1st CMMGB: Pte RW Mercer - Letters from the Great War
1st Canadian
Motor Machine Gun Brigade
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Pte. Richard William Mercer
Personal Letters from the Great
War: 1915 - 1919
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Letter 10:
Reverend G. M. Joyce to William and Georgina Mercer
- April 21, 1917
The Woodrow, Witney-Oxon, England
The Woodrow[70]
Witney-Oxon
April 21, 1917
My dear Wm. Mercer
I am sorry I have not written before to thank you for your Easter Card.
You must be thinking I do not care to hear from you, but it is not so at
all, in fact I have been thinking more about Theodore & my friends
there, the last few days than ever as we have had Wm. Spicer[71]
to see us for 4 days & so it has brought it all back quite fresh.
I am very busy now & have not much time for writing letters, I am working
on a farm 9 hours a day & keep on most of my parish work as well so
I don't have many spare minutes. Bread has gone up again here this
week & is now 11p - 1/- in London and by all accounts this p(rices)
will be much worse soon. I do hope you have good accounts of Dick[72],
you must feel terribly anxious about him with all this terrible fighting[73]
going on. It was very nice to have Wm. Spicer here, I almost envy
him going back. He says with high prices for grain it has put people
on their legs, so I hope you have got in some of those long outstanding
debts & do not have to take quite so much "Barter"[74]!
I hope you had some nice Easter services with all the sorrow & anxiety
of the world to-day, the knowledge of the fact of the Resurrection is the
only thing which can bring any joy into our lives, & perhaps all our
sorrow & anxiety into quiet confidence. I must now stop &
hope you & Mr. Mercer are both very well. I never had much opinion
of the Doc[75]: I have
less now, since I have heard!!
Remember me please to your John Smith's[76].
Yours ever
G.M. Joyce
Footnotes
[70] Details on this address are
still being researched, it is assumed it is in a rural area and associated
with some sort of Anglican Church.
[71]
Wm. Spicer was likely an Anglican missionary with the "English Church Missionaries
who came to Saskatchewan prior to 1913 to minister in the Theodore-Sheho
district. Rev. G.M. Joyce was another minister with the Anglican
Church in Saskatchewan. William Mercer was involved with the organization
of the first Anglican Church in Theodore on or about 1909. Rev. Joyce
attempts to join the British Army in 1918 but is refused permission by
his Anglican bishop.
[72]
"Dick" is Pte. Richard Mercer.
[73]
This is the Battle of Arras and the major Canadian offensive at Vimy Ridge.
Casualties would have been high during this offensive. Pte. Richard
Mercer was held in reserve at Camiers, France while training with the Machine
Gun Corps. Had the battle gone badly, he would have been moved forward
as a replacement for heavier than expected casualties.
[74]
This comment provides some insight into the financial state of the millinery
store Georgina Mercer operated in Theodore. This store occupied the
site currently in use by the Theodore Town Office and library. Theodore
is a small village and the demand for fancier clothes may have been limited.
At this time it is not known what level of investment income William Mercer
received while in Canada.
[75]
"Doc" is possibly Dr. Eakins from Theodore. Georgina Mercer was known
to have suffered from eye problems and diabetes in the early 1920's based
on other letters not included in this work.. At this time we are
not sure what medical incident this comment is referring to.
There is also a photograph of Georgina Mercer with her husband and son;
in this photograph she is wearing some loose-fitting, unfashionable shoes.
There could be a further indication of foot and circulation problems that
is common with diabetes. More research is required on this item.
[76]
John Smith came to Theodore from Warwichshire, England in 1906, married
Rose Marie Lestrange (Leicester) in 1908 and operated a general goods store
. He appears to have had a significant influence on the business
affairs in the Theodore. This could have extended to the Anglican
Church.
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