Back home
Raymond James Barnes (Jim) from Battleford, Saskatewan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. A reluctant hero, who served as an navigator, was also a bit of a whiz with the pen, and wrote letters back home often.
It was the thought of ‘back home’ that kept many a solider going.
Handwritten letters remind us how real war was
We catch a glimpse, albeit fleeting, through Jim’s correspondence of what life at war was like. The horrors, the mundane, the reality of being at war, and the hope for peace; all of it conveyed in handwritten letters from an airman serving his country.
A correspondence of hope
Thanks to author Elinor Florence the war comes alive through these her photos and letters. It was Elinor’s aunt, Margaret Enid (Peggy) Light that Jim wrote to. Peggy too was from Battleford, but was away in Edmonton, training to be a nurse at the Royal Alexandria Hospital.
She was faithful in responding to his letters and the two exchanged mail for two years.
Missing in Action
Then the unthinkable happened. Peggy’s last letter was returned to her with the dreaded words “Missing in Action” date stamped on the envelope. Jim was not coming home.
With sacrifice comes freedom
There is much more to the story of Jim and Peggy. Be sure to read what happened next as written by Elinor Florence.
And for another war time story, you may be interested in the story told in A Bird’s Eye View, also by Elinor Florence. This is a story about a young woman who joins the air force during the Second World War and becomes an aerial photographic interpreter.
While today, November 11th, is a most important day set aside to remember, may we not forget on every other day, how much was sacrificed and given for our freedom.
Here are some ideas on how to thank a current military hero and veterans alike.