Correspondence
Captain Home Peel, the Adjutant of the 1st/8th Post Office Rifles was killed in action on 24 March 1918. The Royal Mail archive in London contains some letters and other documents relating to his wartime service. These paint a picture of a typical officer educated at Charterhouse and employed by the India Office prior to World War I.
The most astonishing item is a letter written on German military stationery, the purpose of which was to comfort Mrs. Peel. This humanitarian gesture was made by E.F. Gayler, who describes himself in the letter as 'late of 45 Stainton Road, Entcliffe, Sheffield'. In this letter, he writes: "Although enemy and sometime deeply hurt by the ridiculous tone of your home press, I feel it a human duty to communicate these sad news. Capt. Peel was killed in action near Longueval and died, as it seems by the wounds received, without suffering."
Read more about this topic: Post Office Rifles