Letter from Second Lieutenant Jack Watkins of the South Wales Borderers, 26 March, 1918 [image 1 of 2]

Description

David John George Watkins, known as Jack, was one of thirteen children from 6 Oak Street, Cwmbran. He was a bright young man and received a first class honours degree in Latin. It is not known when he joined the Army but by 1917 he was a Second Lieutentant of the 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers. He was sent to France and killed during the German Spring Offensive on 21 April 1918, aged 21. This is one of a series of letters he sent home to his family in Cwmbran. What is notable is how frequently he corresponded with them, letters arriving and being sent at the turn of the post. The letters provide an invaluable insight into the life of a First World War soldier. The final major German offensive had begun on 21 March but Watkins' Battalion were not involved from the start. He writes that they had very little information of proceedings apart from via the English papers that were a few days old.

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