The Lost Art of Letter-Writing

The Wartime Book Club is stuffed with letters and it made me reflect on how few letters I receive these days. Letter-writing is a dying art, but fortunately, there are some wonderfully creative souls around resurrecting old letters and breathing life into them. One of them is my friend Liz Maguire, originally from Washington DC and now living in Dublin, Ireland.

From her first acquisition as a teenager of a set of vintage love letters from a flea market, Liz now holds a collection of over 1,600 letters.

“In today’s technological world the art and craft of letter-writing is disappearing,” Liz explains. She goes on:

That’s why I believe vintage letters can tell us so much about our history and our future. I’ve archived over 300 vintage letters, that have taken us to both world wars, through the roaring 1920s, the Great Depression and even Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

Letters capture the essence of what it is to be living through history. In attics, and drawers and shoe boxes under beds there are hundreds of stories waiting to be told.

Of all Liz’s letters, my favorite are the correspondence between Sandy Silverman, a young British woman, and her American soldier sweetheart, Harry.

They met in London midway through the war, married and had two daughters, Ailene and Cheryl. Liz told me:

I really like Sandy for her sassiness… In a letter from January 1946, after filling Harry in on the everyday of home including a flu that’s knocked her mother sideways and a farewell party for a fellow war bride, Sandy reminds Harry to post her a snapshot. “P.S. Hate to harp on it but how about that picture you promised me??? You rogue!! I’m still waiting.”

Sandy was one of 70,000 British women who became GI brides during World War II. When the war was over, the U.S. Army’s priority was getting its men home, not reuniting them with their brides. Sandy was clearly growing restless, and worried: “You don’t sound as though you miss us as much as you did—getting used to being a bachelor again?” she wrote tersely to Harry.

The Queen’s Coronation in June 1953 provided a good distraction.

I took Ailene to the pictures this afternoon to see the Coronation, and it was really lovely—we enjoyed it immensely—Ailene’s eyes almost popped out when the golden coach appeared and she said, “How about Daddy selling his car and buying one of those for us to ride around.” So how about it, Rockefeller? She (the Queen) really looked beautiful. Her figure is quite streamlined now, & she looked exquisite. What do you think about the British conquering Mount Everest—leave it to them, ducks—that was quite a nice Coronation present for the Queen.

Finally, Congress passed the War Brides Act, giving GI brides non-quota immigration status, and transportation at the army’s expense. A fleet of ships was assigned to Operation War Bride. Sandy was on her way.

“The Queen Mary is scheduled to dock at New York on the 6th of July at approx. 2:15 p.m.,” she wrote, concluding, “Well ducks, take good care of yourself for us—remember you’ve got 5 weeks to get good and fit for me.”

Sandy’s expectations of a bright new beginning in America were high.

I went to a meeting of the Brides Mothers’ Club with Mum and a group of the women had just got back from a trip to the States to see their daughters and you should have heard them raving about it—I was very happy. They can’t get over how much more advanced they are in the U.S. and how hygienic everything is and how bright the homes are. They were jawing for 3 hours about it.

Well dearest it’ll be a week today that we’ll be with each other again—like you I can hardly wait. So until then take good care of yourself for me—we love you madly—see you on the 6th with bells on—Love hugs and kisses until the 6th—

All our love,

Ailene—Cheryl—Sandy

XXXXXX

P. S. Pray for calm sea!!

Did Sandy and Harry find their happy ending after her boat docked at New York? “The bittersweet crux of this whole story is that we will never know the end,” says Liz. “But as a reader, I feel privileged to have shared in part of it.”

You can find out more here https://www.fleamarketloveletters.com and if you’re game, why not join the Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society? https://thehandwrittenletterappreciationsociety.org.

Or, try this wonderful site, From Me to You, inspiring people to write letters to those living with cancer. https://www.frommetoyouletters.co.uk.