About the story
The Tom and Gertie Letters Project began with a small box of letters in the attic of a home in Hamilton, Ontario. They were discovered by a young woman not long after she moved into the house in the 1990s, and she saw they were written during World War I by the young soldier Tom Penrose to his girlfriend Gertie Middleton, both of whom lived in the village of Whitechurch in Huron County, Ontario.
After years of searching, the young woman discovered some of Tom's relatives were living near her in Ontario. I am one of those relatives, Donna Penrose, a granddaughter of Tom and Gertie.
I was smitten by the stories the letters told, and was frequently asked the question, "What are you going to do with the letters - are you going to write a book?" to which I would always reply, "I don't know". I'm not a writer. I come to this project from a career in science ⎯ with an interest in history, but my daughter, an actor and theatre-maker, suggested we try doing a staged reading using some of the letters.
Last year a selection of letters and diary entries were read by professional actors in our home in Stratford for a small audience. I had no idea how deeply others would be affected by hearing them. After the show, actor Rylan Wilkie wrote, “It was such a pleasure to hear those words read out loud. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. Such a powerful thing to put those words out into the air”.
The letters span the time between Tom's enlistment in 1916 and his return home in 1919. His partner Gertie was a faithful correspondent but sadly none of Gertie's letters have survived.
The Tom and Gertie Letters Project reveals the stories of their lives, and of their burgeoning love during the war. This piece raises questions about how we remember war, why we make assumptions about history, and whether the teenage experience ever really changes. Rob Donelson, a member of the audience at last year's reading, commented, “Such stories reflect the reality of war in hundreds of towns and communities across Canada. It is a side of the war we haven't often heard and for this reason is of great value.” — Donna Penrose
After years of searching, the young woman discovered some of Tom's relatives were living near her in Ontario. I am one of those relatives, Donna Penrose, a granddaughter of Tom and Gertie.
I was smitten by the stories the letters told, and was frequently asked the question, "What are you going to do with the letters - are you going to write a book?" to which I would always reply, "I don't know". I'm not a writer. I come to this project from a career in science ⎯ with an interest in history, but my daughter, an actor and theatre-maker, suggested we try doing a staged reading using some of the letters.
Last year a selection of letters and diary entries were read by professional actors in our home in Stratford for a small audience. I had no idea how deeply others would be affected by hearing them. After the show, actor Rylan Wilkie wrote, “It was such a pleasure to hear those words read out loud. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. Such a powerful thing to put those words out into the air”.
The letters span the time between Tom's enlistment in 1916 and his return home in 1919. His partner Gertie was a faithful correspondent but sadly none of Gertie's letters have survived.
The Tom and Gertie Letters Project reveals the stories of their lives, and of their burgeoning love during the war. This piece raises questions about how we remember war, why we make assumptions about history, and whether the teenage experience ever really changes. Rob Donelson, a member of the audience at last year's reading, commented, “Such stories reflect the reality of war in hundreds of towns and communities across Canada. It is a side of the war we haven't often heard and for this reason is of great value.” — Donna Penrose
