Across this website are the transcripts of many letters written by members of the Hooke family between 1912 and 1934. To simplify access to all these letters I have brought together links to these letters in one place here.
George Archer was one of the most prolific writers, writing regularly on Sundays to his son, Cyril, at war and later in India. Cyril wrote frequently from the Front during the war and then from India. Many of these letters have not survived but enough have to give a very full picture of Hooke family life.
Letters from George Archer Hooke to Cyril at War and in India (1916-1925)
NB These letters are split between 6 further webpages for different years - links at the bottom of the page.
We have some letters from Cyril's friends before he was called up in 1916
Letters from Cyril's friends on the Front (1914-1916)
Letters from Cyril to his family (1915-1922) are split as follows:
Letters from the Front 1915/16
Letters from the Front 1918 (Apr-Sep)
We also have some letters from Cyril's mother, Ellen, which open a small window into her character.
Letters from Ellen Hooke to Cyril (1916) (scroll down the page)
Letters from Ellen Hooke to Cyril (1920)
Letter from Ellen Hooke to Cyril on engagement (1923) (scroll down the page)
Amongst the most poignant of the letters are those from George and Cyril's sisters to Cyril in India during Ellen's illness and death in 1928. Equally so, are letters from his sisters to Cyril, once more in India, on his father's death in 1928.
Letters from George Archer Hooke to Cyril on his mother's illness and death (1928)
Letters from Hooke sisters to Cyril on the deaths of his mother and father (1928 / 1934) (scroll down the page)
Another particular set of letters are those are those from George to Trixie, one of his daughters when she was at Cambridge University.
First letter from George Archer Hooke to Trixie (1898)
More letters from George Archer Hooke to Trixie (1912 - 1914)
NB These letters are split between 5 further webpages for different years
Here is a beautifully written letter, dated 28th October 1925, from Cyril's father, George Archer Hooke, in reply to what must have been a heartfelt letter from Cyril after being posted to a new location in India. The 40th Howitzer Battery XXV Brigade which Cyril served with in Fyzbald was transferred to Jubbalpore in 1924 which may have coincided with Cyril's 6 months leave in the UK, but it is not clear from the records what change of location took place in 1925. Unfortunately, neither the original letter or the second page of this one have survived.
Cyril's father refers to his fiancee, Elaine, travelling out to India on the SS California. This ship was built in Glasgow in 1923 and destroyed by a Luftwaffe air attack in 1943, the ship being abandoned with the loss of 46 servicemen and crew and later sunk by Royal Navy torpedoes. Her usual route in peace time was plying the Atlantic between Glasgow and New York via Londonderry and Boston.
Major C G Hooke - Off to India