Just an amazing story about two WW2 soldiers who fell in love and whose letters were only recently discovered
This story about two soldiers who fell in love during WW2 went viral because it’s such an amazing tale.
Gilbert Bradley was on military training when he fell in love, exchanging hundreds of letters with someone who only signed their letters ‘G’.
G for Gordon, it was later discovered more than 70 years later. And this was at a time when homosexuality was not only illegal, you could be shot if you were in the armed forces and had gay sex.
1.
Wednesday January 24th 1939
My darling,
… I lie awake all night waiting for the postman in the early morning, and then when he does not bring anything from you I just exist, a mass of nerves…
All my love forever,
G.
2.
February 12 1940, Park Grange
My own darling boy,
There is nothing more than I desire in life but to have you with me constantly…
…I can see or I imagine I can see, what your mother and father’s reaction would be… the rest of the world have no conception of what our love is – they do not know that it is love…
3.
February 1st, 1941 K . C. Gloucester Regiment, Priors Road, Cheltenham
My darling boy,
For years I had it drummed into me that no love could last for life…
I want you darling seriously to delve into your own mind, and to look for once in to the future.
Imagine the time when the war is over and we are living together… would it not be better to live on from now on the memory of our life together when it was at its most golden pitch.
Your own G.
And one of the letters contained this line, according to the BBC News report.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time. Then all the world could see how in love we are.”
It was not until the Sexual Offences Act 1967 that consenting men aged 21 and over were legally allowed to have gay relationships – and being openly gay in the armed services was not allowed until 2000.
Two WW2 soldiers fell in love & wrote 100s of love letters, recently discovered.
From 1 letter, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time. Then all the world could see how in love we are." https://t.co/5eRT9WnJ8r
— Nathan (@NathanDunbar) June 7, 2018
I think about times like this a lot. They would have been arrested or killed. Yet because of equal rights pioneers across the decades, I can confidently walk down the street with my arm around my boyfriend.
Balk if you must, but this is why we celebrate #pride #pride2018
— Nathan (@NathanDunbar) June 7, 2018
Thank you for posting this – it's so lovely and also heartbreaking.
— Anna Maltese 🏹 (@MalteseAnna) June 7, 2018
OMG. Someone has to buy the rights for this.. what an amazing story. Unfortunately, the enlightened times are quite there yet. But we live in hope
— ⒾⓉ'Ⓢ 🅿🅷🅸🅻! ☮️💟 (@mypainfulli_f_e) June 8, 2018
And for those wondering if the story had a happy ending, here’s what the BBC story had to say.
‘At one point, Mr Bradley was sent to Scotland on a mission to defend the Forth Bridge. He met and fell in love with two other men. Rather surprisingly, he wrote and told Mr Bowsher all about his romances north of the border. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Mr Bowsher took it all in his stride, writing that he “understood why they fell in love with you. After all, so did I”.
Although the couple wrote throughout the war, the letters stopped in 1945.’
You can read the full story on the BBC website here.