WW1 Troop Movements of RCNVR from Canada to England, December 1916. Map outline courtesy of macmillanlearning.com
Today's letter was written on the verge of Noah Draper's journey to Chatham, England after being attached to HMCS Niobe for 3 weeks while awaiting orders to go overseas. The route I've drawn is direct from Halifax to Chatham as per Noah's letter here.
Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Dec. 19, 1916
Mailed from: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Attached to: HMCS Niobe
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 most of his previously posted courtship letters to Ethel, where his first page is the outside, then he's opened it and written on the right side, then moved over to the left side 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, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Percy* - Noah's older brother, lives near Adams, Saskatchewan
Sadie* - Ethel's sister, Sadie Nelson Prosser, 21, Grandview Farm, Belhaven, Ont
Cecil* - Sadie's husband, Cecil Prosser, 24, farmer, Grandview Farm, Belhaven
mother - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell* Draper, widow of David Draper
Louie* Coventry - Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Draper Coventry, 37, lives in Kelowna
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
- Regina - in Saskatchewan, closest city to Noah's farm at Adams
- Kelowna - city in British Columbia where Noah's sister, "Louie" Coventry, lives
- England - a country in the United Kingdom
- Chatam/Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- London - London, England
- the Thames - the Thames River runs west from coast, past London
- The Olimpic - HMT Olympic* - Dec 13, 1916 post
- quarenteen - under quarantine**
- proofs - photographs
Word or Phrase Use:
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 Genealogy Notes below
Dated: Dec. 19, 1916
Mailed from: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Attached to: HMCS Niobe
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 most of his previously posted courtship letters to Ethel, where his first page is the outside, then he's opened it and written on the right side, then moved over to the left side 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, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Percy* - Noah's older brother, lives near Adams, Saskatchewan
Sadie* - Ethel's sister, Sadie Nelson Prosser, 21, Grandview Farm, Belhaven, Ont
Cecil* - Sadie's husband, Cecil Prosser, 24, farmer, Grandview Farm, Belhaven
mother - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell* Draper, widow of David Draper
Louie* Coventry - Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Draper Coventry, 37, lives in Kelowna
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
- Regina - in Saskatchewan, closest city to Noah's farm at Adams
- Kelowna - city in British Columbia where Noah's sister, "Louie" Coventry, lives
- England - a country in the United Kingdom
- Chatam/Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- London - London, England
- the Thames - the Thames River runs west from coast, past London
- The Olimpic - HMT Olympic* - Dec 13, 1916 post
- quarenteen - under quarantine**
- proofs - photographs
Word or Phrase Use:
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 Genealogy Notes below
| Halifax, Dec. 19/16. Mrs. N. C. Draper, Keswick, Ont. Dear Ethel;- Well I am told off in a draft for Chatam and we expect to leave to night or tomorrow morning but do not know for shure our leave is stoped & we have been ordered to be ready to leave at a moments notice so am writing to night for we have no time after we are told to get |
| ready I wrote a card to one fellows sister in Regina for him after he left telling her he had gone but he is still in Harbour on the Olimpic I heard she is in quarenteen but do not know for shure. Well there is to much excitement on board to write much so you will have to excuse me if I write down something they are saying and it would shock a deaf man. HaHa. 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. Say tell Sadie I started to write her that letter she spokeabout Sunday, but my pen went dry so I did'nt finish it but will try & do so in old England if Cecil does'nt object. Ha Ha. Chatham is about 24 miles from London on the Thames I guess so will see part of the old historic river any way. |
| Well I guess I will have to close as we have to fall in on deck in a minute so you write to mother at Kelowna and tell her I did not have a chance after I found out. I sent her a card yesteraday. Say Ethel if them proofs are better than the ones you sent they must be good. Well I guess this will be the last letter for a couple of weeks but will write whenever possible. so good bye Oceans of love to you and the kiddies. N. C. Draper |
Genealogy Notes
In Noah's last letter dated Dec 13th, he mentioned that the RMS Olympic had left Halifax. Apparently one of the men didn't have time to write his wife that he was heading overseas, so Noah did it for him...and then Noah discovered that she, the ship, was still in the bay under quarantine. Why?
I did some digging and although this isn't definitive, I found a possible reason in the book, RMS Olympic: Titanic's Sister, by Mark Chirnside.
The Olympic's surgeon hadn't been aware that one of the crewmates was found suffering from venereal disease. When it was discovered, the man left the ship. The director of transports then advised stricter inspections to avoid putting the onboard troops at risk.
According to the book, one young soldier said the Olympic pulled away from the dock on the day after 15 December 1916, and anchored in the bay. There, they took on more troops and provisions. Then came 2 days of laying about, sleeping in hammocks, and eating in what used to be the Olympic's sun parlor, except it was now closed off to outside light.
I suspect the medical examinations were being carried out at this time.
Noah's letter was written on Dec 19th, where he confirms the Olympic was still in the bay.
The book continues with, "Olympic left Halifax...at 4.41 pm on 20 December 1916, drawing 34ft 9in, and she arrived in Liverpool six days later..."
And speaking of the RMS Olympic, here's a diagram that explains the reasoning behind the dazzle paint camouflage shown in my Dec 13 post. I found it on the article Whatever Happened to Olympic, Titanic's Sister? written by Jason Ponic, at Owlcation.
I did some digging and although this isn't definitive, I found a possible reason in the book, RMS Olympic: Titanic's Sister, by Mark Chirnside.
The Olympic's surgeon hadn't been aware that one of the crewmates was found suffering from venereal disease. When it was discovered, the man left the ship. The director of transports then advised stricter inspections to avoid putting the onboard troops at risk.
According to the book, one young soldier said the Olympic pulled away from the dock on the day after 15 December 1916, and anchored in the bay. There, they took on more troops and provisions. Then came 2 days of laying about, sleeping in hammocks, and eating in what used to be the Olympic's sun parlor, except it was now closed off to outside light.
I suspect the medical examinations were being carried out at this time.
Noah's letter was written on Dec 19th, where he confirms the Olympic was still in the bay.
The book continues with, "Olympic left Halifax...at 4.41 pm on 20 December 1916, drawing 34ft 9in, and she arrived in Liverpool six days later..."
And speaking of the RMS Olympic, here's a diagram that explains the reasoning behind the dazzle paint camouflage shown in my Dec 13 post. I found it on the article Whatever Happened to Olympic, Titanic's Sister? written by Jason Ponic, at Owlcation.
