The Unusual Goodbye Letter of Lt. Hart Leech, CEF

The following letter was written on 13 Sept. 1916 by Canadian soldier Hart Leech from Winnipeg shortly before he died in battle. It was lost in his belongings when he died and wasn’t read by his mother until 12 years later in 1928. Leech served as a lieutenant in the  61st Battalion. Along with being recognized for his military skills, he was known for his baritone singing voice.  He was lost in action two days after this letter was written in the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Vimy Ridge Memorial

Dear Mother

Just a wee note. I am "going over the parapet", and the chances of a "sub" getting back alive are abut nix. If I do get back, why you can give me the horse laugh. If not this'll let you know that I kicked out with my boots on.

So, cheer up, old dear, and don't let the newspapers use you as material for a Saturday magazine feature. You know the kind: where the "sweet-faced, grey-haired, little mother, clutching the last letter from her boy to her breast, sobbed, “’He was such a fine lad,' as she furtively brushed the glistening tears from her eyes with a dish rag, etc. etc."

I’m going to tell you this in case my company commander forgets. Your son is a soldier, and a dog-gone good one, too, if he does say it himself as shouldn't. And if he gets pipped it'll be doing his blooming job. 

In a way it's darned funny. All the gang are writing post-mortem letters and kind of half ashamed of themselves for doing it. As one of our officers said: "If I mail it and come through the show, I'll be a joke. If I tear it up and get killed I'll be sorry I didn't send it." S'there y'are...

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Website