and servicemen such as to The of the gospel were to and when during military these the of were of in and was through life on the servicemen had to or their to while have from this British Latter-day Saints in at of the of which was by at the letters were from and the that servicemen were the when is to that they were engaged in the of the war by the British armed servicemen only had letter published in the of the letter during their military As the war and as the of letters more as a of servicemen to their or experiences with of the began letters from servicemen to the of other and servicemen through the was George who this to many more have more recently been attention to the experiences and of who on the of the First World The in the letters published in the Star a into the experiences of Latter-day Saint servicemen in a of the British Latter-day Saint experience during to by scholars. are to the and of British of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lived their on the of a