Edward Walford Manifold was born on 28th April 1892 and grew up in the Western District of Victoria. Together with his older brother William Herbert (Bee), he travelled to England to join the Royal Field Artillery when World War I broke out. Day by day, this blog publishes his letters home and the entries he made in his diaries, from 1915 when he was first sent to France until 1918 when his service ends.
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It's a tricky one - nice to have a record in someone's actual handwriting, but then nice to be able to put it into the electronic domain where it can be seen by far more people than if it remained simply a handwritten document. It will be sad to have no handwritten document as a source though, if blog diaries are being written now instead. That physical contact across time would be sad to lose. But then, who knows, perhaps paper diaries are still being written - I don't suppose computer access is all that reliable on the front line in Afghanistan just yet.
I am not so sure about that. As soon as a soldier is wounded, he phones his mum (sorry, mom) from the stretcher. My guess is that it is not much from that to a U3 dongle and wireless internet.
What a treasure! And yet, so ordinary looking. Isn't the computer age a boon, that you are able to share it with the world in this way.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a leather upholstered chair on which to photograph it ...
It's a tricky one - nice to have a record in someone's actual handwriting, but then nice to be able to put it into the electronic domain where it can be seen by far more people than if it remained simply a handwritten document. It will be sad to have no handwritten document as a source though, if blog diaries are being written now instead. That physical contact across time would be sad to lose. But then, who knows, perhaps paper diaries are still being written - I don't suppose computer access is all that reliable on the front line in Afghanistan just yet.
ReplyDeleteI am not so sure about that. As soon as a soldier is wounded, he phones his mum (sorry, mom) from the stretcher. My guess is that it is not much from that to a U3 dongle and wireless internet.
ReplyDelete