Letter to Henry Nicholas

This envelope contained a letter for Henry Nicholas, a new Zealander soldier fighting in France, written by his girlfriend, Ethel Martin. Shortly before Ethel wrote the letter, Henry had been awarded a Victoria Cross medal for bravery. The Victoria Cross is the highest military award possible and receiving one was a rare distinction. Of the 100 000 New Zealand soldiers who fought in the First World War, only 11 were awarded the Victoria Cross. Henry Nicholas died before reading Ethel's letter, just 19 days before the armistice. (an armistice is an agreement to stop fighting. The armistice that marked the end of the First World War was signed by England, France and Germany on the 11 November 1918)

The story of Ethel's letter is told through an interactive comic strip. This comic strip contrasts the different experiences of a woman left at home and a man at the front, each with their sorrows

Henry Nicholas VC

Key Questions:

• What can we observe?
• What do we already know?
• How might people view this envelope in different ways?

Possible questions for further investigation:

• What can you see on this envelope?
• Where was its intended destination?
• Why do you think it looks so tattered?
• At what stage of the war was it sent?
• How do you think Ethel Martin felt when the letter was returned to her?
• Why did she decide to keep the envelope and the letter inside it/
• Why was this letter in the Canterbury Museum? What is the VC collection?
• What do you think life was like for Ethel Martin, and other women in New Zealand, during the war?
• Henry Nicholas won a Victoria Cross for his bravery. In what ways were Ethel Martin and other New Zealand women brave during the war? How was this bravery recognized?