Diaries And Letters In The Works Of Dudley Marchant

The use of diaries and letters are not unproblematic. Diaries, whilst often thought an ‘accurate’ or truthful account written solely for the purpose of documenting personal ideas, are often unintentionally written with a specific reader in mind, or written under the assumption that one day the diaries’ entries will be read. Similarly, and perhaps more starkly, letters are composed for an intended and very specific audience. Letters written home from the front to fathers and peers differed in tone and content significantly to those addressed to mothers and sweethearts. Letters were censored, either personally by the soldier’s themselves, or officially by the military. These processes of self and official censorship could skew the meanings and intentions of the author, perhaps exaggerating certain aspects of trench life and omitting other aspects altogether.
What can be garnered, and will prove useful for my research, is the manner in which letters describe events in ways that the writer’s contemporaries would understand.
The letters of Dudley Marchant, a driver with the Royal Horse Artillery, to his mother, sister and brother all differ greatly in tone and content. Yet, what is highlighted in his letters is his description and understanding of health, as he states to all his correspondents that he is healthy, or ‘in the pink’. This gives us insight into contextual knowledge and the subsequent development of ideas and actions taken towards contaminated uniforms during the war. The work of historians Sean Brawley, Chris Dixon, and Beatrice Trefalt provides useful analysis and insight into both the usefulness and limitations of these
sources.