[The introduction below comprises the summary written by the magazine’s editor in July 1924 and the Foreword written by Stewart Blacker, which preceded the first letters.]
Introduction
The long series of Letters which have been appearing from month to month in our columns since June, 1921, came to an end last month with the letter dated March 13th, 1917. These Letters, written almost daily from the Front, were sent by Lieutenant Colonel Blacker to Mrs. Blacker. We are greatly indebted to Colonel Blacker for so kindly allowing us to publish them. They form a unique record of the part played by our Ninth Battalion during the most stirring events which have ever occurred in the history of the world. They possess the additional advantage of having been penned by the Colonel of the Battalion, and they present us with a day-to-day picture of the life of our Battalion at the Front. Still further interest is imparted to them from a Parochial point of view because of the fact that they have been written by a member of a family who for at least 250 years, if not for a much longer period, has been associated very closely with Seagoe Parish. Continue reading