Sidney Towner Phelan letter to mother - September 11, 1918
Transcript
[September] 11, 1918 [censor’s stamp] Dearest Mother, Yesterday it poured down rain and so we got an order to move. We never fail to draw rain whenever we move. Matty was on K.P. and so he was speechless with rage no he wasn't speechless, Matty is never speechless. We all hate K.P. but Matty hates it a thousand times more and K.P. when it rains and when we move
Transcript
would cause a saint to swear. My apartment is quite an airy place in fact the whole front of it is open to the weather and the weather is windy, damp and chilly. It's on the second floor of a solidly built, big beamed, L shaped, stone mill. The mill in tact would shelter a regiment but it's mostly knocked to pieces therefore the fresh air I was boasting of. [September] 12 Today the family returned to the mill to rescue what
Transcript
little they could from the wreckage. They seemed to take the mill's ruin as a matter of course. I have been wondering a lot just what work I will go into after the war. I haven't the slightest idea but whatever it is I am getting impatient to start in. The bridge gang is howling to me to hurry and finish the letter. Sometimes I dream bridge we play so much. But it's the best time passer I know of and about 90% of this life is perfectly idle. Did you ever expect me to complain of idleness? Lots of love Towner
Details
| Title | Sidney Towner Phelan letter to mother - September 11, 1918 |
| Creator | Phelan, Sidney Towner |
| Source | Phelan, Sidney Towner. Letter to mother. 11 September 1918. Sidney Towner Phelan Papers, 1899-1960. A1209. Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | Sidney Towner Phelan, a St. Louis, Missouri native, wrote this letter to his Mother while serving as a volunteer ambulance driver in France during World War I. In this letter, Phelan wrote that his unit had moved into a bombed out mill and that his apartment had lots of fresh air. Phelan also explained that he played bridge to help pass the time. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--France; Soldiers--Billeting |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Site Accession Number | A1209 |
| Contributing Institution | Missouri History Museum |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond those allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Missouri History Museum: 314-746-4510 |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. Contact the Missouri History Museum's Permissions Office at 314-746-4511 to obtain written consent. |
| Date Original | September 11, 1918 |
| Language | English |