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WW1 Letters Home - Jan 3, 1917

1/3/2017

 
Picture
Postcard of A Barrack Room in Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, England. Source: Noah C Draper
The image on the above postcard, which hasn't been mailed, shows a barrack room at the Royal Naval  Barracks at Chatham. Sailors are standing around, and some are still in their hammocks. On the right wall are stowed hammocks. See History Notes below for more info.


Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old, b 1887
Dated:  Jan 3/1917
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
Mr. Butts - 60 yr old John Butts is Noah & Ethel's lodger/hired man*
​

​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:
Adams* - Noah & Ethel's homestead. See C.N.R. at Adams, Saskatchewan
​hammock**
bed ticks**
lanyard -
 a rope or cord most commonly used to hang something around neck
sunburst  - a piece of jewelry

- Keswick - where the Ontario side of the family lives

- London - 35 miles as the crow flies to the Chatham Barracks
- Royal Navel/Naval Barracks Chatham - aka HMS Pembroke
- hut - barrack building

Word or Phrase Use: 
car - short for automobile this time as no street car from Adams to Regina
navel - Noah's spelling for naval barracks
brade - Noah's spelling for braid


​
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
​
Picture
No 16 hut East Camp,
​Jan. 3/1917         Royal Navel Barracks,
​Chatham, England
Mrs. N. C. Draper,
     Keswick, Ont.
My Dear Wife; -
     Well we have started the
New Year at war, but hope
to spend the next at home
in dear old Sask. it may be
cold but it is home & not
foggy, that means a lot
I can tell you but would
like to see this country in
the summer time.
     I hope you are all well
& the children good would
love to see them you dont
know how I miss you
all
​
Picture
but cheer up this war can
not last for ever & I will be
back some time.
     We are pretty buisy here now
getting new hammocks and
blankets and getting them
marked. will be able to do any
thing by the time I get home
yesteraday we had to put
holes in our blankets & then
work them and brade strings
in them to hang them up
by to dry after washing also
2 bed ticks & an extra
​hammock. think I will start
a tailor shop at Adams.
     I done a wshing tonight
4 handkerchiefs a towel & 2 Lanyards
     Have you heard from Mr. Butts

​
Picture
and did he send your sunburst. if not
write & ask him about it. guess I will
write to him tonight.
     Have not been out on leave yet but 
will get out tomorrow night I guess
some of the boys went out tonight
we are divided into two watches the
starboard & the port side, one side
goes out each night, starting tonight
for the first time, can not tell
how long we will be here but for
two or three months I guess & no one
knows where we will go from here
I wish it were back to Canada altho
I would like to see some of the world 
now I am here .guess I wil likely see
some water any way

​
Picture
well I saw the sun to day for the
first time since I landed here 
I guess fog is the usual winter
weather here,
     I think if I get a weeks leave
I will go to London for 3 or 4
days & then go out in the
country the rest of the time
have not had a glass of milk
since I got here but lots of tea
and cocoa. Well I guess I will
have to close for this time
hoping to hear from you
soon, kiss the kiddies for
me & tell Mildred I wish
she could write me a long
letter. Well ByeBye. for
this time I remain your ever
loving husband. N. C. Draper.

​
​

History Notes
​

There are 2 History notes for this letter...
​
History Note 1 - Hammock

We are pretty buisy here now getting new hammocks and blankets and getting them marked will be able to do any thing by the time I get home yesteraday we had to put holes in our blankets & then work them and brade strings in them to hang them up by to dry after washing also 2 bed ticks & an extra ​hammock. think I will start a tailor shop at Adams.

As mentioned at the top of this post, the postcard shows a barrack room at the Royal Naval  Barracks at Chatham. Sailors are standing around, and some are still in their hammocks. On the right wall are stowed hammocks. 

According to The Naval Officer's Manual, Noah would have been issued a 5'6" x 5'4" hammock which, when properly tabled, or squared, measured 5'2". 

Noah's tailoring skills refers to the method of tabling as he would have had to fold over the ends and sew them down if this hadn't been done before stocking in the dockyard. His reference to holes included making grommets and eyelets around the hole for strength since the hammock needed to hold his body weight and more. The brade/braid is the method used to secure the hammock to the ring, or clew/clue, which secures the whole thing to wherever it's going to hang, whether it be on a hammock bar, or a hook attached to a wall or beam.
​
Detailed diagrams and instructions for making a naval hammock can be found at:
- http://readyayeready.com/navy-life/hammocks.php
- https://www.hmsrichmond.org/tabling.htm
​
Picture
Teaching Recuits to Lash a Hammock prior to Stowing. Undated. Courtesy of BBC News

History Note 2 - Bed Ticks

Noah says that he received 2 bed ticks to go along with his hammock. My guess is he's talking about thin mattresses. I couldn't find a naval photo that showed exactly what they looked like, but when we add the bits of information I found through different sources, we get a fairly good idea.

According to the Sleep History site, Italian documents ca 1000 A.D. mention theka as a casing cloth for bedding, or a mattress. In English, the word evolved into tick or ticking.

Although the Royal Navy used horse hair to fill their ticks, I could only find a photo of a feather tick. 
​​
Picture
Old Feather Tick Bed Mattress. Courtesy of laurelleaffarm.com
​The blue and white striped ticking fabric was the choice for most pillow and mattress coverings because its tight cotton or linen twill weave stopped hair and feathers from poking through. It also ensured strength and durability over most other fabrics. Even today you'll find stores that sell bedding with the familiar stripes, although a quick glance and touch will show that the fabric is far inferior to what Noah would have been issued one hundred years ago. 


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