Letter 5

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 5
Recipient	G. B. Smith
Date	12 August 1916
Subject(s)	T.C.B.S. World War I

Letter 5 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

This letter was sent to Geoffrey Bache Smith on August 12, 1916. Smith had sent Tolkien a letter from fellow Barrovian Christopher Wiseman. After the death of Robert Gilson, Wiseman wondered whether the T.C.B.S. still had any purpose. Tolkien thinks so, and goes on to tell Smith about his ideas of friendship. He remarks of the War: "[it] is for all the evil of our own side with large view good against evil".