Battle of Vimy Ridge Letters and Primary Sources

Battle of Vimy Ridge – Letters and Primary Sources

Personal letters give us a unique window into the past. They let us peer beneath the surface of another person’s life and see history from a new perspective. Letters from soldiers who fought at the Battle of Vimy Ridge can provide us with a deeper understanding of the details of war while also revealing their personal perspectives. The language of a letter can provide insight into the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and values of the writer. However we must remember that the letter’s recipient is always in the mind of the writer. In this way, a letter becomes part of a conversation between the writer and recipient.

The first-hand observations of soldiers are crucial to understanding the Canadian experience of Vimy. From this we can piece together a wider picture of the past.

Guiding Question: What can Francis Bathe’s letter reveal about the Battle of Vimy Ridge?

Step 1: The 5Ws

The first stage of analysis is asking questions of the primary source.

WHO wrote the letter?

WHEN was the letter written?

WHERE was the letter written?

WHAT is communicated in the letter?

WHY was the letter written?

Step 2: Context

Contextualizing a primary source involves trying to place the source in space and time. Examining the context of a source helps us situate one piece of evidence into the wider picture of history. To analyze Francis Bathe’s letter as a piece of evidence from the past, it is important to conduct additional research about what else was happening around the time the

letter was written.

More than 3,000 Canadian nurses served during the First World War. They cared for the wounded at the front, on the ambulance train journey to the coast of France, and on the hospital ships that brought the wounded to England. Yet the stories of these nurses are often

unknown.

Francis Bathe would have been cared for by nurses on the front and on the journey to England. Read Nursing Sisters and Canadian Medical Corps Nursing Sistersin the Canadian Encyclopedia to learn about the experiences of nurses during the war.

Step 3: Exploring

Investigating the details of a letter can reveal important clues about the time and place it was written. Soldiers often used trench slang and metaphors to describe their experiences. To explore the details of the letter and interpret its full meaning, you need to decode the language in its historical context. Exploring primary sources often leads to more questions, as a single primary source may not answer all of the questions we ask of it.

Use the vocabulary chart to “decode” some of the slang terms in the letter.

VV

g notes on

your research. Francis Bathe would have

been cared for by nurses on the front and

England.

Step 4: Reaching Conclusions

As you gather information about a primary source, start to develop an interpretation based on what you can infer from your observations. Consider the following questions when arriving at your conclusions:

• What can this source reveal about the Battle of Vimy Ridge?
• What does this letter tell us about what it was like to be a soldier at the Battle of Vimy Ridge?

Step 5: Finding Proof

Before a final conclusion can be drawn about the experience of soldiers at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, you need to corroborate (evidence that confirms a conclusion)your inferences about Francis Bathe’s letter by comparing your conclusions with other primary and secondary sources.

Compare Bathe’s letter to the information on the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Source: Think Like a Historian