France: Patrick Hone

Captain Patrick Hone (1886-1976), served in the Royal Artillery and was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 for 'conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty'. He was the father of novelist Leland Bardwell.

In this letter to his wife, Mary, Hone describes the 'beastliness' of conditions in the trenches, which were damp, cold and overrun with vermin. In this letter he uses this banal phrase 'I haven't been feeling very fit lately' whereas it is clear from the remainder of the letters that he is depressed.