War-time logs were issued by the YMCA via the International Red Cross. Initially sent to American and Canadian Prisoners of War (POW) from 1943, British soldiers were soon also receiving them in their Red Cross parcels, along with an introductory note…
“Dear Friend,
After the Canadian and American edition of the War-time Log, here is a special issue for British prisoners of war. Though its format is somewhat different, its purpose is just the same as the others: to bring you greetings from friends and to facilitate your recording some of your experiences during these eventful years.
Not everyone will want to use this book as a diary. If you are a writer, here is space for a short story. If you are an artist, you may want to cover these pages with sketches of your camp, caricatures of its important personalities. If you are a poet, major or minor, confide your lyrics to these pages… Your own ingenuity may suggest to you many other ways of using this book, which comes to you with our greetings and good wishes.
Yours very Sincerely,
War Prisoners’ Aid of the YMCA.”
Soldiers took up the suggestion; the logs in our collection serve as diaries, compendiums of poetry, exercise books and sketchbooks.
The War Time Logs in our collection belong to Thomas Brand, Harry Spence, Richard Hall, Albert Wheeler and Adrian Barber. Here’s a flavour of their contents.
Read the transcript of Harry Spence’s ‘Grand Finale’ page here
We will be adding more information here about more of the men who these logs belonged to very soon.