In the Archives at Grey Roots are the letters of a woman who found herself in the middle of the First World War, volunteering as a nurse. During her time overseas, Luella Euphemia Denton wrote letters home to a friend and neighbour in Annan, Mrs. Isabella McArthur. These nearly two-dozen letters spanned the course of Miss Denton’s service from 1916 to 1919.
As with most wartime correspondence, many hardships are described in detail. Serving at various casualty clearing stations in France and Belgium, in a letter dated October 27, 1917, Luella wrote, “The guns have kept a terrible roar all night. The earth shakes with the explosions. All day yesterday, it was the same. The fighting is stiff alright and our boys are doing splendidly. Flanders fields are seeing terrible things and we, all of us, are sick, nauseated with the horrible sights.”
Miss Denton continues, “I love my work, the opportunity which I have here. To me it is a sacred place, men everyday giving their lives here. Oh it is cruel. We who have seen will never forget; you have have not seen be thankful.”
Luella in her letters speaks of many events and persons – the sinking of the H.M.S. Llandovery Castle, William Avery “Billy” Bishop, various bombing raids which she endured, the deaths of Captain David Howes and Nursing Sister Gladys Wake, the declaration of peace and the influenza epidemic.
She also wrote of better times, her leave in London, the Scottish highlands, and Paris. The letters of Miss Denton offer a unique view of the events of the Great War. You can read them online at the Grey Roots website or pay a visit to the Grey County Archives and hold them in your gloved hands.
Originally aired December 4th 2016
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