What's New?
Sihce our last update we have been extremely busy with both new and existing collections, and we thank everyone who has been supporting the work of the project. There are a number of new collections that have been added recently to the site and we hope that you will have an opportunity to visit some of them. Some of the new collections include the Edwin Askew collection, the Albert Evans collection, the James Percy Faulkner collection, the Walter Fick collection, the Allan Hamm collection, the Thomas Jackson collection, the Henry Ralph collection, the George Stevens collection, and the William Stevens collection.
Just to let everyone know that we recently updated the Thomas Poolton collection in our World War One section. This collection has been online for sometime, but we have only recently been able to complete the additions. This is a rich visual collection with a wonderful collection of postacards. Our favourites are the "Excuse Me" and the "No Possible Doubt" postcards, as well as a copy of the Christmas 1914 card from the King and Queen.
Some remarkable collections have come to us since Remembrance Day and we are very busy working on those. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us. We have managed to add two small collections this week, so please have a look when you have the opportunity. In the World War One section we have added the Wesley Garrod collection and the Russell Shaw collection.
During the summer months we have been busy updating and adding new collections to the project. In the past year we have added more than one thousand new letters to the online collection, as well as a rich visual component. The following is a selection of some of the new collections that have appeared over the last while. Please have a look at the new content. In WWI please have a look at the Roy Armstrong collection with more than sixty letters and extensive visual content. Another large WWI collection added is the Lawrence Johns collection of more than one hundred twenty letters. In the WWI section also have a look at the John Sinclair Matthews collection, the Charles and Walter Gray collection, the Michael Francis Murphy collection, the Thomas Johnson collection, and the Sydney Winterbottom collections. These are only a few of the new WWI collections added this summer. In the new WWII collections have a look at the Karl Butler collection, consisting of more than seventy letters and strong visuals. Also in WWII have a look at the George Creswell collection and the John Fitzgerald collection. All of the above are only a selection of the new materials in the project during the past few months, and more are added monthly.
For Remembrance Day the project was featured on a number of regional CBC programs across the country. This was a great opportunity to tell Canadians about the project and how they can contribute. The following podcast is from Cape Breton Information Morning. Please have a listen.
We have been very busy processing and adding new collection over the past few months, and have neglected to update our news page, so over the next while we let you know some of the new colletions and materials in the site. If you have time, have a look at the John Henry Anderson collection in our First World War section.
Just added is a short collection of four letters of Roger Wilson, killed at Vimy Ridge. You can read the letters and his obituary in the Roger Wilson Collection in the WWI section.
There is a short video about the project done by a student at Vancouver Island University currently available on YouTube. You can access the video by clicking on the the link here.
We have just added a small World War One collection today. James Jackson Woods enlisted in 1916 with the 161st Huron Battalion. The collection consists of eight letters and one photograph.
We are very pleased to have added our first materials relating to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment from the First World War. This is only a portion of the larger collection that we hope to bring online sometime in the new year. If you have time please have a look at the Michael Francis Murphy collection in our World War One section.
We have added an updated version of The Cobourg World to our WWI and Special Items collections. The Cobourg World was a local newspaper in Cobourg, Ontario which published nearly 300 letters during the war from local soldiers overseas. Collections such as those from The Cobourg World provide a fascinating look at the relationship of community and war as played out in the pages of the local newspaper. The collection can now be searched either by date or by writer by clicking on the corresponding bar at the top. It is also possible to list all published letters written by any individual. Please spend some time looking at The Cobourg World. We would like to hear your comments and thoughts on the new format.
We have just added a photograph for the Daniel James Sweeney collection. Unfortunately we have no other materials or information relating to Sweeney, but perhaps some of you might be able to assist us. Sweeney was born in London, England in 1896, emigrated to the Belleville, Ontario area and enlisted in Cobourg, Ontario in 1915. In the photograph Sweeney is seated on the left, but we have no identification for the other five soldiers with him. It was taken in Paris, France in 1915. Can anyone identify anyone else or add any information for the Sweeney collection?
As a result of Remembrance day a number of new collections and items have come to the Project from across Canada. One item we were particularly pleased to receive was a photograph of Hart Leech. The Leech collection has a very stirring last letter to his mother two days before he was killed in September, 1916. Now thanks to Kenn Doerksen in Winnipeg we can finally put a face to that soldier.
After much work, rewriting of code, and a new server, The Canadian Letters and Images Project is pleased to say that we have solved the most pressing problems that have plagued the site during the past three years. We realize that some of the collections are still missing scans and that some collections have incorrect images or text attached to them. We are now working to repair those problems. In addition to repairing those problems we will be adding many new collections, and additions to existing collections, over the next while. Thank you for your patience as we continue to develop the site. Thank you to Craig Redl for all the work he has done to move us forward on this. If you have any questions or comments at any time please feel free to email us at letters@viu.ca