Letters from May Eugénie Sladden (1879-1959), second child of Julius and Eugénie Sladden

May Eugénie Sladden (1879-1959), was the second child and eldest daughter of Julius and Eugénie Sladden.  She was born at Seward House, Badsey, on 22^nd November 1879 and lived there for most of her life.  The Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service at The Hive in Worcester contains 117 of her letters written between 1887 and 1929; the Imperial War Museum contains three of her letters.

There are 100 letters from the pre World War I period; these have not been transcribed but may be viewed at Worcester.  Many of these are written to her sister, Kathleen, when Kathleen was away at school and May had returned home to Badsey.  For a period from 1900-1901, May was studying at École Normale d'Institutrices, Orléans; there are 11 letters written from France.

May was away from England for a year from October 1905 to October 1906, when she set off on a voyage to New Zealand with her aunt, Charlotte Hayward (Aunt Lottie) to visit their Sladden relatives.  There are 18 letters written from either on board ship or from New Zealand which are at The Hive.  In addition, there is a letter written in September 1906, which is in the possession of Dilnot Sladden’s great-granddaughter, Patsy Miller, which has been transcribed.

There are 18 letters from the WW1 period, all of which have been transcribed, with the exception of the three which are at the Imperial War Museum.

There are also two letters written after the First World War; these have not been transcribed but may be viewed at Worcester.