A Creative and Very Effective Use of the Blogging Medium

William Henry Bonser (“Harry”) Lamin was a British enlisted man who served in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. His grandson, Bill Lamin, an information technology teacher in England, found his grandfather’s letters home while a boy, and has decided to present them in a blog format. The letters are run, verbatim, on Bill’s blog on the 70th anniversary of the date on which they were written. The first letter appeared in 2005, and 57 of them ran in 2006. Bill refuses to give any clue’s to Harry’s fate, and his readers wait to find out what will happen to Harry in real time. The letters contain a fair amount of mundane discussion of family matters, such as how much Harry misses his boys, but they also provide some tantalizing glimpses at the horror of the life in the trenches during The War to End All Wars.

Bill’s blog has recently gotten a tremendous amount of attention in the media, both here and in England, which it richly deserves.

I think it’s an absolutely brilliant use of the blogging format and is a very welcome addition to the body of knowledge. I like the idea well enough to consider doing the same thing if I can locate the right set of letters or a soldier’s diary with which to do it.

Anyway, kudos to Bill for a magnificent idea. Harry’s saga can be found here.