Giving the Germans hell: Fascinating documents that soldiers left behind
A TALK that looks at Co. Wexford’s Great War soldiers wills and letters that survived is due to take place in Gorey Library this month to mark the centenary of the ending of the war.
Historian Hugh McShane from Newry, author of ‘Write Soon: Letters from the Great War’, was asked to host the talk on Thursday, November 29, in the library as part of the public history research project website which gives details of the 866 people from county Wexford who died in World War I. The website has been developed based on work undertaken by Hazel Percival and Susan Kelly of Wexford County Council in conjunction with local historians.
Hugh said: ‘Among the wills and letters are those of some of the young men from Gorey who never returned, but left something of themselves for their families to treasure, as they contemplated the ending of the war and what it meant to them personally.
‘ The stories of these young men strip away the romanticised view of war and reveal their feelings and opinions as they attempt to make a last emotional connection with their loved ones in Ireland.’
Soldier Patrick Cullen from Hollyfort died at Abeele in Belgium on August 18, 1915. He wrote several letters back home to his sister Sarah, including one where he recalls his time in Germany: ‘We are giving the Germans hell too, they’re scut and we intend keeping them on the go until we catch the Kaiser. I had a terrible nar- row escape the other night. A trench mortar hopped off my chest and hit a sand bag and put the sand bag into smithereens and never hurted me. We do have very narrow escapes out here but it’s only sport.’
In one of the letters, Patrick states to Sarah: ‘as regards the will anything I have you may rest assured you will have it, if it’s a thing I am bowled over which I hope I’m not.’ In those days, if a soldier’s will were not recovered, a letter home in which he stated that he wished to leave his property and effects to the recipient was accepted as a legal will.
Private Joseph Daly, 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, based in Fermoy, county Cork, wrote on June 15, 1915, to his mother Bridget Daly from Irishtown, New Ross.
Private Daly wrote to his mother describing the moment before he left for France: ‘Dear Mother, We will let you know before we go, and the officer said when we go to France we will be alright there we hope. We have to go to the firing line. We trust in God nothing will happen to us.’
The young soldier, who died in Fermoy one month later after this letter, pleaded his mother to ‘Write soon. Write soon’.
Brothers Michael (18) and William Connors (23) from 50 William Street, Gorey both lost their lives, leaving their widowed mother Annie Connor their property.
The standard format of the soldiers’ will was ‘In the event of my death I leave the whole of my property and effects to...’ Of the nine wills featured in Hugh’s book, four were to the mother, one to the father, one to the wife, one to a sister and two to a brother. The majority of the recruits were agricultural labourers.
William died at Dardanelles on August 7, 1915, while his brother Michael died in France on September 19, 1916. In 1911, it is recorded that both Michael and William worked as Agricultural Labourers and lived with their widowed mother Annie, brothers Thomas, Henry, James and sister Rosanna.
The talk looks at Ireland’s involvement, the progress of the war and its ending and focuses on many of the young soldiers whose wills and letters survived.
Hugh will discuss in more detail the Wexford soldiers wills and letters in Gorey Library, on Thursday, November 29, at 7.30 p.m. Booking is essential – call the library on 053 9421481.
Hugh, a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast, and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, is a former vice principal and head of history and politics in Sacred Heart Grammar School in Co. Down.
An experienced and engaging speaker, Hugh has presented his illustrated lectures at venues throughout Ireland. Each of the lectures focuses on a particular aspects of Ireland from 1912 until 1922.