This Beastly War, 1914-18: Wyndham Family Letters

The First World War tore families apart and changed the Edwardian world forever.

This book gives a first-hand glimpse into the lives of one of those families, by documenting the personal letters they wrote to one another between 1914 and 1918.

The Wyndhams were a family of some distinction who were closely connected to the political and social establishment at the time. And like every other family they knew, they were intimately affected by the war.

The majority of these letters are written by, or addressed to, Charlotte Wyndham, the staunch matriarch of the family.

She reveals her pride and, later, her heartache.

She has to sit by as her sons go off to fight, while her daughters lives are changed forever, as they volunteer in hospitals or have to adjust to a life without their sweethearts.

Letters from her sons, fighting on the Western Front, describe the battles and the appalling conditions in the trenches, while those from the daughters discuss their personal anxieties and changes to their social lifestyle at home.

Through them we witness a scenario played out in every middle-class household throughout the country during that tumultuous period.

‘This Beastly War’ is the intimate story of one family and how the conflict of the First World War personally affected them; written in their own words.

James Melik produces radio programmes and broadcasting packages for the BBC and he has written over 200 features for BBC Online. His main interest and area of expertise is now Bangladesh and he is currently writing an authorised biography of the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

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