The past in the post – a special delivery from yesterday!

The Tenement House archive holds these letters along with many others. We preserve them with care, thanks to the generosity of the National Trust for Scotland’s members and donors. These letters offer a unique window into the changes that Agnes’s generation saw during their lifetime.

Letter of 5 December 1910
In 1905 Agnes attended the Athenaeum Commercial College in Buchanan Street and learned shorthand typing. Women were slowly starting to be accepted into the office work environment, and shorthand typing was considered a good option for well-educated ladies looking to pursue a career.
In 1909 her mother’s health began to decline and they decided to take in lodgers to make ends meet. Agnes earned 14 shillings a week, which is perhaps why she decided to draft an application letter to the Herald’s office looking for another job. Agnes states in her application that she could write shorthand at an impressive rate of 120 words per minute and operate the typewriter at 60 words per minute. I wonder how fast she would be with today’s keyboards?
By 1911, 125,000 women were employed in clerical jobs in Britain, and this number would rise substantially when war broke out a few years later. Agnes ended up working for the same employer from 1914 until 1960.
![The image shows shows William Wood’s field card. It is rather brown with age. The typed text reads: Nothing is to be written on this side except the date and signature of the sender. Sentences not required may be erased. If anything else is added the postcard will be destroyed. [Then there is a scored line] I am quite well. [The following lines all have a line drawn through them] I have been admitted into hospital. sick/wounded and am going on well. and hope to be discharged soon. I am being sent down to the base. I have received your letter dated / parcel / telegram [The following line is not scored out] Letter follows at first opportunity. [The following lines are erased] I have received no letter from you lately / for a long time. [The following lines are not scored out] Signature only: W Wood Date 9 4 14 Postage must be pre-paid on any letter or postcard addressed to the sender of this card.](https://ntswebstorage01.blob.core.windows.net/nts-web-assets-production/imager/general/152075/Tenement_House_letters_2_field_service_postcard_1220_c6333d3d3a9e8854c142c893fcac1264.jpg)
Postcard of 11 April 1915
William Wood was a former colleague of Agnes during her first job as a shorthand typist at the shipping company Miller and Richards. The company moved to London in 1914, just before the outbreak of the First World War, and so Agnes found a new job working for Prentice, Service & Henderson (another shipping company). By the time Agnes received this letter she would have been relieved to hear from him. We don’t know the exact nature of their relationship, but from the letters that she kept we can see that they were close.
During the First World War, soldiers used field service postcards to reassure family and friends they were still alive. These were a form of quick communication and did not have to go through the lengthy censorship process like other letters.
William enlisted in the London Scottish Regiment and was stationed in France. He was reported missing in action in July 1916 at the age of 24. He’s listed on the Thiepval memorial in France and remembered amongst those who died during the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
![The images shows four sheets of handwritten letter pages, arranged on top of each other. The first sheet reads: 17/10/40 41 Greenways, Beckenham, Kent [Shelter] Dear Miss Toward, We did think it very nice of you to write enquiring how we are. Well up to the moment we are still intact! but I can assure you we are going through it tonight all right, this being a lovely moonlight night. They are making good use of it. Just now a terrific droning has been going on and I suspect it must be one of their 4 engine planes. Before I go further, I must say we were very sorry to hear of your mother's death and we can quite understand how you must have missed her. These are dreadful times to live in and just what is there to look forward to. Hitler his crowd have upset the whole world. Doesn't it make you wonder why they are allowed to go on.](https://ntswebstorage01.blob.core.windows.net/nts-web-assets-production/imager/general/152086/Tenement_House_letters_2_Mrs_Collins_WWII_1220_c6333d3d3a9e8854c142c893fcac1264.jpg)
Letter of 17 October 1940
These letters from Agnes’s friends in London give an important insight into how the Second World War affected the everyday lives of British people.
Mr and Mrs Collins were former work colleagues of Agnes at Miller and Richards, and she continued corresponding with them throughout her life. They moved to Kent in 1914 and continued to work for the company.
In this letter her friends express sympathy for the loss of her mother, who passed away at the Tenement House on 25 May 1939. What makes the letter especially interesting is that it was written from an air raid shelter, and reflects on the hardships people endured during the war.
‘We had a piece of metal over 4oz in weight come through the glass of a window upstairs. We don’t know if it’s a bomb or shell splinter but these are the bits flying about that make it so dangerous to be out in.
‘We are thankful we have this shelter as it feels more safe than the house. It is in the garage and is built of 2,000 bricks and cement and has 6 inches concrete roof. We stay here all night. Ena and Dorothy have a mattress and they lie head to feet and John has another small mattress. I sit on a deck chair and snooze off and on. I haven’t had a night-dress on for about 8 weeks as I think it’s about that time since the all-the-night raids started.’

Letter of 11 January 1945
On 5 and 9 January 1945, the town of Beckenham in Kent was heavily bombarded by V1 bombs (‘doodlebugs’) and V2 rockets, killing 138 people. Mrs Collins tells Agnes in this letter that the recent bombing damaged their front door and blew out their windows, but that they were luckily not hit. Agnes would have understood her friend’s anxiety, as she would have remembered the Clydebank Blitz in Glasgow during March 1941. It killed over 500 people and injured over 500 more. Instructions for how to adequately black out and protect windows were distributed to civilians; Agnes’s copy is still kept in our archive.
Agnes was able to reunite with her friends once the war had ended. She visited Mr and Mrs Collins in Kent in December 1946 and even had a day out in London.
![The image shows a carbon copy of Agnes’s typed letter, a photo of Agnes out shopping and a copy of the Scotsman newspaper coronation issue. The first sheet of the letter reads: My dear Elsie, By this time, you will have given up all hope of hearing from me. I'm afraid I can only offer the same-old excuse. I was glad to have your letter about the weather, and your Summer bonnets etc. Funny, the word Bonnet sounds to us who think of it only as an elderly lady's headgear! I am more than pleased to know that you have got into such a pleasant office, and not too heavy work. What is the weather like now? Here we have had a fine weekend, and wonder of wonders, Tuesday [?] June was a fine day here, while as you no doubt know, it was raining at times in London. One up for Scotland. I wonder if you saw the coronation by tv. I heard on the wireless that the Jets were taking over the film, or whatever it is called, to Montreal. I saw it at a friend's house from shortly after 10am till 6pm. A wonderful sight, and now am hoping to see the coloured film here when the queues are shorter. Last Saturday 5 June, I posted to General Delivery copies of the Scotsman which I think are about the best, and I hope that you will get them safely and you will enjoy the pictures. I am much interested to hear of your purchases, and your fine modern kitchen. It is nice to get new things of one's own. I am toying with the idea of getting in Electric light, but feel that it is a good deal to do for a house that is not one's own. The price of steel is high now, and on a rough idea, it would cost probably about £25. I could I think get it done by an expert at night and Saturdays, but there are so many formalities to go through, and then I might not even be allowed to engage the Electrician, as the factors usually have their own Contractors, which would no doubt come to be more expensive. I am busy with B/Lading but not just at the moment so am taking a chance to make this an Aberdonian letter with the small type. Hope it won't injure your eyesight reading it. The Principal, S, is in the office today, and as the high heid yins are in conference at present, I am typing this with one eye on the door, so please excuse typing errors. This machine worries me with the half spacing. I prefer the old 1, 2, 3 and forget that one turn of this wee wheel is all wrong. It is a botheration having to switch from one machine to another. The back spacer on this Oliver is confused with the arrow at the left which operates the Tab, and if you forget you are not working the Remington and touch this arrow you whizz away to the end with a bang. However it is much lighter than the old one. I was very glad to hear that Miss Todd is so much better and with the bright Summer weather (which I hope is not too hot) I hope she will improve still more. Things here are just the same - some days we have a hired typist for the African work, Manifest etc, and would you believe it, one of your old favourite's Sculthropes machines. It is bone dry, no oil, and works like a Boiler Shop. Really it is most nerve racking, especially when stranges are hurrying, and not using the release on the ratchet wheel. Canada seems to be the magnet still. What do you think, the couple below us (the wireless policeman) who removed just about this time last year to one of the 'Luxury' Corporation houses, are going there. Indeed he has sailed and she follows with the two children next month. Reason, no promotion, and going to do Wireless work over there. Well, well. The people who came into the house, now all their hammering and painting is over, are very quiet, which is a great blessing, and my new neighbours next door are most kind and nice - a not just young couple with no family - at least they have never mentioned any and I don't think they can have any - I of course don't ask questions. She told me he is in the printing business. Next time you come to Glasgow you'll need a guide book. You know Fraser took over Duncans and Wood & Selby. I think it must be this because Dunn & Wilkie the fruit shop you know, were asked to buy, but cleared out instead, as have several other shops in that range. Bayne & Duckett must I think be leaving, or have left the ship just round the corner in New City Road, and Craig, Bakers, have also to go eventually. B & D have opened new shop on Duncans side just past Mackay's grain store. Annett Smith is now across Sauchiehall Street just near Patons shop, and Allan the boot shop is in Smiths shop now. Everybody seems to be getting put out. Pettigrew and Dalys are now Fraser as you will see from the supplement. I think that is the most of my news.](https://ntswebstorage01.blob.core.windows.net/nts-web-assets-production/imager/general/152085/Tenement_House_letters_2_letter_to_Canada_1220_c6333d3d3a9e8854c142c893fcac1264.jpg)
Letter of June 1953
This letter written by Agnes gives us a snapshot of her later life. Elsie was a former colleague who had emigrated to Montreal, Canada, and they kept their friendship over many years. As a shorthand typist, Agnes was very organised and she often kept carbon copies of the letters she sent. Today, this allows us to see both parts of the conversation.
This letter is filled with interesting things. Agnes tells her friend that she watched the Queen’s coronation at a friend’s house. The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey and was a key date in the history of television, as it was seen by more than 20 million people at the time.
During the 1950s the centre of Glasgow was going through a period of rapid change, with large department stores growing and changing the way Glaswegians shopped. Agnes tells Elsie about these changes and the loss of independent shops on the high street: ‘Next time you come to Glasgow, you’ll need a guidebook!’
In her letter, Agnes also wonders about whether or not to change to electric light, which she eventually decided upon 7 years later in 1960!

Letter of 28 June 1953
This last letter just shows how lucky we are at the Tenement House, as it is Elsie’s reply to the letter above! In this letter, Elsie thanks Agnes for the coronation newspaper supplements that she sent over to Canada.
‘yes I am afraid I burned some “midnight oil” over them when I had intended going to bed early that night!!!’
Elsie’s reply also highlights the fact that many Scots were emigrating to Canada, looking for better futures for their families:
‘So that other couple with family are all coming to Canada! There is certainly lots of opportunities over here for men if they are prepared to work really hard and I don’t blame young couples with families deciding to come across here when they have a position already in place.’
Between 1955–58, an enormous number of people emigrated from the UK to Canada, as a result of the post-war policies and the Canadian Immigration Act of 1952.
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