Today we celebrate Valentine’s Day, and so, today’s objects tell a story of love from the front lines.
Embroidered Silk postcards
Silk postcards were used to convey messages between a soldier and their loved ones during the Great War. These postcards, held in the Regimental Museum collection, show just a few of the popular designs that were available.
Flowers, birds, butterflies, and flags were all popular design motifs, which were carefully hand-embroidered by women living in towns near the front lines in France and Belgium.
This postcard was sent by Private William Allen (29103) to a loved one back home. The card features delicate forget-me-nots, a symbol of remembrance and a pansy, symbolic for love and compassion. He signs the postcard ‘From your loving sweetheart Bill’.
Here at the Museum of Mercian Regiment we have over 80 embroidered postcards all once belonging to Sherwood Foresters. Let’s take a look at a few of our soldiers and their messages home. . .
Private Arthur Mullinger (201190)
Arthur served with the 2/5th Battalion in France.
His postcard home to his son Leslie is embroidered with the message ‘God be with you until we meet again‘ and signed ‘From Dad in France‘.
The postcard to his wife features two embroidered yellow butterflies and a rose. The embroidered message reads ‘To my Dear Wife‘ and is signed ‘With love A J M.’
This postcard also features a front pocket. Pockets could be stitched into the design to conceal gifts for the recipient and often contained a small, pre-printed message card or embroidered silk handkerchief.
Sergeant George Turner (16862)
George enlisted 14.9.1914 and served with the 12th Battalion. His skills as a printer came in use whilst printing for the trench magazine ‘The Wiper Times’ in Yypres.
On this postcard to his girlfriend, George also included a dried rose tucked into the pocket.
As was often the case, the back of this postcard was left blank. To save money on postage, these postcards were usually sent with letters, which contained the sender’s message instead.
Lance Corporal Horace Garfield Walton (16619)
Horace was born in 1890 and enlisted 10.9.1914 with the 12th Battalion. He lived in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottingham and was a Hosiery by trade.
The first postcard features a flag with ‘Gloiret Aux Italiens’ embroidered. Horace writes ‘Getting on Alright. Love Horace’.
Horace’s second postcard features a scene of home, as well as intricately embroidered pansies, daisies, and a swallow.
Due to shortages in ink and paper during the war, a single postcard typically cost between 1 and 3 Francs, an entire day’s pay for most soldiers. The postcards were often sent with letters to prevent further costs and to avoid damage to the delicate silk.
Although a postcard would have been costly, it provided a vital way for a solider to reach out to their loved ones and therefore became a widely popular means of sending one’s love from the front lines.
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References:
MacNeill, Máire. (2024) Embroidered memories: The WWI silk postcard industry. Available at: https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/embroidered-memories-the-wwi-silk-postcard-industry/ (Accessed: 04 February 2025).
Imperial War Museum (2025) Embroidered Silk Postcards. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/embroidered-silk-postcards (Accessed: 04 February 2025).