Ruth Adele Williams papers

The Ruth Adele Williams Papers consist of correspondence, a memoir, and memorabilia sent to her as a "pen pal" by three Belgian soldiers during World War I.

Ruth Adele Williams attended the Randolph School for Girls in Berkeley, California, where French was a required subject from grade two through grade twelve. During World War I, the local Belgian relief organization perhaps asked if the girls would correspond with Belgian soldiers. After graduation from the school in May 1918, Williams entered the University of California at Berkeley in September and started corresponding with three Belgian soldiers, Gustave Bleikertz, Georges Carlier, and Antoine Mahaut, continuing until 1920.Gustave Bleikertz was from Antwerp. He wrote in English and sent letters and postcards including one from the Belgian Congo in 1920. In one letter he included a photo of himself. He was gassed during the war and lost his sight for six weeks. Georges Carlier also wrote in English and described a visit to Verdun. Occasionally he used stationery which had colored prints of soldiers' everyday activites. Georges was studying in preparation for an exam in order to enter a mining and electronics school in Liège. He knew Antoine Mahaut and explained that Antoine had learned to write during the war which explained the faulty syntax and spelling. Antoine, born in Arlon but living in Charleroi at the start of the war, wrote the greatest number of letters, forty or more, sent many postcards, and after the war, sent his handwritten memoirs of the war to Williams dedicated, "For My very Dear Little American Sister, Antoine Mahaut, 10er Ft de ligne, 12er Comp. de Mitrailleur, 3rd Batallion, Arlon, Belgique, Your Little Brother of Belgium who forgets you not - A. Mahaut." Williams was able to correspond in French and translated his memoirs, but not the letters. During the course of the correspondence, in 1919, Williams entered the rigorous nurse's training at U.C. and one of the soldiers wondered if she was ill as she often mentioned how tired she was in her letters. Also the French word she used for "nurse" caused some confusion as the soldiers understood her to mean that she was nursing an infant and they were surprised to learn that she was a "mama." Ultimately the situation was cleared up and one of the soldiers wrote to her the French word to use that meant she was training in the medical field.