Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Michael Cole, CMG
Lord Cole commanded A Squadron, the first North Irish Horse unit to see action in the war, embarking for France on 17 August 1914. On 10 May 1916 he was made commanding officer of the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment, comprisong A, D and E Squadrons. He returned to Ireland at the beginning of 1918.
The letters transcribed below, are held in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. They were written by Cole to his mother and father from late 1914 until 1916. Unfortunately most were not dated, so it has been necessary to attempt to reconstruct their chronology by reference to the events he describes. Sometimes this has not been easy, and a measure of guesswork has been necessary.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/23
November 1914 to April 1915
Wednesday
A. Squadron North Irish Horse
General Head Qrs
B.E.F.
Dear Mammie1
Please note my address. Your letter came to me forwarded by an unknown hand. I am glad you approve of a window at F[lorence] Court2 for poor Florence3. How about the south window where the servants sit?? Anyhow while you are arranging about the Whitegate one I wish you would do what you think best for F. Court. I have no idea what a window costs. But I know the boys4 are anxious that a suitable memorial of some kind should be put up. Dacon lodged the ₤200 allright for which many thanks. As regards the war loan your nest egg is quite safe there as you can always get it out again if you want to & probably at a profit. I hope you and K5 will find time to go to F. Court. Irene6 is having a busy time walking Father round the place. He becomes very restless after the 1st day. I had a letter from Knox saying Arthur had joined some Corps & that Charlie was managing a station. I suppose he is a boundary rider really. I am glad to see you are strong & well & walking miles. I hear Freda is at Le Touquet nursing. I may be able to go there for the day to see her. The nuts here do not believe in the idea of a desperate German attempt on Calais as it will take them all their time to maintain themselves in Russia. Bim7 says Hughie8 has had a very bad heart attack & is probably coming home.
Loving
John
I (…………?……………) the other day & thought it very good. I have never seen the play.
1. Charlotte Marion Cole (nee Baird)
2. Florence Court, County Fermanagh, was the estate of the Cole family.
3. Florence Anne Cole, John's sister, had died in Kenya on 17 May 1914 aged 36.
4. 'The boys' – Cole's brothers Galbraith Lowry Egerton and Reginald Berkeley, both settlers in Kenya.
5. Cole's sister Kathleen Mary.
6. Cole's wife Irene Frances (nee Mundy).
7. 'Bim' – Cole's pet name for his brother Galbraith.
8. Probably Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere. He had been married to Cole's sister Florence, who died in 1914. He was a leading settler in Kenya.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/21
November 1914 to April 1915
Sat[urday]
Dear Mammie
Many thanks for your list of books. It will keep me going for a long time. I am very glad Hughie is coming. Heysmer is let so he is going to P. Pool. What is bringing Charlie back? I wonder if he will succeed in getting a job here. I was amused at the photos of you saving the pictures in papers of females pretending to assist at the harvest are too ridiculous. In this country the women are real skilled workers. There are also a lot of men refugees so the farmers are doing pretty well. I expect you are right about the glass window though it sounds rather dull. Anyhow I shall be very glad if you will take it in hand. No war news here except that fresh troops continue to arrive every day. It is a real armageddon as it looks as if the whole of Europe & perhaps America will be involved before it is over. I wonder if the end of the world is coming too. Irene seems very happy at F. Court & sends me very good rapports [sic] of what is going on.
Loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/24
19 May 1915
Wednesday
Dear Father1
You will have seen by the papers that the French have done well on our right. Whereas we did very little good. It was the biggest show of the whole war.2 The French had ½ million men engaged & we 300,000. It was hoped that a really big thing might have been done but the swine were waiting for us & we could not get through their wire & machine guns. I do not believe we shall ever get them moving. If the war ever ends we shall still be here. We had about 10000 casualties. Another N. Irish Squadron has just come out with Highland Division.3 This makes 3 out here whereas the South have only one. Of all the shitinest etc etc. I saw Charlie Helmsley today. He has been carted as all his 3 squadrons have been taken for Divisional cavalry to 3 separate Divs so there is no job for him. He will probably have to come home at all events he is going to be sent to the base. He may get a job as Camp Commandant or some office job. He is in a great rage. Very good accounts from F. Court. I think I am lucky in my man. The bull is doing well, also the (..?..) horse. Talking about racing, do you know what the Clubs Sandown Epsom etc are doing about subscriptions from officers out here. I have paid about ₤60 to various clubs & want to get some of it back if poss. Are the Turf Club making any rebate?? So sad about poor old Leslie’s Son. He was the apple of his eye.
Your affec
John
1, Lowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen.
2. Battles of Aubers Ridge and Festubert, May 1915.
3. D Squadron, Arrived 1 May 1915.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/30
21 May 1915
21st
Dear Father
So they have stopped racing after all. I hope now that they will stop every thing else & compel every man to either join or work on some war material or other national work. I am afraid it will be a great bore for you. Shall you go to Nor(...?) again? I don’t think allowing racing at Newmarket will be of much use to the Racing community. What are you going to do in Ireland?? This infernal war will ruin everything. I don’t expect there will be any hunting this winter. I wonder if the Jockey Club will take the opportunity of doing away with two year old racing altogether. Things have been quiet here for the last few days, wet misty weather which prevents the air men being able to see anything. I suppose we shall have some sort of conscription soon. There will be great play dragging the papists off the mountains. All my men are looking forward to the papists being made to join. Have you heard that G. Mundy has been sent home suffering from shock. The cavalry appear to have had a very bad time up at Ypres.1
Your affec
John
I hope you will find time to go to F. Court.
1. Second Ypres, 22 April to 1 May 1915.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/26
1915
Thursday
Dear Mammie
I am glad to hear the window is progressing all right. I would like if possible to send a copy of the design for the boys to see. Poor old Bim, he seems very crippled. Still he is happy in his place & as you say if he were in full strength might have been killed by now. Irene comes to 40 Charles Street on Sunday. Can you remember where you got the lacquer cabinet in the purple room done up at. There is an old lacquer chest I want to get cleaned. The new parson is as bad as Knox at borrowing things without leave. I have now told my man to forbid him or anyone else to take anything. Irish people are really hopeless. Do you mean the box at the foot of your bed. If so I am sure Irene would like to have it very much. There is a constant rumble of guns going on here for the last few days.
Loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/31
July 1916
Wed[nesday]
Dear Father
I enclose your ₤5. I have not won a bet of any kind since this infernal war started. You have never answered my question as to what people are doing with their bad horses. I hope you will succeed in finding your sash. Goodness knows where anything is. I have asked Irene to make searching enquiries into what ponies there are in the mountain. I want to know
(1) Ho many young animals there are 1. 2. 3. & 4 year old and what set they are.
(2) How many mares have foals.
(3) How many have missed.
There is a particularly nice young Bay mare 5 yr old which Irene always wanted to break; has she a foal?? Kitchener & Asquith are out here for the last two days what for no one knows.1 I hear from Wallace2 that the plantation has done well so far & hope it is true. I believe Bracken has killed a lot of foxes this year. Have a look at his dogs. I don’t think he has many. I should like to get hold of a couple of brood bitches at the end of the season. I wish to goodness I was going to spend the summer at F. Court but shall be lucky if I get there next summer I suppose.
Your affec
John
1. Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, and Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, attended a conference at Calais with their French equivalents on 6 and 7 July 1915.
2. Oliver Wallace, who farmed at Florence Court. Two of his sons, Donald and Richard, served in Cole's A Squadron in France.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/22
July or August 1915
Dear Father
Just got your letter. No news here. I think the war will be long because I am convinced that it is impossible for either side to make any advance on this flank. I don’t believe that all these extra shells will have any effect when they eventually arrive. Neuve Chapelle was a partial success entirely owing to its being a surprise. It will obviously be a long time before the Russians can attempt the offensive again. The only chance is if we can force the Dardanelles which I hear is to be attempted on a grand scale very shortly.
I heard from Bim the other day saying Berkely was all right. There is practically nothing doing out there just now. I have started breaking in some Australian remounts. 3 of them are a bit awkward as they have been spoilt by some one else already. I expect to get home on leave at the end of the month & shall go straight to F. Court but shall spend a day in London on the way back probably 3rd or 4th of September. So hope to see you. Very bad accounts of the weather at F. Court but otherwise things seem going pretty well.
Yours affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/16
1915
Dear Father
What a thundering bore the frost stopping your dogs victorious career!! I heard from Bim the other day. He had been staying with Berkely & said he was all right again. He had been a bit over worked I believe. No news to give you. I drew Feidy Stanley for lunch & am going over to dine with him on Monday. He is fatter and more unwieldy than ever. I am trying to negociate [sic] a big deal in oak trees with a Dublin merchant. If it comes off which I doubt I propose to apply the money in reduction of the mortgage. Leslie says that they would probably insist on getting the money as it is part of their security. If we could sell 4 or ₤5000 worth of Timber it would reduce the interest payable & give Leslie a chance of carrying on, which at present he does not believe he will be able to do. I am rather afraid it will not come off as the woods are so inaccessible & far from Railway. However if they won’t take it now they may be glad to do so later on as there is a great run on timber.
Your affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/35
August or September 1915
Monday,
Dear Mammie
I did not go on leave at all but am going in January. I am amused at your meeting Major Slaughter. I sold him a screw that L[or]d (Roek(?) stuck me with. He kicked him off several times but be seemed very pleased with his bargain. I should have thought Florence teemed with fire dogs but as you say the confound[ed] Yankees have collected them. How would a nice pair with Brass Knobs look in the Study?? As regards the curtains we got new blue ones lately but I daresay the rose ones would fit in somewhere else. So please send the pattern. Sorry to hear your arm still bothers you a bit. Father complains of Rheumatics in his shoulder which spoils his shooting. The Balkan job looks as bad as anything can be. The only things seem to be to force the Dardanelles. But it seems impossible.
Yr loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/28
28 September 1915
Tuesday
Dear Father
You will have seen that things have been humming a bit lately. I only hope it may continue. How did you get on in Ireland? I think I told you some time ago that the parish wanted to do up the parochial hall if they could get a lease of it. Well the lease has been drawn with all sorts of provisos for the uses to which the hall is to be put & arranging for the parish to be liable for its upkeep rates and taxes. So I think you will approve of it. I have told the parson to get the trustees to sign it & then send it on to you. I saw Cuthbert Blundell1 here last week. He is now engaged in the push with the Guards Division. Hope he is all right. The budget is a corker & does Irene & I out of 200 a year. No doubt the next one will be worse. However as long as they leave us enough to live quietly at F. Court I don’t care as I don’t want to spend any money any other way any more.
Your affec
John
1. Cuthbert Leigh Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell, Lieut, 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/37
October 1915
Monday
Dear Father
Sorry to hear Eskimo has disappointed you. I thought you said that you were going over to Ireland to see him run. I saw Cuthbert Blundell just before the Loos battle. Poor Boswell1 was with him. I went down to Le Touquet on Sunday and saw the D. of Westminster hospital. It is in the building that was the Casino. They say it is much the best thing of its kind out here. The C. in C. has gone home we suppose to confer with K[itchener]. I hope to goodness he has found some solution to this infernal war. Thank Oliver for his book. It is very good.
Yr affec
John
1. Captain Sir George Reginald Houstoun Boswall, 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, died 27 September 1915, aged 37.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/25
November 1915
Wednesday
Dear Father
So glad to hear the greyhounds are doing well. You don’t say if Elaine eventually won the stake at Pyngfreys(?) or did you divide. Let me know how you get on at Southport. Apparently our offensive is over for the winter. I wonder what will happen in Servia. If we only could send a big enough force to bore through & relieve the force at Gallipoli it would be a great thing. If only we can do it quickly before the Servians are utterly rodgered. I begin to think the decisive battles will be fought in that direction & not here. I hear the King is coming out here shortly, I suppose to give me a decoration!! Give Oliver my love.
Your affec
John
I expect to be home on leave about 18th of Nov. for 7 days. I think I shall go to Shipley.1
1. Shipley Hall, estate of Cole's wife's family the Mundys.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/32
October to early November 1915
Sat
Dear Mammie
Glad to hear your corn is better. I expect the dry weather will do it good. The climate here in winter is very like Cheshire fog & wet. I hope to go on leave about Nov 10 & shall go to Mrs Mundy’s shooting box in Norfolk. Father will be there shooting. No news here. We appear to have settled down for a winter’s siege. The Balkan affair looks pretty bad & it seems hopeless to arrive in time to save the Servians. The Greeks, Italians & Balkans are all a sorry lot & are bound to be overun [sic] sooner or later. You will be amused to hear that my man caught the parson’s sister Driving in the garden. Luckily he is at daggers drawn with the parson & ran her out & wrote a rumun as well. It only shows that one must live in one’s place to keep things right. The window man was at F. Court last week so I suppose they will soon make a start.
yr loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/33
October to early November 1915
Monday
Dear Mammie
Many thanks for your long letter. I heard from Bim the other day. He seems much the same. B[erkely]. is no longer soldiering as the Command he had has been disbanded.1 He is trying to get another job out there. The situation is so complicated now that one has given up guessing as to what may happen. I am told that if we can prevent the Germans joining up with the Turks that the end is not far off as they are really short of men. Still I fully expect to be in the country this time next year. I am going home on leave in a day or two & shall see the Children also Father. He is shooting with the Mundys that week. You don’t say how your arm is so I hope it is allright.
Yr loving
John
1. Berkeley's irregular force in Kenya, known as Cole's Scouts, was disbanded in August 1915.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/19
October-November 1915
Sat
Dear Father
Many thanks for your long letter. I am afraid I can’t give you much news from here. We have now got 3 armies here consisting of 27 Divisions without the Cavalry. By the end of the war I expect we shall be holding half the line. I am very glad you were able to give a good account of the Children & other livestock on the place. Apparently Crowly has done really well. He is also economical & has saved of a respectable balance. According to Irene he is quite happy there & interested in his work not like the last shit I had who wanted to be off playing lawn tennis. If I can run to it I will stand him a bath room at rear when I get back. The chesnut pony in Bog avenue is only 3 so I will not break it this year. I am glad you think it will make a trapper. As you say it is very lucky for me that as I am a breeder & rearer I shall not have to buy any stock as prices are awful. Old Moisley1 is invaluable out here. He is not half a bad cook & looks after any things very well. Bracken will be well off for dogs now. I should like to get a good red setter bitch & breed some pups. You will have heard Hugh is coming home. I am very glad as it will be good for the boy. I dined with the C. in C. for the first time the other day. He seems a ripper. He asked me to remember him to you.
Yours affec
John
1. Private William Herbert Moisley (No.968), an old soldier in the 7th Hussars and Cole's valet at Florence Court before the war.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/20
October-November 1915
Wed[nesday]
Dear Mammie
You will be amused to hear I met one Part who knew you in Egypt. He is of (?) it a brother of the girl that Bim admired. Anyhow he asked to be remembered to you. I wonder what part Charlie will take he wants to get on with Plumer I hear. I may see Freda on Sunday as I am going to Le Touquet on a joy ride. I hope you will manage to get to F. Court sometime this Summer. G & his wife are there now I believe he has been bad with his head again & ordered complete quiet. So he has gone to the right place. I read Le Lys dans la Vallie & liked it very much. I don’t think the rumour of the C. in C. being changed is true,1 of course if the war lasts for very long an old man like that may get overworked. If it does go on for another 2 years the whole world will be bankrupt. I am very well & pig fat. Moisley is invaluable as a cook & servant & in controlling the other servants. I would like to send you a photo of our villa but no photos are allowed.
Love to Aunt Jeannie
Your loving
John
1. The rumours were true. Sir John French was replaced as commander-in-chief in December 1915.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/36
November 1915
Monday
Dear Mammie
I did not go on leave after all as I can’t get it till December. Just as well as it was blowing a hurricane all this week. It was so bad that the Irish Mail did not start & the boat from Holyhead had to put back. I am going down to Le Touquet on Thursday to see Freda. Her job comes to an end at the end of this month. Heard from Bim saying he had received the consignment of Howard sofas & chairs which he wrote for. He had no end of a job to get the sofa in to the house. Freezing here which makes it nice & dry for us but very hard on the men in the trenches.
Much love
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/18
November or early December 1915
Wed
Dear Father
So glad your dogs have done well. I hope Eskimo will retrieve his character this season. I am coming home about 10th or 11th for 7 days so shant be able to get to A(..?..) but will see you at Merton and go straight there. I hear you will be there till 13th. I have just heard from Bracken that the setter bitch I sent home from here has arrived & has also obligingly come in season. I am putting her to a good red dog he knows of. The setters in this country are slate coloured with brown patches. I believe the best bred ones are altogether slate coloured. They are about the right size and plenty of bone. The bitch I sent home followed me home one day when I was out riding. She seemed to have a good nose as [s]he found several lots of partridges. There are swarms of them here but we are not allowed to shoot. I wonder what will happen in the Balkans. We seem to be entering into a new phase of the war. Let’s hope it will end soon.
I have been selling cows at very good prices lately. They are up about ₤4 a head.
Your affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/1
December 1915
N. I. Horse E.F.C.
B. E. F. OFFICERS REST HOUSE AND MESS
Dear Father
We have been on the move a good deal lately so I have not had much time to write. I have not seen the papers lately so did not see how your greyhound got on. So tell me all about it when you write. I suppose Bim will have reached London by now. I can’t think what is bringing him home just now for. Berkely is in S[outh].A[frica]. buying Bulls. I wish I could get home to my farm like the two boys are. The springing cows you saw at F. Court have been fetching very good prices for more than I could have ever hoped for. All stock are at least worth double the pre war price & I believe that it will go on for some time after the war. I hope it may as I shall have nothing else to live on. I hope to get home on leave Dec 16 & stay over Xmas. Shall go to Shipley for Xmas.
Yours affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/2
December 1915
N. I. Horse E.F.C.
B. E. F. OFFICERS REST HOUSE AND MESS
Dear Mammie
So glad to get your letters saying you are all right & fairly comfortable. I expect you are right in deciding not to move. What terrible times we are living in. One can scarcely realize it is all real. Bim should be home any day now goodness knows why he has come. I expect he thought he would like a change & never thought of the English winter or the submarines. I expect he will not stay long. I heard from Berkely written the same mail as he wrote to you. Glad to hear he is better. The trip to S.A. will be good for him as he has now been in E[ast].A[frica]. for a long stretch. Irene writes that the children are very well & that Frances1 is speaking much better.
Loving John
P.T.O.
I don’t think you had better give any details of the Italian debacle in your letters as they might be stopped by the Italian censor.
1. Cole's second child, Frances Jane, born 16 December 1914.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/7
1915 or 1916
22nd
Dear Mammie
I am just back from Paris where I spent 3 days with Irene. We went to two plays one at Theatre Francais which was very good. It is remarkable how well some of the actors enunciate their words. I am glad you have news of the boys. I have not heard of them for some time. I did not send for the French plays Aunt Jeannie marked as it would be more like work than recreation to read them. In about another year people in England will really begin to realize that there is a war. The railway passenger restrictions & higher fares will annoy Father I am afraid. I am in terror of losing my agent at F. Court which is sure to happen if conscription is brought in in Ireland. I really think that all this talk on both sides of fighting to the bitter end is all humbug.
Loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/38
19 or 26 January 1916
Wed[nesday]
Dear Father
I knew you would be very proud & pleased about my latest honours. I never was more surprised. I think someone on Sir John’s Staff must have put in a word for me. I have had a go of Lumbago but am allright again now. The General inspected the squadron the other day & liked the look of men & horses. He seems very nice & not at all fussy. We are very lucky to have got this little village all to ourselves.1 Very good quarters for man and beast. I hope Eskimo will do you some good at Southport. He is an unlucky beast. The old bitch I sent home produced two dead puppies which is a great bore. I shall soon have my farm accounts made up for the year & am anxious to see what the result of the year has been. Another F. Court man has arrived out here. The son of Balley the blacksmith.2 A good smith is invaluable here. Luckily I am pretty well off in this respect. Our men are all frantic that compulsion has not been applied to Ireland & & say they would like to be at the sea[r]ching of the mountains for the papists.
Yr affec
John
1. Limeux, a village south of Abbeville and the Somme.
2. Shoeing Smith Corporal Thomas Bailey of Edenmore, Florencecourt.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/39
January-February 1916
Thurs[day]
Dear Father
I am very glad to hear you got out at Waterloo. What was the matter with Osbert? We have got first rate quarters here for man and beast which is lucky as there is deep snow. Our job is to form part of the Divisional Reserve in case we are attacked so at present we have nothing to do. I hope to do some farming next month as the people are all short of horses & help. I don’t see any body else’s horses & harness look half as well as mine (bar Sells). It is really awful how some of these units such as engineers etc look after them. Owing to Teetotal ignorance on the part of the officers several lots have been found only feeding them once a day, & as for the shoeing it is awful. No more news of our Colonel’s promotion but I suppose it will come off eventually.1 Have you seen Irene’s picture? I don’t think the artist has made her look as small as she really is. Love to Oliver.
Yr affec
John
1. Lieutenant-Colonel Eustace Addison Maude. He was not promoted.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/17
31 March 1916
31st
Dear Mammie
Bim sent me his accounts for the year & in his letter he says B. is attached to some S. African horse guide or interpreter I suppose. I may be going to London next week to be invested with my C.M.G. I have got the same photo of Frances & like it very much. She makes a funny little pursed up mouth at times. She is very fat they say & doesn’t walk yet. Father was certainly very deaf when I saw him last. I sincerely hope the treatment may do him good. He is much upset at present by William having joined the Cheshire Yeomanry. I don’t think the doctor will fuss him. I have given up guessing at the date of the War ending long ago, but am convinced it will not be ended for any military reason. The social upheavals in England & civil war in Ireland will put all German frightfulness in the shade if the war ever does end. I have read Notre Dame but not La Grande Mademoiselle. I am now reading L’abbe Constantin very good. Leslie writes to say the war is getting on his nerves to such an extent he can’t sleep. You are well out of the whole job where you are.
Loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/34
February-April 1916
Wed[nesday]
Dear Father
Many thanks for the book. It is quite a good one. I will send it back to Oliver. Don’t send magazines as I see them here but if you hear of a good book occasionally I would like it. Let me know all about Limerick. I expect you will have great fun there win or lose. Nothing doing here. I am amusing myself building sheds for sheltering horses & men.
I have just finished a stable for 30 horses a lean to against a wall with thatched roof, and am in process of building a saddle room and a rear. Also a wooden Guard room with tin roof. I sally off to the forest & cut what trees I want. I have several skilled carpenters & thatchers so am thoroughly at home. I hear Hughie is worse & is in a nursing home. Did I tell you Irene is getting painted by a man named Llewellyn at(?) a ¼ length which will look well in the Study in place of the Duke of York. Love to Oliver.
Your affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/12
March-April 1916
Sunday
Dear Mammie
It is amusing to think of old Knox moving into a town for more diversion. Is it a fact that he is almost blind. It is a mercy Eric is no longer at large. I (..?..) sure he would commit some violence. This Verdun battle seems to go on forever. How can either side stand the losses. It seems as if there must be a change of some kind which ever way it goes. Frances photos are unaccountably delayed but will come eventually I suppose. Very quiet here on our part of the line. I wonder how long it will last. I read two some very good books lately La Grande Marniere, Le Maitre des Forges & Serge Panine. The modern French novel writers seem to be much better than ours. We have had a lot of snow & frost & and now the thaw has come the roads are beyond description. I had often read of bad roads in warfare but had no idea what it really meant.
Loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/6
1-7 April 1916
Dear Mammie
Just got the letter you sent me from (Boris?). What a good letter he writes!! I wonder (what?) B. is doing in his new job. I am off to London tomorrow to be invested by the King with my C.M.G. He holds an investiture every Wed. & Sat. I get 3 clear days in London. I have told Irene to get Frances brought up from the county farm to see. Ann1 is all ready there. I shall also go & see K. & Thos. Father is in Ireland so don’t know if he will be back in time before I go. I will write you at length after I see them all. I hear there is to be an all mighty attack as soon as the Russians are ready probably May or June.
Loving
John
1. Anne Florence Vernay, Cole's first child.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/4
14(?) April 1916
Fri[day]
Dear Mammie
The investiture did not take long & was very well managed. The Star is a very pretty enamel one with St George on 1 side & St Michael on the other. The King looks 100 & very ill. The children seem first rate Ann much taller & Frances very fit. Her teeth are coming crooked but I suppose it is no good doing anything to first teeth. I saw all the aunts very fit & well liking Aunt F. is poor as Job & as usual the Estate affairs were found to be in a very bad state. I wonder why it is that at the owners demise a state of chaos is always revealed. I have made a note of the books you mention but don’t think somehow I shall tackle Les Miserable. K. looked well but very thin. She eats nothing. The children were at the sea so I missed them. William has passed the Doctor & Father has got another man. I believe it was Marny’s servants that bullied him into joining. Every one now is agreed that we shall have to put in another winter yet so perhaps the contrary may happen. I think you are lucky to have got a quiet retreat to repose in. So is Bim.
Your loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/5
14(?) April 1916
Fri[day]
Dear Father
I was sorry not to see you this time But quite understand your not wanting to do that long journey to Ireland & back. There was a good many officers at the investiture but not many that I knew. The King looked very old and ill. Tell old Daly that his protégé Stevenson is not much good. After soaking for some time he got caught drunk & was tried by Court Martial. He is away on detachment at present but when he returns I will read him a lecture. I hear that coward William has enlisted but I expect you will say that your new man is far better than he was. All our ideas about the Germans being short of men seem to have been entirely wrong. If they were short they would have never undertaken this Verdun affair. Tell old Daly that his mare is still going strong & will probably see the war out.
Your affec
John
Love to Percy
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/9
29 April 1916
Sat[urday]
Dear Mammie
Just got your letter of 22nd. What do you think of the Sein Feiners. Birrell1 ought to be hung beside Casement2 for his neglect of duty & incompetence. I hear they have sent Sir John Maxwell3 & a large force to control the rebellion which is of course what the Germans want. Anyhow it will I think make Home Rule more impossible than ever. The [word cut out] Russians have got to be armed & equipped here I don’t know whether we or the French are to do it. I hear the French [remainder of page cut out]
[p.2] helps at this busy time of year. They are all very short of men and horses. My men look upon a days farming as a holiday & appear to enjoy it as much as I do.
Your loving
John
1. Augustine Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland at the time of the Easter rebellion.
2. Roger Casement, diplomat and Irish revolutionary, hanged on 3 August 1916 for attempting to import German arms to Ireland for the rebellion.
3. General Sir John Maxwell arrived in Dublin on 28 April 1916 as Commander in Chief, Ireland.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/10
30 April 1916
Sunday
Dear Father
I hope to goodness this finds you fit & at large. I read that it was reported that members of Kildar Street Club had been seized by the rebels on the way back from Fairyhouse1 & kept as hostages. I have sent word to Irene to find out & until I hear shall be very uneasy. The idea of you languishing in a papist guardroom is too awful. However I hope you had left Ireland & were at the secret session but from what I know of you I think it is more likely you stayed in Ireland with Percy. Write me a line & tell me all the gossip you have heard from Ireland.
Your affec
John
1. Fairyhouse Racecourse, County Meath.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/8
1 or 8 May 1916
Monday
Dear Father
You owe me several letters so seize your pen & write. Thank goodness you were not in Ireland. I was very uneasy till I heard from Irene. It is a pity Redmond’s1 lot did not join in with the Sein Feiners as we could then have made a job of the lot. The latest thing is that all our squadrons out here are going to be gathered up & made into a Regt & it is just possible that I shall get command. I don’t think they will bring Col. Maude out. The other scheme of his promotion is all off.
Your affec
John
Hughie seems pretty bad I am afraid.
1. John Redmond, Irish nationalist and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/11
May-June 1916'
Wed[nesday]
Dear Mammie
Many thanks for your long letter. I really think you are energetic to the verge of insanity to get up at 3 A.M to scale a mountain. Glad to hear you don’t think Irene’s picture too bad. The picture is certainly better than the photo but as you say neither of them give one any idea of her peculiar slimness. As a matter of fact she has filled out a bit & I tell she will rival her mother yet. I am going to F. Court of Friday for a few days & will write you a repport [sic] of how it looks. I am afraid the window will not be in yet. The contrast of the absolute peace that reigns (& will probably always reign) at F. Court will be very striking I expect. The central powers seem to be on the crest of a wave again. How wonderfully strong they have shown themselves to be!! Irene writes that some wonderful Spine cures have been done lately so let’s hope Harry may recover. It is a terrible thing for such a young fellow. I have given up having any opinion as to when the war will end but of one thing I am convinced which is that neither side will ever gain any decisive military victory decision. Your villa has proved a great boon to you while the Turmoil is going on. I believe life in England is no (..?..) at all.
Loving
John
Now that we are a larger formation I have had to get an interpreter. He is most obliging but such an ass. To the simplest question about something about his own country invariably [“]I do not know[“]. Such a bore as an intelligent man would have been so interesting & made such a change in the conversation.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/14
June 1916
Dear Mammie
No news to give you. We are in a very good camp & leading a very healthy life. I hope your chauffeur is better (..?..) time at Vallombrosa. It is a great thing that the Russians have had another go. It will buck up the others. People seem very sanguine at present. The next 4 months will be very interesting. Irene writes every day from F. Court and gives me all the news. Things seem fairly well there. I paid Leslie £700 the other day. The old man is over £400 in arrears with the payments he supposed to make to me. I don’t suppose I shall ever see it. It seems that if I had not been (going?) up that the situation could not have been saved.
Your loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/13
26 June 1916
June 26
Dear Mammie
Just got your letter of 18th. I hope you have by now got the letter I wrote after leaving F. Court. I wrote at some length giving a rapport [sic] of all the family. The situation in Ireland seems in a rare tangle & I defy any man or men to make any real settlement. K. will be at F. Court for some time so if you do venture over to Ireland you will (..?..) there in Aug & Sept. Thank heavens Irene has not had much housekeeping to do as every thing is more than double & likely to be for more. The shortage of shipping is what is doing it. Why do the Legation at Berne write to you about poor Harry. I don’t believe a word of their story as the place that he was captured at is still in the active zone of fighting and no one is likely to have gone about digging people up there. I never was at all hopeful of his being alive but still I cannot swallow this story. Harry Astley is convinced that he will recover which some say is a good thing. I am not so sure. I think I should under the circs arrange get what enjoyment I could out of life as I was instead of always hoping for a recovery & suffering continual disappointments. I fancy they are selling Stowell chiefly on account of being very hard up. I don’t believe he will mind parting with his herd of Jerseys very much as he had all ready reached the pitch of excellence & set out to attain. Don’t let (Peel?) worry you about the boys wills simply write & say that the matter does not concern you & request them to desist from troubling you. I am still in very good quarters & expect to be made a Colonel shortly.
Your loving
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/15
29(?) August 1916
Tuesday
Dear Father
I am so glad to hear your vet has given such a good account of you. Stick to the water cart & at the age of 90 or more you may see me back from this infernal war. You ought to have a great shoot with T. R. I wonder how your dog will turn out?? The window in the Church at home to Florence is up & looks very well I am told. I have paid the bill will you & K send me ₤15 towards it. Mammie & the boys & I am paying ₤30. Irene writes to say the Broad meadow is all in Cock Aug 3, & there is only Lexersken to do which is a great relief. Ann is learning to ride the donkey. I want to find a pony for her next year. The best thing is an old pony that someones children have outgrown. The mountain ponies would take some training which there is no one at home capable of giving them. A bad mounted pony gives the children bad hands.
Your affec
John
P.S. I hear I am to be in the gazette this week.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/3
August or September 1916
North Irish Horse
VII Corps
B.E.F.
Dear Mammie
I got your letters all right so all is well. I am very glad K. writes saying she is enjoying herself. The Boy appears to be having the time of his life. I wish to goodness I could get them too. I think I told you in my last letter that the Total cost of the window was ₤150 out of which so far you have paid the man ₤30 & I have paid the balance ₤120. I have written to all & sundry to weigh in with their share. Irene writes to say that the old sweep has announced that he is too old to climb the chimneys so we shall have a rare job having them altered. The thing is to get it done now while he is alive. I heard from Bim yesterday he has recovered most of the brass he put into that S.A. adventure with Pennant. I never thought he would get a bob back. He seems quite happy & well but says he gets tired easily. B. is still on his farm. Have you read a book called J’accuse. I hear it is very good. I am at present reading Madame Bovary.
Loving John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/29
Autumn 1916
Fri[day]
Dear Father
I hope you won’t be too uncomfortable at F. Court. How on earth are you going to feed? I don’t know what drink there is if any so you had better tell Leslie to secure some Whisky or take a bottle from P. Pool with you. I will write you again later on about some things to look at. One thing I am very anxious about is the new Plantation below Wallace’s house. I am afraid the drought may have killed a good many plants. Also his infernal goats are supposed to be tethered so that they cannot get in. I see that the Govt have at last reallized [sic] that the war is going to last another 18 months unless we are beaten before that. Bar the gas I don’t think they can drive us back here. The respirators are very good if in perfect order and intelligently used. You can’t think how difficult this is. I went to a horse show of the Indian Cav. Div. yesterday. The jumping was very good. I was judging at one of the fences. A French officer won the principal open jumping event which will I hope promote the Entente Cordiale. Talking of horses we are all wondering how the Germans are managing quite apart from the Cavalry there are 6000 horses in each infantry division. The wastage during the winter on the Russian front must have been very heavy. In our tiny army we have already bought 400,000 horses. The Germans will have required quite 3 times that amount. They cannot rob their farmers of all their cart horses as it is more important for them than ever for us to produce the maximum of crops.
The only place they can draw on is Hungary. I really believe that if the war goes on for another 12 or 18 months that the horse question will be what will beat the sods. What a chance it is to run first class two year olds in Sellers and gamble no one will bid for them or claim keep on writing.
Your affec
John
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/40
22 October 1916
Sunday
Dear Father
I fully meant to write to Mills to back Sanctum but funked owing to the way they were fielding.1 I suppose it was hedging money. Anyhow I took 70 francs to 20 of[f] an officer out here. I saw Daly’s mare at the hospital & think I shall get her back in a month. I also saw a horse under chloroform being operated on for Quittor a very common complaint here, all due to careless riding at exercise. To give you some idea of the work of the Vet hospitals 700 horses were admitted last week on account of nails in the sole which they had picked up on the road. The Boche is getting an awful plastering from our artillery. Every body wonders how they stand it so well.
Yr affec
John
1. Sanctum won the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on 18 October.
PRONI Ref. D/1702/12/50/27
Late 1916
Tuesday
Dear Mammie
I am so sorry to hear you have got neuritis as it is a horrible disorder. How on earth did you get it? It is very usual with heavy drinkers which scarcely fits in with your case. I think photos of the window will do the boys all right until they can come home to see it. If only this infernal war could end they would hurry back I am sure. The news seems good. I only hope we may be able to Rap it up
Loving
John