What have you done lately Letters & Coin

I’m the letter penned by young William Frederick Boyce in his break shortly after coaling H.M. Ship “Kent” at Sierra Leone on March 20th 1918.

I’m the final keepsake his devastated dad John Henry and mournful mother Elizabeth Hamilton Boyce had to remember him by, as pneumonia stole his soul not four months after he joined the Royal Navy, six days shy of sixteen.

I’m the close companion of these two mighty medals, who commemorate the Royal Naval service so eagerly set out upon at the Cape Yard, Simon’s Town for J87743 Boy 2nd Class on 26th January 1918.

I’m the last link to the lonely legend “William F”, carved into the Robben Island Garrison Church memorial to former Island residents whose lives were robbed by WW1.

I’ve been held close to hurt hearts, felt the patter of quiet tears, and I let the legacy of that young brave boy live forever.

 

What have you done lately?