One of the lessons I used to teach on the war poets that had the most impact on teenagers centred around letters. Handwritten missives sent from the frontline from soldiers to their loved ones. Young men who were not much older than my pupils, who were on the one hand starring death in the face and on the other subject to days and days of boredom in appalling conditions. Their letters document the conditions of the war but also reflect a young man’s hopes and dreams, tell the story of their relationships and provide a window into how they wanted to be remembered. Their voices remain strong over a hundred years after they put pen to paper.

In a world where you can be anything, be a letter writer. Letters are special. The letters you write, address, stamp, and send around the world carry more than just information. There is hidden value in a hand written letter. A handwritten letter landing on the doormat still has the power to excite, thrill or comfort. Letter writing was in danger of becoming a lost art before the pandemic but sales of notepaper skyrocketed during that time and has continued since. It is the antithesis of communicating by text, WhatsApp or email, taking time, thought, care and bringing with it a whole heap of benefits for the writer not just the recipient.

The time it takes to craft a letter and the intention behind it brings with it a sense of accomplishment at having created something meaningful. Of course the practice of organising your thoughts on paper also furnishes you with a sense of clarity about events in your life and experiences you have gone through, which can often lead to new understandings and a different perspective. In addition the act of writing a letter to a loved one gives you the opportunity to make that person feel special. The words you choose leave a lasting impression and what people remember most is how you made them feel. I still recall the anticipation of receiving letters from friends when I was living and working away from home and the joy when they arrived as well as thinking about the joy that my own letters would bring when they were received. I pictured the recipient sitting down to read them and imagined how they would react to the words I wrote. It provided a moment of connection and happiness. And what about the first letters we ever wrote – thankyou letters to Aunt Flo for the Christmas colouring books and pencils? When we express gratitude, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, those feel good chemicals that are so important to our mental wellbeing. Aunt Flo would doubtless have appreciated the letter but it did just as much good for us.

Now that I work for Cruse Bereavement Support I see first hand the value there is to be had in writing letters. Some people treasure letters written by a loved one who has died; some terminally ill people write letters to loved ones to be opened on key occasions in the future; others write letters to loved ones who have died expressing their feelings as part of the grieving process. Writing letters has real value.

Recently I invested in some new notepaper to write letters to my children now they are away at university. Of course we use WhatsApp, Facetime, mobile or text but I so enjoy the hour I spend crafting a letter full of news from home for them to enjoy again and again at their leisure. An hour which both they and I know is entirely devoted to them, even though they are away from home, living their lives.