"Yours for Eternity": A Romance of the Great War (2014) edited by John H. Rumsby

"Yours for Eternity": A Romance of the Great War was edited by John H. Rumsby and published in 2014 by the Huddersfield Local History Society.

Synopsis

A poignant correspondence between Huddersfield tramways clerk Henry Coulter, who enlisted in May 1915 in the Leeds Bantams — who enrolled men shorter than five foot three inches in height — and his sweetheart Lucy Townend. Signed "Yours for Eternity", his letters contain no great military revelations, but reveal much about the life of an ordinary young man who before 1914 had doubtless never dreamed of becoming a soldier. Henry and Lucy's letters express, in often intimate terms, the activities and aspirations of two young Yorkshire people, separated by war. Poignantly, they include the very last one Lucy wrote to him, on 22 October 1916. Henry never saw it: he had died of his wounds three days earlier.

Details

Contents

  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • The Correspondents
  • The Letters
  • Postscript
  • Appendix 1: 17th (Service) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment
  • Appendix 2: Selected people mentioned in the letters
  • Appendix 3: War Memorials and Rolls of Honour
  • Bibliography
  • Endnotes