Although today they have fallen out of fashion, letters were once one of the easiest, quickest and most popular methods of communication. They were also used to inform, educate and inspire – and occasionally to cause mischief! From spoofs to student life, royals to rationing, the small display case in the basement of the David Wilson Library is currently showcasing some of the thousands of letters held by Archives and Special Collections.
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Due to copyright restrictions, many of the letters cannot be displayed online. Please visit Special Collections if you wish to view any of the items described here, or, if you are unable to visit us in person, please contact us to arrange a remote appointment via MS Teams. See further information on accessing our collections at https://le.ac.uk/library/special-collections/access.
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The Bejach Letters
Irene and Helga Maria Bejach came to Leicester at the outbreak of World War II, on one of the last Kindertransport ships. Eventually they emigrated to join family in America, but the process took many years, during which letters travelled back and forth across the Atlantic to and from their ‘Onkel Hans.’ These letters often accompanied food parcels, sent from relative American affluence to supplement British rationing. Hans Bejach was the girls’ uncle, brother to their father Curt, who died in Auschwitz. His letters are full of chit-chat regarding daily life in wartime America, intermingled with concern for Curt and the girls’ older sister Jutta, who had been left behind in Germany. The letters are mostly in German, but English translations have recently been completed and are available on request.
Bejach Collection, PR24/I and PR24/L
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The Sylvia Dowling Letters
The Sylvia Dowling letters date from the 1950s. Sylvia studied at Leicester for a BA in History, and wrote home to her mother several times a week. Her letters provide a vivid snapshot of student life, and campus events both mundane and extraordinary: one letter describes the 1958 visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the University.
Sylvia Dowling collection, ULA/D17/1
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The Joe Orton Collection: Edna Welthorpe spoof letters
Leicester playwright Joe Orton was one of the so-called ‘angry young men’ of the 1960s, but his more mischievous side is on display in these spoof letters, purportedly written by a Mrs Edna Welthorpe. Prim, conservative and full of moral outrage, she was everything he was not! The letters can be very funny, but Orton also sought to challenge contemporary social norms and provoke a response from the recipient. In 2017, to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton’s death, the University of Leicester launched Yours Faithfully, Edna Welthorpe (Mrs) in tribute. You can read more about this project, and the Edna Welthorpe letters, here: https://www.ednawelthorpe.le.ac.uk/
Joe Orton Collection, MS 237/7/3
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The Joe Orton Collection: Lord Chamberlain’s letters of censorship
At the time Orton was writing, all stage productions required a licence issued by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office before they could be staged. The Lord Chamberlain had the power to request revisions and amendments, or to deny a licence altogether. Orton’s writing – subversive, irreverent and designed to shock – inevitably fell foul of this censorship, and he was repeatedly asked to amend parts of his scripts found to be indecent, blasphemous or otherwise un-stageable. Censorship of British theatre ended in 1968, the year after Orton’s death.
Joe Orton Collection, MS 237/8/7
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The Sue Townsend Collection: fan letters
The Sue Townsend Collection is the archive of Leicester author Sue Townsend, best-selling author of the Adrian Mole books, and is one of our largest and most popular holdings. It includes thousands of letters from family, friends, agents and publishers, as well as occasional letters of complaint or criticism. The fan mail, however, is more numerous. Some of the most colourful and engaging letters in the collection were sent to Townsend after she visited a local Leicester primary school.
Sue Townsend Collection, ST/16/5/3
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