As we can see from the letterhead of this letter, Noah appears to have started this letter while at the Union Jack Club in London. Perhaps he even wrote his letter at one of these tables before setting it aside and then finishing it on the 29th while back at the Chatham Naval Barracks.
Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Jan. 25 1916 (1917) (Letter started Jan 25, completed 29th)
Mailed from: Chatham, England (Union Jack Club Letterhead)
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: 9" x 7" medium-light weight, smooth, folded into booklet form, but with the inside page written across the 7" width and all the way down the 9" length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.
People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper (Noah's wife of 5 yrs)
The babies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 6 months (later called JD)
Mr. Beck - Probably the Hassocks inn owner from Noah's last letter
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- London - Capital city of England
- Union Jack Club in London - See Historical Note #1
- Strood & Rochester, Madistone, Grave's End - nearby locations
- St John's Ambulance
- Player's Navey Cut cigarettes - See Historical Note #2
- two deck bus - See Historical Note #3
- ferrit's - ferrets used in rabbit hunting, a common English practice
- huts - barracks
Word or Phrase Use:
Noah always spells the following as such:
- no apostrophe for contractions - dont, wont, isnt, havent...
- Saturaday vs Saturday
- untill vs until
- navey vs navy
- corpse vs corps
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
Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Jan. 25 1916 (1917) (Letter started Jan 25, completed 29th)
Mailed from: Chatham, England (Union Jack Club Letterhead)
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: 9" x 7" medium-light weight, smooth, folded into booklet form, but with the inside page written across the 7" width and all the way down the 9" length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.
People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper (Noah's wife of 5 yrs)
The babies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 6 months (later called JD)
Mr. Beck - Probably the Hassocks inn owner from Noah's last letter
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- London - Capital city of England
- Union Jack Club in London - See Historical Note #1
- Strood & Rochester, Madistone, Grave's End - nearby locations
- St John's Ambulance
- Player's Navey Cut cigarettes - See Historical Note #2
- two deck bus - See Historical Note #3
- ferrit's - ferrets used in rabbit hunting, a common English practice
- huts - barracks
Word or Phrase Use:
Noah always spells the following as such:
- no apostrophe for contractions - dont, wont, isnt, havent...
- Saturaday vs Saturday
- untill vs until
- navey vs navy
- corpse vs corps
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
| Jan.25 1916 Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont Canada Dear Ethel; - Well I am on my way back to Chatham came up here today & am going to stay to morrow & going on tomorrow night. I am feeling fine got rid of my cold allready, I was out hunting with Mr. Beck Tuesday. we got 1 rabbit but I saw how the ferrits work anyway & that was the chief thing, Well I was at the theather last Thursday night in London, this |
| is Monday the 29th & I am back in Chatham came back Sat. morning enjoyed my trip fine, then Sunday was my day out so I went to the Strood & Rochester in the forenoon, came back to Chatham after dinner & met a man in the St John ambulance corpse so we went out to Madistone about 2 oclock & stayed untill nine it is about 7 mile from here & is a fine place, we are going out to Graves end Saturaday, we went out on a buss they are two decks the same as the street cars, it was full in side so we had to ride on top & it was not very hot. but it is a lovely ride would like to go out in the summer. I am glad I met this chap as the fellow I chum with is in the 3rd division & I do not care to travel with all ofthem he does not smoke or drink so we get along fine I smoke enough for the two of us, haHa. am writing this in his office now as it is much quieter here than in the huts, Well Ethel I got the letter Saturaday also the box of cigars & was glad to hear from you even if it was old, thanks for the smokes but would not send any more cigars as I do not |
| like to smoke them in the hut as it looks pigish, HaHa. Say Ethel I am going to tell you the truth about tobaco here, Players navey cut cigarettes are 8 cents a box here & 10 over there so you see the people who say they can not get tobacco here are broke, but do not say anything outside as .30 cents a day does not go very far when you spend 15 in the canteen for food. that is about the only thing we are short of here, HaHa and we are not over fed. We are going to be vaccinated to morrow dont you wish you were, Well I guess I will have to close for this time kiss the babies for me, Love to one and all, yours as B.4. N.C. Draper |
Historical Notes
There are 3 History notes for this letter...
History Note 1 - The Union Jack Club
Noah begins this letter while at the Union Jack Club in London which was an imposing building with quarters and everything a visiting soldier, sailor or airman would need. It included a canteen, library/reading/writing room, and recreation room with billiard tables.
It's interesting to note that the initial idea was from a Royal Red Cross nurse with field experience in the South African War. Determined not to start such a serviceman's club in debt, the initial £60,000 was raised by galas and functions, with the rest coming from the idea to name a room for £100. Thus, there came to be a "Lady Conan Doyle Room" after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a donation on behalf of his wife.
History Note 1 - The Union Jack Club
Noah begins this letter while at the Union Jack Club in London which was an imposing building with quarters and everything a visiting soldier, sailor or airman would need. It included a canteen, library/reading/writing room, and recreation room with billiard tables.
It's interesting to note that the initial idea was from a Royal Red Cross nurse with field experience in the South African War. Determined not to start such a serviceman's club in debt, the initial £60,000 was raised by galas and functions, with the rest coming from the idea to name a room for £100. Thus, there came to be a "Lady Conan Doyle Room" after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a donation on behalf of his wife.
History Note 2 - Player's Navy Cut Cigarettes
In this letter, Noah makes a shrewd observation that although serving members kept writing home and asking for cigarettes to be sent over, it wasn't due to a tobacco shortage overseas, but a lack of budgeting on behalf of the men themselves.
Player's Navy Cut Cigarette Newspaper Ad, Regina, 1911
History Note 3 - Double Decker Bus
Motor omnibuses, such as the one shown below by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), were first used in London in 1902, so when Noah mentions a two decked bus, this is the type he is referring to, with the open top deck and no track on the streets.
