SPIRIT OF THE BRAVE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4559, 13 April 1942, Page 6

SPIRIT OF THE BRAVE

YOUNG SEAMAN’S LETTER Here is a letter wjitten by a tweny-year-old seaman to his parents in Canada upon learning that his brother had tfjen lost at sea:— “Db not grieve too much. The Navy has given to Tom more than it could ever take away. He has gone through the many big things in life in a very short period. He has been up against really big emotions, he has played his part in doing big things, he has learned about men and character where one has the best opportunity to do so. Not the least is that the loves of his home, his parents, sisters, and brother have been realised both by him and by us as very powerful things indeed. Nor is it a small thing that, as I am finding out, in this life where one is so much by himself among so many, he looks a little more at himself, and if he has any stuff in him at all he has the opportunity to properly point his compass. We all know there was plenty of stuff in Tom. You should be happy and proud to have sent one son to the front line. I know this is so, and for this reason none of us is really heart-broken." The above letter appears in the chapter entitled “ Letters Back Home ” in “ Canada Comes to England,” by Bordon Beckles.