Letter from the front re fallen Irishman, Who is Private Wiles? Options

[wig]

The following is a transcript of a ten page letter written in pencil sent from the Somme to the wife of a fallen soldier of the 7th Leinster Regt called Micheal Christopher Coleman. The letter was written by a Private G.W. Wiles, regiment unknown. It is, for the letter of a private, remarkably articulate and Private Wiles must surely have written other material. He appears to be an Englishman and if anyone can help identify Private Wiles then I would be very grateful.


"1/15/17
Monday
(1)
Dear Madam
Yours to hand the 15 inst & I have great pleasure in answering your
most kind & welcome letter. I daresay you was a little upset at first
after receiving a letter from my fried but I do hope & trust these lines
will find you in the best of health & spirits under circumstances & I
shall also be very pleased indeed if you will accept my sympathy in your
sad bereavement you said in your letter you would like to know details
re what I know of him well dear madam its a

(2)
very strange thing how I fell across him. My company was sent to
Guillemont to clear a way for traffic after the place was taken (this was) &
my duty was to go round & see all tools was collected & I can tell you
I was always on the look out for any one that may have been wounded or
killed & missed which I know often is the case as there is so much to
do & of course the lads cannot do everything. However I came across this
fellow in a shell hole (a very large one) & passed him as I passed
others that lay about. & something struck me to go back & see him, as he
lay there as if resting from a long walk. his statue marked me very
much indeed he looked sa smart & of a lovely build. then I pictured my-

(3)
self in his place. how if it was me & suppose he has just got missed
altogether how will his friends ever know. so you can guess how I got
my mind seemed only of him & his dear ones if any, how was I to know.
(at this time I forgot all about going to look for tools. & I thought
of his top pocket that all I could get tp. & with my knife I cut it
down & I saw a piece of paper I got it out & read it. & to my great
relief I saw an address taht as you have at the present. & then I opened
the other & the label of him was inside. this label I refer to is one
they all have to wear when wounded & as he was wounded in the hand. that
accounts for it)

(4)
& no doubt he was going to keep it. I hope dear madam you will forgive
me of taking liberties with your dear husbands body. but you can rest
assured (I will give you my word of honour.) that he is buried & I
buried him the best I could. not so well as some but better than
thousands. I was at this time up at the ruined church & luck came my way again
going about as I liked that gave me another chance of going to see if
any one had interfared with him. this was after I had buried him. &
about 600 yards from the church. I came back to my party after about
(say houer away. & found a lovely square stone from the ruins with 5
crosses

(5)
engraved on it. then I claimed it & took it for his grave after
writing his name & regiment in copying ink pencil as best I could. hoping &
trusting that if I was called away myself some-one would be sure & come
across him & probably would let your know. This was as near as I can
say to date Sept 15th & Fritz as we call the German was still sending
the shells pretty thick. & just after I was finished my duty to wards
this unknown soldier (your dear husband.) a shell came just after we had
finished dinner & I lost four of my comrades. I am very sorry also for
their parents.

(6)
it's a hard war & dreadful to see let alone hear about it, but I thank
God he has spared me to write these few lines to you to night. how I
wish I had sent at the first. you can I hope well understand me. I did
not like sending such bad news to you but it struck me all at once. my
friend sent me a paper & has it happened there appeared the photo of a
fellow belonging to my own country. he also was reported missing but I
have the clue of him as of your loving husband & I saw him I believe
the same day but not in such a good condition & his letters & his kit
baglay their. I picked them up & he belonged to my own

(7)
brothers regiment & the same company. I kept them until now & when I
saw his photo. I soon reckoned up what to do. Send his & yours as
well. I thought to my self if that lady's in the same street she will
never know. So of course I asked my friend as to her opinion about the
matter & if she would send. This she has kindly done & we must Thank God.
as I said before & hope & trust he will keep me long enough to let you
know as much as I possibly can can as regards to your husband Dear
madam if there is any thing else you would like to ask me I shall only be
to pleased to hear from you at any-time -

(8)
You said as to me wanting anything at present I'm afraid I do not as
I'm in good circumstances this has happened since, (this affair) & I have
pretty well everthing of the best. also I have good friends at home &
relations that will provide for me if Im wanting. I may tell you I
have had to rough it for at least 9 months. & this part I'm at now is not
so far up to the line. my work at present is cook for the superior 6
officers at Headquarters & they are of the best as one could wish also
my mates & we are all happy to-gether & make the best of it. not
forgetting to thank you for your kind offer. which is very good of you.

(9)
if I have done you a favour, I have been rewarded for it. & thats my
blood. I cannot help it I must be doing good some-where my dear mother
was the same - when she was alive. & she was my only treasure. you
can guess the rest. (how I miss her.) dear madam I hope you will forgive
me writing so much as its your husband you want to hear about it looks
as if I am telling you more of my-self. I was quite forgetting hoping &
trusting to hear from you again I must now close

I remain
yours truly
Pte G H Wiles

P.S. if you would like me to send the label I shall only be to pleased
to do so at my earliest convenience

Please excuse bad writing and mistakes
Good bye & may God bless you

(10)
Dear Madam
wishing you a Happy & Prosperous New Year
& Best of Luck
yours G W

I have no other paper & envelopes
so please excuse
"

[ian turner]

A quick trawl throught the many G Wiles on the MICs shows two whom I suspect as possibles. It seems from his personal info above that he was more of a labour corps type than front line.


Medal card of Wiles, George
Corps: Royal Engineers
Regiment No: 123869
Rank: Pioneer...


Medal card of Wiles, George
Corps: Royal Engineers
Regiment No: 201324
Rank: Sapper...


I would consider the first as more likely. But it is all a wild guess, as any G Wiles might have ended up in a labour battalion and his records do not show us all the info today.

Ian

[damiangt]

One of the most touching letters from the front that I have read. Thanks for sharing it with us and good luck with the research.

[curranl]

Hello Wig,
I can't help you with Wiles, but the following is the entry for Coleman from Ireland's Memorial Records:

Coleman, Christopher. Reg. No. 3465. Rank, Private, 7th Leinster Regiment; killed in action, France, September, 3, 1916; born Queenstown, Co. Cork.

If you would like a copy of the original send me a PM with your email address.

Regards,

Liam.

[stephenh]

Wig

According to my database, there is a pic of 3465 Christopher Coleman in the Evening Herald newspaper of 9/12/16 in the Magazine Page, where he is listed as missing . Copies can be obtained from the National Library or I can get you one myself when I am next in, however it will be in a few weeks.

Stephen

[wig]

Private Coleman's wife made an extremely poignant pencil sketch of her husband and it can now be viewed on the following site.



http://www.freewebs.com/ireland1418/irishonthesomme.htm