Letter, John to Barry and Stewart Jones, 8 May 1943
Description
- Jones, Barry; Jones, Stewart, Recipient
- Media Type
- Image
- Text
- Item Type
- Correspondence
- Description
- A single-page (front and back) handwritten letter from someone named John who is presumably an old schoolmate of either Barry or Stewart Jones in England. In his letter, John apologizes for having not written sooner, describes various schoolmates and mentions that he still has their books “and they are all safe with my own books.”
The letter was provided by E. Ann McRae. - Notes
- The Pate-Jones Collection consists of some photographs of the family members and a large group of letters. The majority of the letters are written by Margaret nee Wilson, and some by her husband Howard Jones, to their sons Barry and Stewart Jones, or to Mr. and Mrs. Pate. From 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, Barry and Stewart lived with Margaret’s second cousin Andrew Wilson Pate and his wife Mary Herron nee McClure at the Brantwood Farm. The original farm was founded by Andrew’s father James Pate, and was situated on the south side of Powerline Road and Gretzky Parkway, which at that time, was considered part of the County of Brant.
The correspondences cover from detail Margaret Jones’ dilemma in settling her boys with virtual strangers, her return trip to England to rejoin the war effort there, news of farm life in England, the concern that England might lose the war, and the anguish of both families when Andrew Pate died in 1944, leaving his teenage son to run Brantwood Farms. These letters are therefore a fascinating way to conceptualize how the war affected daily life in Canada locally, and in England.
In recent decades, the original Brantwood Farm that was situated on the south side of Powerline Road was sold by the Pate family for development. The farms are now located on the north side of Powerline Road, and consist of several farms belonging to several Pate families, mostly within the County of Brant, remaining a thriving local establishment to this day. - Inscriptions
- “Greenleaves”
[Lanodowne?] [Clre?]:
Codsall
Staffs:
8’5’43’
Dear Barry and Stewart,
Sorry not to have written to you before several times I have written, but not having your address, I was not able to post it. I am getting on nicely at school and a now in the third form. Suppose you know I am at [Brewood?] Grammar school, I have been there two years, and Don [Walls?] came, three terms ago, at the beginning of the school year.
We had a very pleasant visit to the farm, last summer and saw snaps of your there.
[Wayers?] left about eighteen months ago, and there is only Don, Keith, and Janet McMullen to play together.
We still have a film of one of my birthday partys and you are well in the foreground.
I still have your books and they are all safe with my own books.
(2)
Hope to hear from you soon and that it will not be long before you come home again.
Hope you are both well
John - Date of Original
- May 8, 1943
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Jones, Barry ; Jones, Stewart
- Local identifier
- 2017AM001.075
- Collection
- E. Ann McRae Personal Collection
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
-
-
Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.1334 Longitude: -80.26636 -
England, United Kingdom
Latitude: 52.63333 Longitude: -2.2
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Letter, John to Barry and Stewart Jones, 8 May 1943. E. Ann McRae Personal Collection, Item No. 2017AM001.075
- Terms of Use
- The information and images provided are for personal research only and are not to be used for commercial purposes. Use of this information should include the credit "provided by Ann McRae"
- Contact
- County of Brant Public LibraryEmail:digitalhistory@brant.ca
Website:
Agency street/mail address:County of Brant Public Library (Paris Branch)
12 William Street
Paris, ON
N3L 1K7 | @brantlibrary
