War Letters 1914-1918, Vol. 5

From a New Zealand Soldier Fighting on the Western Front in the First World War

Most people wouldn’t have questioned Harry Norton if in June 1915 he had decided to stay at home in Wellington, New Zealand, rather than enlist to fight in a conflict on the other side of the world.

Harry was 35 years old and had been married to his wife Florence (Florrie) for 14 years. A deeply religious couple, they had two children, Leonard, 12, and Jean, 11, to whom they were both devoted. Harry also had a job he loved, but in June 1915 he decided to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Six months later, he was leaving New Zealand eventually bound for the Western Front.

Profoundly moving, Harry's letters chart his leaving of New Zealand, training in Egypt and eventual arrival in France where he was the first New Zealander to fire a shot on the Western Front. Torn between his love for his family and his desire to "do his bit" for King and Country his letters graphically and powerfully demonstrate the internal conflict faced by so many men at the time.

As with all the books in the War Letters series, the letters are accompanied by detailed, engaging notes almost all of which contain links to freely available online resources about the First World War ranging from official histories and government reports to memoirs, films, maps, diaries and much, much more enabling every reader to embark on their own journey of historical discovery.