Stories that remember

Private Joseph Withrow Wynn

Born in Toronto, Ontario, on October 10, 1894, Joseph Withrow Wynn enlisted at Valcartier, Quebec on September 17, 1914 — one of the first Canadians to answer the call.
He served in the 5th Battalion (Western Cavalry), survived Ypres, and was wounded by gas at the Somme.
After recovering, he re-enlisted on November 2, 1916, returning overseas to finish what he began.

While in the trenches, Joseph wrote the poem “Sing Me to Sleep,” a haunting reflection of life between hope and fear.
Through his words, we hear the heartbeat of a generation that learned to dream through darkness.

Sing me to sleep where bullets fall,
Let me forget the world and all.
Damp is my dugout, cold are my feet,
Nothing but bully and biscuits to eat...

Joseph’s brother Lorenzo Wynn joined a year later, in 1915.
He was killed in action on June 27, 1916, at Ypres.
His name is engraved on the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.

Sing Me To Sleep
by Private Joseph Withrow Wynn (5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry)

Sing me to sleep where bullets fall,
Let me forget the world and all.
Damp is my dugout and cold are my feet,
Nothing but Bully and biscuits to eat.

Sing me to sleep where bombs explode,
And shrapnel bullets are a la mode.
Over the sandbags helmets you'll find,
Corpses in front and corpses behind.

Far, far from Ypres I long to be,
Where German snipers can't pot at me.
Think of my crouching where the worms creep,
Waiting for someone to sing me to sleep.

Sing me to sleep in some old shed,
A dozen ratholes around my head.
Stretched out upon my waterproof,
Dodging the raindrops through the roof.

Sing me to sleep where campfires blaze,
Full of French bread and café au laits.
Dreaming of home and nights of rest,
Somebody’s overseas on my chest.

Every story begins with a photograph — a fragile image, a name on paper, a faded letter.
At hilove.one, together, we bring those fragments to life through digital artistry, historical research, and voice.

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Every voice deserves to be heard again.
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