An illustrated letter from Percy Horton to [Lydia Sargent Smith] describing the physical and emotional state of Harry Horton on his return from war
An illustrated letter from Percy Horton to [Lydia Sargent Smith] describing the physical and emotional state of Harry Horton on his return from war [Dec 1918] (AMS 6375/1/9).
He describes how
My brother arrived home from the front covered in mud and blood and lice. His clothes were so filthy that mother could do nothing with them and he is now wearing my cast-off khaki!…The poor boy was so tired out that he reeled like a drunken man…War seems to have made him ill and gloomy. He just mopes
Percy Horton (1897-1970), MA, RBA, ARCA, was a painter and Ruskin Master of Drawing, University of Oxford, 1949-1964. He was a conscientious objector during the First World War but his brother Harry served in France. The envelope notes that this was the fourth time that Harry had “gone over the top”.
See also: Letter from Harry Horton to Percy Horton, written from First World War trenches, which describes burying the dead after the last engagement October 1918 (AMS 6375/1/7).
- Date details
December 1918
- Institution
UK – Lewes – East Sussex Record Office
- Original reference
AMS 6375/1/7
- Period
Late Modern Period
- Thematic
Politic and military links
Oxford