Letters from John Dilnot (Jack) Sladden (1878-1966), eldest child of Julius and Eugénie Sladden

John Dilnot Sladden (1878-1966), known as Jack, was the eldest son of Julius and Eugénie Sladden.  He came to Badsey as a young baby in 1879 with his parents.  The Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service at The Hive in Worcester contains 68 of his letters written between 1884 and 1977.

There are 39 letters from the pre World War I period; these have not been transcribed but may be viewed at Worcester.  The first letter was written in 1884 when Jack was aged 5½ and staying with his Aunt Polly in Richmond.  From the handwriting, it seems that someone wrote this on his behalf.  Subsequent letters were written from Christ College, Brecon, where he was a pupil, and then from his accommodation in London once he had joined the Civil Service.  From 1910, the letters were written from 12 Charleville Circus, Sydenham, where he lived with his siblings Kathleen, George and Cyril.

There are 21 letters from the WW1 period, all of which have been transcribed; Jack spent the war living in London.

There are also eight letters written after the First World War; these have not been transcribed but may be viewed at Worcester (subject to access restrictions for the later letters).