The Letters of 9011 Pte Norman Rowland Mills
17th Battalion, 2nd City Pals
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The following information has been compiled following the discovery of a group of letters in a junk shop in Pickering that were written by 9011 Pte Norman Rowland Mills between December 1915 and April 1916. They have been transcribed below together with a link to copies of the original letters. The transcripts are included within a description of the events of the time that provides context to the letters.
[Note the 'context' text that accompanies the transcripts has been taken from https://17thmanchesters.wordpress.com/early-days-in-france/maricourt-defences-somme/ courtesy of Tim Bell. The main sources of the quotes are from the memoir notes of 8055 Pte Allan Arthur Bell, written for a BBC interview with Martin Middlebrook in 1976 https:www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80013380 ]
Norman was born on 29 August 1891, the son of Ernest and Sarah and lived in Moss Side, Manchester. He enlisted into the Manchester Regiment, 17th Battalion (2nd City Pals), 15th Platoon, D Company and went overseas to France in November 1915.
The four letters to his mother and brother were written whist billeted in France with the BEF and provide fascinating detail of life on the front. He details how members of his platoon adapted a stable to live in, how they were issued with personal protection from gas and the cold, life on the front line and some of the entertainment when they were away from the front line.
Norman and his company were in action on the first day of the Somme (Montauban) where it is believed that Norman was wounded. On his return he joined the 14th Kings Liverpool (56355) and later the 18th Kings Liverpool. He was later discharged from the army and moved to Cheadle Hulme where he ran a newsagent and tobacconist business. Norman died on 27 July 1963.
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