BORN in Farndon on April 19, 1897, Thomas Swann (left) was the eldest son of Thomas William Swann and Mary Pizer Humphrey.
He was 17 and working for brewer Warwick and Richardson in Newark when he enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters regiment soon after the outbreak of the war.
He was first posted to Ireland and later to the trenches in France, where he became an avid writer of letters to his parents back home.
His letters span almost the duration of the war, from words of reassurance to his parents to requests for parcels of bread and butter.
His last letter, dated September 23, 1918, begins: "My dear Mother and Father
"Just a few lines to let you know I have received the parcel alright. Thanks very much for the chocolate and butterscotch.
"All the lads were out of fags and we have been for some days and when they saw the parcel they thought it was cigs. We can't get them or anything else, when you have tonnes of money."
It ends: "Well you remember the first time I got wounded; I am now at the same place. I shall have to close now. Love to all from your ever loving son Tom. You can send me one or two cigs and many happy returns of the day for Frank. From Tom."
This, along with 100 or so other letters, were treasured possessions of Tom's mother and she kept them in a tin until she died in 1949. They were then passed on to her daughter Mag, and then to her children – the cousins of Frank Swann.
Mr Swann thought that the letters should be preserved for posterity and lodged them with the Sherwood Foresters' archives, in Bulwell.
