A series of WW1 Field Service Postcards sent home by Sgt John Regan

Description

For reasons of military security, letters from soldiers at the front were censored and could take a long time to get to their destination. The soldiers were therefore given cards on which they could send simple messages. Here is a collection of cards sent home to Penarth by Sgt John Regan. One of the cards was sent on 27 July, by which time the battery would have been in action as the barrage reached its climax, prior to the attack planned for 1 July 1916.
Sergeant John Regan was born in Penarth on 1 May 1882. He enlisted as a volunteer to fight in the First World War. At the time he was called away he was the father of a large family of four boys and a girl. His wife was also expecting another child, who was born on 6 May 1916 while John was preparing to cross over to France. Sadly, he never had the chance to meet his youngest daughter. He was killed in action on 31 July 1916. He was buried at Peronne Road Military Cemetery near Maricourt on the Somme, close to the spot where he died.