| Admin History | Edward M Wrench was the son of Thomas William Wrench (1805-1875) and Diana Maria Kirke (1810-1876). He served in the Crimea with his cousin and friend, John Henry Kirke, (1833-1892), the son of his mother's brother, William Kirke (1799-1843) who had married Ann White (1807-1874). The marriage of Edward M. Wrench and Annie Kirke (sister of John Henry Kirke) in 1861 further strengthened the link between the Wrench family and the Kirkes of East Markham, Nottinghamshire.
See the fonds entry for the Wrench Collections (Wr) for more details about the family. |
| Custodial History | This correspondence forms a sub-fonds of the Wrench family collection and came to the University Library from a member of the Kirke family in 1981. |
| Description | This small collection consists solely of correspondence, giving a fascinating insight into the life of a soldier during the Crimean War. There are two letters of 1854 from John Henry Kirke to his mother and sisters, written on board ship en route to the Crimea. These are complimented by a volume of typescript letters, and extracts of letters, from Kirke and Edward Mason Wrench compiled in 1956 by the latter's grandson, Edward Gillam Wrench. The letters are all from the Crimea to relatives in England, and range in date from December 1854 through to September 1855. |
| FindingAids | Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.
In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus: Typescript Catalogue, 1 p
At the National Register of Archives, The National Archives, Kew: Typescript Catalogue, 1 p
Online:
Catalogue available through the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue.
Access to the old typescript catalogue was also made available online during the national Access to Archives (A2A) project in 2000-2004. This catalogue is now available through Discovery, hosted by The National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk). The version on our own Manuscripts Online Catalogue will be more up to date. |