Reginald, Sidney, George and Stanley Go to War - Margaret Goes to Nurse

Just about every man who served at the Front during World War One must have waited eagerly for letters from friends and relatives; while back home their family would be waiting anxiously for the return post.  Sometimes these letters were shared with the local newspaper, and you will find some examples of these on the “letters” page of the website.  Reading through the Ely Standard, four men emerged whose letters appeared more frequently than others during 1914-1915.  After this the rules or policy about the printing of letters changed, but we can still follow their service.  All four survived the War.

Two of the men were already members of the Forces at the commencement of the War, these were:

George Toombs of the Royal Navy

Stanley James Cole of the Irish Guards, and later the Wiltshire Regiment, seconded to the Colonial Service in Nigeria (The Kamerun Campaign).

Two of the men enlisted at the commencement of the War, these were:

Reginald Arthur Edwards of the 9th Lancers (Cavalry)

Sidney Ablett of the King's Royal Rifles.

Meanwhile Margaret Barber volunteered as a VAD and went to Armenia and then Russia

Click on their individual names to discover what has been gathered of their story - and if you have more knowledge of them. do share it with us.....