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Introduction
The Kipling–Balestier–Dunham Letters consist of about 150 microfilm letters, principally from Rudyard Kipling’s wife, Caroline (‘Carrie’), to her mother, Anna Smith Balestier (1838–1919). They record the personal life of the Kiplings, including the military career and early death of John Kipling (1897–1915), their only son, killed in action in 1915. Included are typed copies of two letters from comrades, John F Bird and Frank Witt, who had served with John, describing the events connected with his death. The second reel of film contains chiefly letters and some verses of Rudyard Kipling addressed to his mother-in-law, his sister-in-law Josephine Balestier (1890–1939), and her husband Theodore Dunham (1862–1951). The reels of film were presented in 1997 by Wolcott Balestier Dunham Jr, whose grandmother, Josephine Balestier, was Carrie Kipling’s sister