Edwin Robert Richmond Peck joined his battalion in France on 20th July 1916. Born on Boxing Day in 1892, educated at the local grammar school in Ipswich, he became a clerk at a brewery on the banks of the river Orwell before signing up for the Suffolk Regiment in 1915. Between 1915 he remains in England, becoming a temporary 2nd Lieutenant (a wartime rank) in January 1915.
During his period in France he wrote letters home to his mother. They provide a window on his experiences, albeit one that is written for his mother to read.
- Letter 1 In France, water is only used to wash in
19/09/1916 Acheux (Battle of the Somme) - Letter 2 Beneath me were the Everlasting Arms
30/09/1916 Forceville (Battle of the Somme) - Letter 3 The town with the badly strafed cathedral, and virgin nearly toppling over
23/10/1916 Albert (Battle of the Somme) - Letter 4 A pity I can't go to Buckingham Palace
05/11/1916 Albert (Battle of the Somme)