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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: AndySul on Monday 13 November 17 22:43 GMT (UK)
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I've recorded below what I think it says, along with the parts I can't read. Would appreciate it if someone could check what I've typed and fill in the missing -
Dear Walter,
Many thanks for your further letter & I enclose the one which you require & which I hope will assist you at Fridays Board. Have just returned from a holiday in the South of France & visited ???????? & also the whole of the Somme Battlefield. Principally the places I ????? I was right though Albert ???????????? I got within a few yards of the place where you and I were in March 18. It was very interesting. though most of the trenches grown over & disappeared by now. Also went around High Wood, Delville Wood Abbe Wood where I was wounded in Sep 16 & it was easy to remember ones way about there.
?? & wishing you the best of luck with the pensions people on Friday
Thanks in anticipation
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Principally the places I ??
I really knew
?? & wishing you
Cheerio
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& visited Amiens
the places I really knew
Cheerioh & wishing
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visited Amiens on our return
Albert, ?, Suzanne, ?
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Amiens
really know
Corbie
Cheerioh
Fricourt? Viktoria.
Could Suzanne be a person, a café owner perhaps.
Don`t remember anywhere sounding like Suzanne but that is what the word looks like.
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...
Dear Walter,
Many thanks for your further letter & I enclose the one which you require & which I hope will assist you at Fridays Board. Have just returned from a holiday in the South of France & visited ???????? & also the whole of the Somme Battlefield. Principally the places I ????? I was right though Albert ???????????? I got within a few yards of the place where you and I were in March 18. It was very interesting. though most of the trenches grown over & disappeared by now. Also went around High Wood, Delville Wood Abbe Wood where I was wounded in Sep 16 & it was easy to remember ones way about there.
?? & wishing you the best of luck with the pensions people on Friday ...
Here’s some help, others may have better knowledge of your Eric W Bigland’s hand.
… South of France I visited Amiens on our return …..
…. Principally the places I really knew. I was right though Albert, Corlri, Suzanne, Fricont etc. …
… Cherrioh, & wishing you ….
Viktoria has offered better transcriptions :)
JM
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Albert, Fricourt and Suzanne are places associated with Somme battles in WW1
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/albert.html
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/fricourt.html
https://17thmanchesters.wordpress.com/tag/suzanne/
The other one may be Curlu
M
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I think the towns mentioned are Albert, Corbie (or Curlu), Suzanne & Fricourt, all very close to Amiens
link to google maps
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Curlu,+France/80340+Suzanne,+France/Fricourt,+France/Albert,+France/Corbie,+80800,+France/@49.9373401,2.4832137,11.25z/data=!4m32!4m31!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e7f8bfe121f88d:0x40af13e81621410!2m2!1d2.8161109!2d49.965136!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e7f835cbcea07b:0x34b0c8057c0fb90e!2m2!1d2.764038!2d49.949601!1m5!1m1!1s0x47dd587268b6f759:0x40af13e81620c30!2m2!1d2.716753!2d49.9989!1m5!1m1!1s0x47dd5f4ca2ae09d3:0x40af13e81622130!2m2!1d2.651604!2d50.001357!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e78b7e06275641:0x7d77408eff0b583f!2m2!1d2.511947!2d49.907676!3e0
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Many thanks for all your replies. The letter now makes perfect sense. I didn't realise those were all place names, never would have guessed them with my limited knowledge in a million years. Very interesting, gives me a number of areas to further research.
For info, Lt Eric Bigland, and the person to whom the letter was wrote, Pvt Robert Walter, were members of 16th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, also known as the 2nd Birkenhead Bantams
Thanks again, appreciate everyone's time and effort in assisting me with this