Feature Letter of November 6th, 2025
Killough, Alfred John Arthur
[Most of the surviving war letters in the CLIP collections were written by service members and then sent home to family & friends. This letter is an uncommon glimpse at the other side of the story – it was written by a soldier's parents and sent to their newly enlisted son while he was still in training here in Canada.]
I am so glad you had a pleasant journey. Am very anxious about your winter quarters. I hope they give you more than two square meals a day, I should keep some biscuits and cheese or something of that kind on the side if I were you. We miss you very much. When I am dressing in the morning I listen for your footstep coming down the stairs and your room looks so desolate. For several days I did not let anyone have your room. I could not bear to think of giving it to any one else but now Joe and Harry are sleeping in it until you come home again. The time we miss you most, I think is when we are having some music. We miss your voice so much and we are so still and lonely after the little ones have gone to bed and the house is still.
Why Support Canadian Letters & Images Project
As we move away in time from past conflicts and as our veteran population declines, it becomes increasingly difficult for Canadians to understand the sacrifices that men and women made, both on the battlefield and on the home front, during wartime. The Canadian Letters and Images Project has been sharing their stories, and Canada’s story, for the past quarter century.
These are the experiences of Canadians as seen through their eyes and their words. This is history in the raw, without a lens of interpretation added through time. I invite you to spend some time reading their letters, seeing their faces in the photographs, or listening to an audio letter, to appreciate why their experiences must be preserved for now and for future generations.
Donations, large and small, ensures that The Canadian Letters and Images Project can keep this important content freely available for this generation and for future generations. Please help us to preserve their stories.
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