Book review – Dead letters

Author Jared Davidson is a Wellington archivist and historian, his special interest is in exploring people and events which are often overlooked by traditional histories. His book ‘Dead letters’ tells of a secret government censorship department and the thousands of letters written  during and after WW1 which had been confiscated, never to reach their destination. 

At the outbreak of WW1 the British government requested the department be set up and sent out a semi retired colonel to oversee it. Letters posted to or from known anti war activists were taken out and steamed open for the contents to be checked by a team of readers. Any which could be  deemed subversive or had information which may be of interest were passed up to the colonel for actioning. 

Along with the known activists letters ones addressed to ‘foreign’ countries,  ones with non English surnames and mail to and from Ireland were also opened. Innocent letters were re-sealed and sent on their way. Others were stored away and these many years later are providing interesting material for researchers such as Jared. 

Dead letters provided an idea of the patriotic fervour whipped up by the first world war and draconian laws enacted by the government. As a result  hundreds of totally innocent people were sent without trial to dreadful conditions on places such as Somes Island for the duration of the war simply because of their ‘foreign’ background or beliefs. Consciencous objectors were rounded up and jailed in camps on the central plateau. 

Dead letters weaves together the personal and political in a sometimes dramatic story. However with each chapter dealing with a particular letter or group of letters sometimes results in a less than  smooth read- a small quibble. 

It is alarming to see how a government in a democracy controlled the right to privacy and freedom of expression by secretly setting up such a large surveillance operation. While this was done as wartime censorship it continued to operate through until 1920 under Prime Minister Alan who found that it provided helpful information on hi political opponents.

The book left me wondering if similar surveillance was carried out in WW2 – and what undercover surveillance currently operates?

Mike Beckett