Category:

WW1 Letters Home - Feb 9, 1917

1/30/2022

Unused RPPC of big guns on HMS Bacchante taken by Noah C Draper, 1917

Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 30 yrs old
Dated: Feb 9, 1917
Mailed from: Chatham, England
Attached to: HMS Pembroke (Royal Naval Barracks)
Profession: Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman, Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve
Addressed to: Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument: Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 1 sheet 9" x 6" medium weight, smooth, linen-look, folded into 3 page booklet form, with the inside page written across and then down the length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel** - Ethel Isabel Draper, 27 yrs old, (Noah's wife of 5 yrs)
Mildred** - Noah's daughter, 3 yrs old, aka Midge
J.D.** - Noah's son, James David*, 9 months old aka Jay in early months
Alice - Alice Alma Prosser*, born June 1915, daughter of Ethel's sister Sadie

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Sentry duty
- the hut - Noah's barracks
- gunnery school and big guns**

Word or Phrase Use:
- "feast or famine" - referring to either lots or nothing
- degrees - shown in Fahrenheit

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Feb. 9/1917

Mrs. N.C. Draper,
Keswick, Ont.
My dear wife;-
Well Ethel I received two
letters from you yesteraday
and as you say it is either
a feast or a famin they were
dated jan the 21st & 25th.
suppose they came over on
the same boat. but ('that' scratched out)
you are the only one I have
heard from, you said you
supposed there were others
I had just as leave hear
from as you, but there is
no one I would like as well
to see, so the next best

thing is to hear from you as seeing
is impossible, so dont think I get
tired of reading long letters. Ha Ha.
Well it is 3 P.M. & I am on sentry
duty, the sentry is divided into
2 hour watches during the night
& I am on from 2 untill four so
thought I would write to passthe
time, We just have to keep the
3 fires going & see that no one comes
into the hut only what has a
right to come in, we have
never had any trouble in that
way yet. I have been on sentry 3 times
since we got here so do not lose
much sleep over it.
Well we are in the gunnery school
now learning to work the big
guns but I dont expect we will
ever have it to do as they would
put more experienced men on
them even if we were put on
a ship of the grand fleet. & we
do not expect that, even if we

are not sent to Canada we
will be sent to some foreign
station.
Well I hope J.D. &
Mildred are bothe welland
also Alice it would be an
awful blow to them to
lose her but we do not
know what is best always
It is still cold here about
12 to 30 degrees of frost &
you feel that in this
country worse than 10o
below zerro over there but
there is no snow here to
speak of I guess they never
have sleighing, Well I guess
I will close for this time
Love to all.
xxxxxxxxx N.C. Draper

History Notes

There are 2 History notes for this letter of February 9, 1917:

History Note 1 - The Big Guns

No 1346 Printed In England by Gale & Polden

In this letter , Noah mentions that he's attending gunnery school while at HMS Pembroke. He doesn't give any information or description on the type of guns, however, he brought back, or sent back to Ethel, these 2 unused postcards printed in England by Gale & Polden, Ltd..

No 1340 Printed In England by Gale & Polden

History Note 2 - Noah's Family Photo

This photo was taken in Toronto, Ontario, in November 2016 just prior to Noah leaving Canada after volunteering for the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve. At the time, Ethel was 27, Mildred(Midge) was 3 yrs, and Jay(JD) was 6 months old.

WW1 Letters Home - Feb 1, 1917

1/23/2022

A promotional poster for the Sandow Trocadero Vaudevilles (1894), showing dancers, clowns, trapeze artists, costumed dog, singers and costumed actors

Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Feb 1, 1917
Mailed from: Chatham, England
Attached to: HMS Pembroke (Royal Naval Barracks)
Profession: Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman, Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve
Addressed to: Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument: Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 2 pages of 9" x 6" medium weight, smooth, linen-look, folded into booklet form, but with the inside pages written across the width instead of down the length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper (Noah's wife of 5 yrs)
Mr Butts*: The hired man on their Saskatchewan farm
**Sadie* & Cecil* Prosser: Sadie is Ethel's younger sister
Ethel's Father: James* H Nelson, Belhaven, Ontario, near Keswick
George* Draper: Noah's cousin, George* Milburn Draper. For more info on George, see his letter to Noah on my post, Sep 1912: Letter from George Draper.
Charley: Suspect this is Noah's cousin Charles Joel Draper, brother of George* Milburn Draper (above), and Stewart* Truman Draper, both mentioned in these letters.

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- The War (WW1)
- Daily routine**
- Vaudeville show (see poster sample above)
- Wawanesa Insurance
- Vaccinations
- Weekly pay day
- London - Capital city of England
- Liverpool - maritime city in northwest England

Word or Phrase Use:
Noah consistently misspells many words such as the following and more:
- no apostrophe for contractions - dont, wont, isnt, havent...
- Saturaday vs Saturday
- navey vs navy
- roumer vs rumour
- shure vs sure
- payed vs paid

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Chatham, England
Feb. 1/17.

Mrs. N.C. Draper,
Keswick, Ont
Dear Ethel;-
Well I recieved two letters
from you yesteraday and
was glad to get them you
can be sure. am expecting
quite a few now as I have
written two or three to all
of them.
Well Ethel there is some
roumer of us being sent
over to patrole the Pacific
coast, but you never can
count much on hear say in
the navey. altho you can
be shure I would not kick

Well I guess from now on the war will be
worse than ever as the Germans have
sent word to the neutral governments
that they intend to sink all boats
on sight with in the blockade limit.
Say I dont know as I ever told you
our routine here, We are called by
our own sentinal at 6 a.m. every
morning. we get up dress & lash
hammocks. wash & get ready for
breakfast at 7 oclock at 25 to 8 we
fall in outside of the hut all but
the cooks & Sentry, they tell off 6 men
to help the sentry wash the floor
& the others are sent out on the working
parties. untill 8 20 then the come back
to the huts untill 8 40 when we fall
in again & march down to the parade
ground, & have a little drill untill
10 minutes to nine when we all line
up for prayer which lasts about
5 minutes, then we drill or go rowing
or into the seaman room where we
are taught to tie knots, how to stear
a boat the different anchors. compass
& a thousand & one other things.

untill 11 20 when we march
back to the hut for dinner.
at 1 oclock we fall in again
and go through much the
same thing or go to the
gym. or swimming untill
2.35 when we get 10 minutes
stand easy. then we go
at drilling again. untill
3 45 then up to the hut for
tea. after which we are
free. we have supper at 730
and the hammocks come
down at 8 oclock but we
do not have to go to bed
untill 10 oclock, that is
our usual routine,
I was out to a show

in Chatham last night. it
costs about 22 or 26 cents
for a seat in the gallery it
was very good vauderville
there is 3 or four theaters
here beside picture shows
but I dont go very often.
So you got notice from the
Wawanessa about insurance
well dont pay it write and
explaine the policy and
tell them it is paid but
next fall when it is due
be shure to send them
the money. Say Ethel if
Mr Butts wants to quit why
not offer the place to Sadie & Cecil they could work it

the same way as Mr. Butts. & you
could go out with them to look after
things, it might be the best way, you
can speak to your father about it if
you like, & see what he thinks about
it. now do just as you think best
Ethel & things will be all right I know
& it might be a good thing & be the
means of giving them a start for you
know I would help them all Icould
when I get back.
We were all marched down to the
doctors and vacinnated
on Monday. My arm is beginning
to itch now so I guess it took all
right. although they say you
do not feel it for a week or so
very much. hope I dont have much
trouble with it.
Today is pay day. Friday. we
get payed 7 shilling a week I have
about 11 pound left am I not doing
well. Ha Ha.
Suppose you have seen George
by this time tell him to write
if he has time. I have not.
written to Charley yet but will

Sunday if I have the
time, think I will get
some snap shots taken
tomorrow, & will send
some through if we
are not blockaded to
closely. We will be able
to judge more of their
power to injure us by
sea in a month or so.
Well I guess I will
have to close for this
time, Say did you get a
letter adressed from
Liverpool. the told me it
was censured & stoped.
Well Bye By love to all.
X X X X X N. C Draper

History Notes

History Note 1 - Sadie & Cecil Prosser

As you can see from the surname, Ethel's younger sister, Sadie Nelson, married Cecil Daniel Prosser on Janary 14th, 1915. During the years between Noah & Ethel's Courtship Letters previously published on this blog, and Noah joining the RCNVR, Sadie, whose birth name was Sarah Eliza Nelson, began spelling her name Sadye, while others called her Sadie, a designation she carried throughout her life.

Cecil was the son of William Walker Prosser and Hester Soules, also of Belhaven, North Gwillimbury, Ontario. Sadie and Cecil were married in the Nelson home south of Belhaven by Cecil's great-uncle, Elder Daniel Prosser, a prominent minister in the area who would go on to become known as "Marrying Dan" due to his high record of marriage ceremonies. On Nov 14, 1929, after the Nov 4 death of Rev. Daniel Prosser, the Stouffville Tribune reported that people came "from great distances to be married by the same preacher that had married their parents."

History Note 2 - Daily Routine

For more info on hammocks and the daily routine at the Royal Navy Barracks at Chatham where Noah is awaiting orders for sea duty, check my post, WW1 Letters Home - Jan 3, 1917.

WW1 Letters Home - Jan 14, 1917

1/14/2017

Presbyterian Church and Manse, Chatham. Published in The Building News Volume 75, July - Dec 1898

Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Jan 14/17
Mailed from: Chatham, England
Attached to: HMS Pembroke
Profession: Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Addressed to: Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument: Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 10" x 6.5" medium weight, semi-rough, folded into booklet form, but with the inside page written across the short width and all the way down the length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Noah's wife of 5 yrs, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Mother - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell* Draper, widow of David Draper
Percy* - Noah's older brother, lives near Adams, Saskatchewan
Louie* - Sarah Louisa, Noah's sister, 37, married Fred Coventry, Kelowna
Eva* - Eva Amelia Draper Perrault, 40 yrs (Noah's sister, married to Joe)
Ethel* - Noah's sister, Ethel Maud, 35 yrs, married to Will Rigler
Will* - Will Rigler, husband of Ethel Maud, lives at Grand Coulee, Sask.
Mr. Butts - 60 yr old John Butts is Noah & Ethel's lodger/hired man**
Charlie - unknown at this time

The babies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 6 months (later called JD)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Keswick - where Noah's family lives (the ones who didn't move west)
- Halifax - historic, protected harbor on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia
- Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- hut - Noah's barracks at HMS Pembroke
- English Church - St George's Church of England, HMS Pembroke
- Presbyterian Church - St Andrew's Presbyterian in Chatham**

Word or Phrase Use:
ect. - Noah spells the abbreviation for the Latin phrase of et cetera as ect whereas modern dictionaries say it should be spelled as etc. because it means "and all the rest" or "and so on and so forth". However, I've noticed that many seniors members of our society, as well as those on the other side of the pond, both in Great Britain and in Europe, spell it as ect. like Noah does.

Noah always spells the following as:
- no apostrophe for contractions - dont, wont, isnt, havent...
- Saturaday vs Saturday
- untill vs until

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Chatham England, Jan. 14/17

Mrs. N.C. Draper,
   Keswick, Ont.-

Dear Wife; -
   Well Ethel I hope you are all well
as this leaves me at present save
for a cold which is getting better.
   We are still at drill & am getting
a little better every day, (there is
room for improvement yet) We
will be in a seaman's class
soon I expect, where we will learn
to tie knots & ect. dont know
hardly what all,
   Well I was down to the Presby
terian church this morning
it is about a mile & a half from
the barracks, & when I got back
the dinner was all gone, so I

think I will belong to the English church
after this, it is only 5 minutes walk from
the hut, hope you have received your
anchor before this I think I will be able
to get out next Saturaday after noon if
I can I will get some thing for the kiddies.
Have not got any mail since I left
Halifax & may not get any for two weeks
yet but am looking every day for aletter
I have written to Mother, Percy, Louie, Eva,
Ethel, & Mr. Butts, havent I done well.
I was down town Friday night from
4 30 P.M. untill 7 30 have not been to a show
since I landed but think I will try
to go next week, I am trying to do as I
would have one in my position do, goody boy, Eh.
Well we had snow here one night last
week about 1 inch but it was all gone
by night, we have rain nearly every
other day. Oh say I got my pay a week
ago Friday. 54 Shilling that was from the
time we left Halifax & last Friday I
got 1 weeks pay 7 shilling or $1.68 cents
of our money, will soon be rich Ha Ha.
suppose you have had your pay
before this $38 you get isnt it. never mind
I have about 12 pound yet that I brought
with me have $18. Canadian money yet
will get it changed when I get to London
but do not know when that will be.

I hope you have the money for the
hail insurance before this, dont
forget to tell me all about it. &
wheather that man paid his note
which I left in the Bank for
collection, also that from Will.
Well Ethel I miss my pitcher of
milk have not had a drink since
I left Halifax but tonight is my
night out & I am going to try &
get some, HaHa. I am going out
after tea & think I will go to
Church after supper. I was going
to write to Charlie this after noon
but this is the last of my paper
so will have to write later,
Well I guess this will be all
for this time hoping to hear
from you soon I remain your ever
loving husband. N.C. Draper

History Notes

This is the same map as the last post showing Rochester Castle on the River Medway, as well as HMS Pembroke where Noah is quartered.

I've added a label near HMS Pembroke to show the location of St George's Church of England which Noah refers to as the English Church.

I've added another label to show the location of the Presbyterian Church, 1 1/2 miles southwest of Noah's location. You can see why there wasn't any food left by the time Noah hoofed it back.

WW1 Letters Home - Jan 7, 1917

1/7/2017

An Early 20th Century Street Scene on a Double-Decked Street Car. Courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Noah mentions that sitting in a double decked street car feels like "riding on a boat swaying sideways." A bbc.co.uk post, How did people travel? shows one of the best views I've seen on people riding in a double decked street car and so you can imagine what Noah meant.

Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old, b 1887
Dated: Undated (Contents show letter should be dated Jan 7, 1917)
Mailed from: Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, England
Attached to: HMS Pembroke
Profession: Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Addressed to: Mrs. N. C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument: Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 10" x 6.5" medium weight, semi-rough, folded into booklet form. Noah hasn't numbered the pages, but he's using the same technique he used for some of his previously posted courtship letters to Ethel, where his first page is the front "cover", then he's opened it and written on the right side, then moved over to the left side - turned the page sideways - and written there, and finally, he's closed it and written on the back. For clarity, I'm posting the pages in the order they were meant to be read.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Noah's wife of 5 yrs, 26 yr old Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Eva* - Eva Amelia Draper Perrault, 40 yrs (Noah's sister, married to Joe)
The children/kiddies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 7 months old (later called JD)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Royal Navel/Naval Barracks Chatham - aka HMS Pembroke
- Chatham - town outside the Naval Barracks yard
- hut - barrack building
- *Keswick - where Ethel is visiting for the winter
- 6th Anniversary - see Noah & Ethel's 1912 wedding post
- anchor - suspect a jewelry piece for anniversary gift
- registered - postal method ensuring security of delivery to Ethel only
- **English Church - Church of England
- Presbyterian - Noah & Ethel are Presbyterian in 1916 Canada census
- **double-decked street cars
- Y.M.C.A - Young Men's Christian Association

Word or Phrase Use:
eh**
Hubby

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Sidebar:
P.S. this is my 4th since I landed have you got them all. N.C.D.

16 hut East Camp,
Royal Navel Barracks,
Chatham, England.

Mrs. N. C. Draper,
Keswick, Ont.
Dear Ethel; -
Well I am still alive and able
to eat my allowance so am not
run down much yet, hope you
are all well, say I posted you
an anchor yesteraday you may
get it when you get this it is
registered so you will have to
signe for it. hope you like it
did not know what else to get
you, will send the kiddies
something next week if I get
out. I can go out every other
night from 4 30 pm untill 8 next
morning but have only been out
Sat. after noon as the town is

in darkness & there is not much to
see worth seeing after dark.
   We were lined up and marched
down to the English church this
morning. could have went to
the Presbyterian but did not,
know it in time but will go
there next Sunday if I can.
   Was out in Chatham from
2 P.M. untill about 7 30/xx last night
was in 3 stores & a tea room,
We have heard described so
often, of course not one of the swell
affairs.
   Well we will be married 6 years
on the 10 of Jan. we are getting old
eh. the first anniversary to be
spent apart & I hope we may be
togeather for the next but we can
never tell that far ahead.

Chatham is quite a town narrow streets
& double decked street cars. they are like
riding on a boat swaying sideways.
There is a Navel Y M.C.A. here but I have
not been in it yet but want to hunt it
up next week. they have lectures here
every night or so & I guess they are
pretty good. altho. they must sound
dissagreeable to some men who do not
do as they should, morally I mean. There
is a number of new recrutes comes in
here every day altho. I think we are
the last Canadians to arrive here &
we have a great deal to learn about
every thing. English, even their money

bothers us at first but we will
soon get used to that I guess.
   There is a Canadian mail in here
now but it has not been sorted yet
so am expecting a letter or two
sometime soon.
   Well I have only been on as cook.here
once so far but will have another
turn soon I expect. I dont mind
much for if we are doing that
we are not doing any thing
else. have just finished a
letter to Eva was afraid if I wrote
to you first she would not get a
letter, ha ha. I like writing
just as well as ever.
   Well I guess I will have to
close kiss the babies for me
Love to all, from your loving Hubby
N. C. Draper

History Notes

There are 3 History notes for this letter...

History Note 1 - Y.M.C.A

Begun in 1844 England, the Y.M.C.A. was a social club which served as a home away from home for male travelers as well as soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The facilities were similar as present day with some including a gymnasium and swimming pool, as well as game room, reading room, and a place to partake in wholesome food and refreshments.

History Note 2 - English Church

I've found "English Church" on Upper Canada and Canada West census records and understand it to mean the Church of England. In Noah's case, he means St George's Church aka the Naval Barracks Church, which was part of HMS Pembroke. The church was built in 1906 and is shown in the next two photos.

History Note 3 - Double Decked Street Cars

An early 20th century street scene. Image copyright of the Bishopsgate Institute. Courtesy of bbc.co.uk

To continue from the top of this post, the bbc.co.uk post, How did people travel? goes on to say that in 1900 most vehicles on the Britain's streets were horse-drawn, but by 1914 motor buses and electric trams were more popular for public transportation.

Next to the Royal Naval Barracks was the Pembroke Gate to the Chatham Dockyards where civilian workers and longshoremen worked and maintained the ships. I found this photo at Chatham & District Traction Company which shows double decked trams waiting for the workers at the Pembroke Gate.

A line of cars waiting for Dockyard workers at Pembroke Gate. Courtesy of Chatham & District Traction Company.

The Friends of Chatham Traction are in the process of restoring, exhibiting and operating the sole surviving Chatham Traction bus, GKE 68, and although it ran 20 years after Noah's naval tour of duty, I'm posting this information as a thank you for allowing their photos to be used and shared for education and promotion.

WW1 Letters - Percy to Ethel Jan 1, 1917

1/1/2017

From Noah & Ethel Draper's first Photograph Album, courtesy of the Norma Draper Photograph Collection.

Today's letter differs from the rest because it's a letter on the home front sent from Noah's brother to Noah's wife informing her of what's been going on back at the homestead in Saskatchewan while Noah's enlisted, and she's spending the winter with family in Ontario.

Author of Letter: Percy Roy Draper, 33 yrs old
Dated: Jan 1/17
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan
Attached to: N/A
Profession: Farmer
Rank: N/A
Addressed to: Mrs. N.C. Draper
Relationship: Sister-in-law
Writing instrument: Pencil
Writing Paper: 8" x 10" medium weight writing paper with a linen-look and feel. Percy has written straight across the first sheet and down to the bottom, left the backside blank, and then he's filled the second sheet, turned it over and finished halfway down the backside.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Noah's wife of 5 yrs, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper (b 1890)
Will* - Will Rigler, husband of Noah's 35 yr old sister, Ethel Maud (b 1881)
Mr. Buts - 60 yr old John Butts is Noah & Ethel's lodger/hired man**

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Keswick - where Ethel is staying with family
- Regina - downtown Regina is 12 miles east of Grand Coulee
- The ERA - local newspaper printed in Newmarket, York County, Ontario
- dispecer - liquor dispenser/vendor (see **Prohibition & article below)
- stalk - he means animal stock as in cattle, horses, etc
- fire insurance**

Word or Phrase Use:
car - automobile since a street car didn't run from Grand Coulee to Regina
nearly strapped - out of money
Merry X Mas

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Grand Coulee
Jan 1/17

Mrs. N. C. Draper.
Dear Ethel & children
Received the Photos & think they
are fine. Have been waiting
for a letter from you ever since
I came home but have not had
one as yet. how are you all
any way we are all as usually
I think around here. We have
had some very cold weather
ever since I came home until
last Friday it is quite mild now
very little snow I was in to Regina
with the car this after noon the
roads are fine. Well I had a
letter from Noah that was wrote
the eighteenth of Dec said he had
had his first experence on salt
water 20 of them trying to row
a boat 50 ft long and could not
make it go at all some sailors
ah. Well Ethel the stalk is all
looking fine. I think the old man

2

is getting along pretty good now
he was away for several days selebrati...
just before I got home but was
back to work when I got home
Will had to do his chores while he
was away. I guess it wont
happen again now the doors
of the dispecers closed Saturday.
Mr Buts was telling Will he wished
I would hurry home that he was
going to quit but he has never
mentioned it since I came. I see
by the Era that yous have lots
of snow now. Hope you had
a merry X mas & a Happy new
Year. Say Ethel have you sent
Mr Buts any money yet he came
in the other .and said he was
nearly strapped. had been a little
reckles with what he had : But he
is to get twenty dollars a month
isnt he. he would have $40 coming
to him to night he said.

3

And your fire insurance I guess
Noah forgot about it I will enclose
there letter to you it should be looked
after at once. Well I must close
hope you can make this letter
out & dont forget to send
us a line.

I remain --- as be fore
Percy

History Notes

There are 2 History notes for this letter...

History Note 1 - Prohibition

Prohibition reached Saskatchewan in April 1915 when Premier Walter Scott and his liberal government halted the sale of liquor within its borders. Bars had to close by 7 pm with no liquids carried home. According to the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Premier Scott blamed alcohol for domestic violence and high crime rates, and felt that it was unpatriotic and more dangerous than German submarines. The following year, in July 1916, bar and club licenses were abolished. Individuals and businesses were prosecuted for non-compliance, and Saskatchewan became the first Canadian province to ban the sale of alcohol in the private sector.

As you can see from Percy's letter, written on January 1st, 1917, it's months later and liquor is still available. I wonder if it's because they were allowed to stay open while disposing of their stock? I don't know if the vendor in question was the local hotel, or if Mr. Butts had been in Regina, which grew into one of the hottest red light districts on the prairies in the following decade, but someone in the area seemed to have alcohol on hand.

History Note 2 - Fire Insurance

In this letter, Percy mentions that Noah and Ethel have received a letter for fire insurance and that he's going to send it to her because "it should be looked after at once".

It's interesting to note that one of the my first posts on these letters was 1906 Percy's Policy which included the magnificent graphics of a life insurance document that is now 110 years old. Percy wasn't married at the time and although single adults of today are told they don't need to spend money on life insurance if they aren't married, Percy's beneficiary was his mother, Sarah Draper, who would receive $1000.00 upon his death, even while his father, David Draper, still lived.

Percy's admonition that Ethel see to the fire insurance at once was in direct contrast to Noah's response in WW1 Letters Home - Dec 19, 1916, when he says, "Well Ethel I dont know what money you mean for Percy to send down but if it was for that life insurance
I dont think I would pay it."

Noah doesn't know that Percy is talking about fire insurance rather than life insurance, but that makes it worse...Noah can't swim...he's in the navy and spends/will spend a majority of his time on the water...and he's heading into a war zone. Unless the policy is for someone else, why wouldn't Noah want Ethel to pay the premium on the life insurance?

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WW1 Letters - Percy to Ethel Jan 1, 1917

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