A Letter from Emily Dunbar to Arthur, Her Husband and Father of Their Two Small Children

A letter from Emily Dunbar to Arthur, her husband and father of their two small children, a PTE signed up to the Infantry, as he arrives in port Egypt.28th September 1915

Your train has gone, your brave face at the window is lost to me, and almost I can feel the grinding of the wheels over my body. Oh, Arthur, what have we done to bring this day abut? Why did I think it was right for you to leave me? Othe5rs are at home, serene and happy, what comes to us that we tried to be different to them. Oh Arthur, how can I ever bear it; it is as if you had died to me today, dear, died to me our home; you are gone, gone right from my life, and what am I to do with the rest of it…..

All the things I clung to, all the things I though would help are all pitiful falsities today……… Nothing is any use. My heart does not ache, only my body seems broken; my life has stopped. We never knew it would be like this. I thought I could bear it, and that I was steadfast, and could hold on to the things around me, but I can’t, Arthur. I must try and see you again, I must, one more look, one more touch of the hand, for I may never have another I will try to go to you tomorrow, there would be a chance to see you somewhere for a minute on your way to the boat, even though I stand in the street hour after hour.

Why did we ever think I should stay here, when I might have been with you in the train? Our three days were so short, and the joy was so mixed with agony. To have put into three days what may have to last all the rest of our lives.

Emily