Woods, Harold Vynne (Lieutenant, b.1889 - d.1993)

Collection relating to the First World War service of 1101 Lieutenant Harold Vynne Woods. Woods initially joined the Ambulance Corps, 4th Field Ambulance, and later became an officer with the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion. The collection consists of 28 letters written by Harold to his brother Alan Edward Woods. There is one letter from Gallipoli in 1915; the remaining letters are from France, covering 1917 and 1918. The two brothers were on active service together until Alan was badly wounded in 1917 and returned to Australia. Harold served throughout the war with only one serious injury and without a visit home.

The letters, mostly in their original envelopes, are written in ink and pencil on a variety of paper sizes, always using both sides. The content generally includes camp life, illnesses, shelling, leave, billets and conditions. A substantial letter dated 19 April 1918, muses on girls, his family, what a home should be like, the war, recent deaths, interesting movements by train and sleeping in barns. The final letter is dated 25 September 1918. Harold ruminates on how he will take leave. He gives long descriptions of the front, Germans fleeing, capturing many prisoners and taking souvenirs. Lieutenant Harold Wood returned to Australia in October 1918.

The collection is housed in one wallet containing three folders: folder one contains letters from 1915 to 1917; folder two contains letters from 1918; and folder three contains a typed transcription.