Holgate, James Murgatroyd (Corporal, b.1894 - d.1966)

Collection relating to the First World War service of 185 Corporal James Murgatroyd 'Roy' Holgate, 30th Infantry Battalion, Egypt, England and France, 1915-1918. Collection consists of 63 items including 48 letters from Roy to his parents between 1915 and 1917, a small number of letters to Roy, newspaper clippings, programmes and notes from a speech given by Roy explaining his service. It also includes a one page summary of information gained from Allied soldiers who escaped German POW camps. A majority of the letters in the collection have been transcribed. The letters describe Roy's life in Egypt as well as exercises undertaken by soldiers in the Middle East. He also regularly writes of his brother Lionel 'Leo' Holgate, who was in Egypt with a different battalion. Upon his movement to France, Roy describes his experiences in the trenches on the Western Front, his time spent with Leo (who had also been transferred), as well as his time in hospital with injuries. He also details leave in France, and with family in the UK, and talks about his mental health and eventual return home.

This collection contains letters in French written to Roy by a family he met while in St-Valery-sur-Somme in 1917, Madame and Monsieur Prins and their daughters.

The family took photographs with and of Roy, which he then forwarded home to his mother. His letter asks her to reply to the family with gratitude. These photographs are now contained in Memorial collection AWM2016.380.3.