Cover and excerpt from 'Letters from Lamledra, Cornwall 1914-1918'; cover and excerpt from correspondence between Marjorie and John Fischer Williams (plus pdf of collected images) || My maternal grandparents, Marjorie and John Fischer Williams, married in 1911. They built a house in Cornwall and with the outbreak of war, my grandmother carried on living there with their two daughters. My grandfather was a lawyer and a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and as he was too old to join up, he worked in the Home Office in London. They corresponded daily and the letters from my grandmother, describing life on the home front, were published as 'Letters from Lamledra, Cornwall 1914-1918'; she ran the house, grew food and was also an artist. Both sets of letters have been deposited in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. After the war, my grandfather spent 10 years in Paris working with the Reparations Committee. || || Marjorie Williams || This is a book of the letters written by my grandmother to my grandfather during the war, when he was working in London and she was living in their Cornish house, Lamledra (I edited the published volume). || Book || My grandmother's letters to my grandfather

Postcards from the German home front

William and Elizabeth's wedding photograph, 1918; William's British War Medal (obverse); William's British War Medal (reverse); William's Victory medal (obverse); William's Victory medal (reverse); John J.'s grave, Bailleul Communal Cemetery in France. || William Gill was my maternal grandfather and he and his two brothers, John J. and Martin served in France during WW1. They were born in Ballyclemock, Newbawn, Co. Wexford in Ireland. John J. served first in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and then with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He died from wounds received in battle on 21 October 1916 and is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery in France. Martin was the youngest. He had gone to Wales to work in the coal mines. He joined the Welsh Regiment in March 1914, before the war. He was severely wounded on several occasions but survived the war although he had a metal plate in his head from his injuries. After the war he married and lived in Co. Wexford. My grandfather, William served with the Irish Guards and was at the Somme. He often told my father stories about the war of an evening by the fire. Once they were in the trenches and they had a letter they wanted to bring to the command centre to ask for help. It was night time. My grandfather volunteered to go and, as he told it, he used the light from the shells exploding around him to light his way. He had to stop and lie low when it was dark and run for it when the area was lit up. Brigadier Plunkett from Newbawn, Co. Wexford told my father that my grandfather was offered a promotion to a desk job at one point during the war but refused it saying that he wanted 'another crack' at the enemy. He also told this story himself. His attitude was that you had to stay and fight it out. He also recounted how they would raise their helmets up over the trenches perched on their rifles and draw sniper fire so they would know where the snipers were. William married Elizabeth Kelly in 1918 and settled down in Co. Wexford. || || Photograph || Wedding photograph, William and Elizabeth (Kelly) Gill || Remembrance || Wedding photograph of my grandparents, William Gill ad Elizabeth Kelly, 1918 || || Medal || William's British War Medal (obverse) || British War Medal - William Gill || || William's British War Medal (reverse) || William Gill's British War Medal || Medal || || William's Victory Medal (obverse) || Medal || Remembrance || William Gill's Victory Medal (obverse) || || William Gill's Victory Medal || William's Victory Medal (reverse) || Medal || || Photograph || 50.736482,2.735590000000002 || John J. Gill's gravestone, Bailleul Communal Cemetery || Remembrance