William Watts Howland’s Sons
Successful Thame builder William Watts Howland wrote these words in pencil on a sawn piece of floor board when working on a house conversion in Thame, in 1917.
At the time, four on his sons were fighting in World War One.
Three of his sons returned home safely from the war, but sadly his youngest son, Arthur Robert Howland (known as Bob), was killed on 20th September 1917, age 20.
When young Bob was born in Thame in 1897 the family had recently returned from a time spent in Woolongong, in Australia.
Bob had enlisted when he was 16, and, due to his age, became a bugler.
Can you imagine William writing these words?