Letters from France

[Sapper740]

109 years ago three brothers set sail from Halifax as members of the 100th Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers, unfortunately only one was to survive the war, my grandfather. One brother of his, Lt. William Joseph Chalk was shot down on April 14, 1917 while flying as an observer in an RE8 reconnaisance aircraft with pilot 2Lt.Herbert George MacMillan Horne who died in the crash. Official records list my great Uncle as taken POW but the date of his death is the same day as he was taken prisoner so it is assumed he succumbed to injuries received from the crash or from being hit by bullets from the German fighter. The other brother, Bert Chalk was injured by shrapnel and was invalided home after months of care in a French hospital. He only ever recovered 20% of the use of his right arm and sadly died of the Influenza outbreak of 1918 scant days before the Armistice.
I'm always searching for more info about my family and was recently rewarded by discovery of a letter written by a soldier Pvt. Lawrence Charles Sinclair who knew my Great Uncle and wrote to his (Lawrence's) mother of how grateful Bert was to receive a small parcel from her before he was injured. The letter is a poignant snippet of a moment in history of how even the smallest kindness is greatly appreciated.
Please read more here: document 62111 | Canadian Letters