Private Leo Kelly survived the battle and wrote a letter to his family about his experiences. Thank you to the Reid family in Brampton, Ontario for sharing their grandfather's letter.
Vimy Letter
Stuart Larner wrote this in honour of his grandfather who fell at Vimy. It was inspired by the practice of sending the bullets back from the front at the battle of the Somme. His grandfather was one of the fallen there.
Vimy - A poem by Stuart Larner
Grandfather’s bullet
Inside the small gift box
A twisted nail of lead,
A claw shed from Vimy Ridge.
The field surgeon’s letter hoped
That to extract and send it home
Might undo Time and
Close things whole again.
Gran kept this final link.
His body, laid in honoured line,
Now part of the earth they’d won.
The bullet, laid on cotton wool,
A dormant seed.
