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E'T_HE,CQLBO@'@MZ‘â€"E:_Tmirjdiyiflarch pimote _ _: _ n sacrs:fgtreie. tfi or"~ T ye qi c .. ie n s gcestéctcBit c fsef Et ceEssci‘l., & » ug|efsciecsscssntecccedtEifscs. |2 ob FsEisstcsfspifrisfs‘l..ssfs=<,lC oS iss ta5,e0,500â€"0pee59g08 silt a<lSestcscsei.csBi5stis.sc 2908 oo ELz_â€"fEsâ€"ssafii«<2 =~195T¢"s=9e5â€"5feNd o mt ;E*g‘imafi»mD:SSESESQC"ufiQENwEE = G s aâ€"m mA zrirk~enetltaccaerea~ Sfi _ rfipslls RLâ€"fcâ€"cole"‘sâ€"aln a ssepflsesfsbeNge _ tsegseseccsecEsll Uncle of Anne Wyminga leaves "sficfitidisfisheif.ffrIfEcE selse@sSelEEsrsEt=rB85Em5is@s poignant record behind By Bos Owen chronicle@belinet.ca _ It will one day become part of a book, a legacy of the family of Pieter and Anne Wyminga. Right now, it is a poignant and deeply C ironic bundle of letters sent by a young man of 18 years to his YoyE family in Canada during the tailâ€"end of World War 1. valel The fascinating account was found in Tom Martin‘s locker. He s mocks. had kept a copy of almost every letter he sent home. Tom was Anne ~â€"â€" yoane piestme s s c sc ; + Wyminga‘s uncle. When Anne‘s husband Picter Wyming expressed ~eew $ R s ®sid seess §9 ; ; ; 4 ; C & CoG es Q § interest in the historic accounts, they were passed on to the ts S rr . p M t 1 is s " afe & a v<m , . Bas & 2o s 0 Colborne couple. Glancing through the treasure, it appears all that = narremrye rp 7 o [al ££ 0 9 o c fi is missing are the cards and some letters sent to his Siblings, and s 1{1*' xX :4 Bs 13 58636 $5 the many photos taken over the year he was away from home. : 1e & 5, g s e & € f Pieter hopes to include the contents of the recovered letters in a ‘ f * * y Rifgsag: of book he is writing about the family history. f P . e e 2 5228 2 & The binder and an accompanying diary are kept in a safety 1 k s3 2 ;-Trfi;, K 32 ¢>= 9 deposit box, a priceless memory of the final year in the young c mombate! =* *A ai-_. %ff-' § $3 ¢ 3 8 man‘s life. py hi * _ | S a 89 o The story unfolds had sent to him, and worries over & “ Â¥ P hC O a 5 % g 5 Thomas Cranston Martin was â€" 41 Air force friend he hasn‘t 8. t [ & 3 EEE e 'ai born on August 18, 1899. He died a heard from in nearly a month. He ; i | 385 S s 5 week before his 19th birthday in a also downplays a crash landing 4B nds woa) | $ S Sging. > dogfight with five German he incurred days before, and oo NCenae s WA si,g8s 60 oL Fokker fighters over considers whether to go to Paris tA ._-?#‘, . eIl 1 5:9 2 o $ \\ or London on his first holiday. s\ se ya M O] Eaoct£s : m Houlthouster Wood. j s dn 2 d §¥ sSS se t 5 Ay Months before Tom enlisted Throughout his letters, there is E . . wl ( _i o likgraese & § his father was busy securing a the constant excitement and E "ca 9 Armact 4 Kpal E.l E > ;g sag W place for him in the Royal Flying GAgerness to get on with the ay sls â€" â€" * C ": f L 4e3 Eégg a o 2 é Corps. A May 28, 1917 letter by _ "Work" ahead. . T us |amfi |â€"â€"=_ i Ne | sPgE5€6 tfi x the father asks for an application, Each letter is headed with his =â€"=.â€" s eeras . O <igg i2 stating that Tom, "is very location, and is a veritable map of g f 2+ { : a ; Mllee §i §z ' anxious to get his application in training facilities in North ns ; i W# â€"_s= 5 g 48 so that as soon as he is of age AmMerica and Great Britain. e i in ammmmmmmmmmmmmen s oaces *> there will be no delay." His first is from nearby Long n O< * § M \y The ensuing letter reveals that _ Beach, then Deseronjco, followed [==) t e : Tom enlisted as a Second Flight bY Canadian camps 1}‘: MOh?fWi(» s s _ IS] Lieutenant on his 18th birthday. _ and Borden.bThein q eus. ‘; 9 x f 9e â€"_ _ i 3 His first typed message home . Texas to Ben rook, Talhaferro, % § t & is dated Aug. 26/17, eight days 404 Hicks; there‘s even a letter P f v s Smug: k i 5x p afrer ns joiné up. It conveys a Written in his berth on the S. S. hes P us .o s o ns 3> bright upbeat spirit and a sense _ Tunisian, as it arrives in Europe. ol Baea c v3 P c3 y of duty to family and country that His first letter to his dad on d i. 3 t contmact throughout his August 26, 1917, relatgs his dutlgs T h. â€" al 4s y correspondence to a copy of a â€" SerVing on the mess line, and his a 4 ;f s § 18 io ‘ letter to his mom, written in AdJustments ;0 btheh' coarse n het\:" 4 T tBa: + { . France on July 31, 1918. The final language use a y I]-Is non: Q h. 1i Fis l w# | letters written in the early days of COmmissioned officers. He notes | . ai 1 4 1" PA August, perhaps not yet filed with _ in Closing, "We do not pay for our E \ Lraagaiee: p â€"â€"â€"_ B Mhelolthers when hs died, are gone _ Uniforms straight off but it comes fa..d Ls; 4 ABeer +. E R 3 forever * out of our pay." e . E | =â€" .. * 4 34 e 320 In that final message, he On the same day, he writes to &# e <. e 2y l _ B ts l \ > promises to critique a Satu‘i‘day his mother, listing the issue he se :. Ti is _A 2 k Evening Post article his father â€" receives from the quartermaster. | 5o. 3e T 7â€" Ca . â€" e | Et 1 N . $ 043 05 ahiszs | osk e CR l4 > m z> $ ‘a& ~Hiy ue Ned ; cay F $ * .. Sm & k S > btRd $ e Ey l 3. .0 _ :# e i\ei l t=<<= 2o . â€" C pey e +/ y _ zxsl e Z j oA lf‘?'- ' + en i“‘,_“{ " C 1 ac~60 si JS C , s r_\ ; ‘\( , J: 3e £ Een immmmnmenmentnncaninntmmneninmntinn ce onrmemmnmeneomermeminstemsntiany & < } j