Letter from J. Cordner to Elizabeth Bell, 10 March 1916 Letters 1916-1923 J. Cordner

This work was originally published by Maynooth University in Ireland in 2017. In 2026 this data, stored in a relational database was extracted and converted into this TEI/XML document.

 Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities Vienna, AT 2026

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A letter from J. Cordner to Elizabeth Bell. Cordner writes to thank Miss Bell and her family for the care packages sent to him in France. He notes that the eggs were particularly well received by his servant. Cordner describes life at the front. He writes of marching, billeting in villages and barns and the day to day tasks of an officer; writing payslips, inspecting feet and more. He concludes with a reflection that 'ordinary life will never be the same again to anyone who comes through these times.'Elizabeth Bell lived with her husband Robert, sister-in-law Minnie and children Lily and Dawson, in Lisburn, Co. Antrim where they owned a pub. Lily was 17 and Dawson 12 when the letter was written. J. Cordner, who was fighting in France, seems to have been a family friend. He may have been Lt. James Cordner of the Royal Irish Rifles,17th Batt; or Lt. James Henry Cordner of the Tank Corps 15th Batt. Both of these men died in 1918.

 Private Collection NULL, NULL https://letters1916.ie/item/303 English J. Cordner 1916-03-10 France Elizabeth Bell Lisburn, Ireland Male World War I (1914-1918)

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 Always the same address France 10.3.1916. My Dear Mrs Bell: I have to thank you for your parcel of good things safely received and for the letter of the whole family which I should like to answer individually but under the circumstances I am afraid I can only manage one. it was a great treat to get Lily's & Dawson's Mr Bells &your own— And Dawson's Kettle gave me something to keep as a motto for the rest of the day. The parcel arrived in perfect condition— which is more than could be said for it an hour afterwards. The two eggs were intact— thanks to food packing — one of them I ate at breakfast the other I gave to my servant for which he respectfully said 'Thank Ye Sor' The oranges were a treat and the cake as good as ever, so please accept my thanks and go to sleep tonight with the assurances that you have once more done your bit in the great war! I was sincerely sorry to see that you have been poorly and trust that by this time the pain which you mention will have moved away. The weather has been very trying and you must be careful to keep free as possible from colds until the warm weather comes. Well I am writing this far from where I wrote you before and we are on the march for somewhere down the line. We left on Monday and I think this is Thursday although really I scarcely know the day of the week. We stop in little villages at night and tonight we are lying in barns and all sorts of places. My particular place of repose is in a little room off the kitchen in a farm house among some seed potatoes and the prospects are better for a good nights sleep than for some nights past. The men have marched well all day and not one in my platoon have asked leave to fall out. Tommy is a gentleman on active service, depend upon it, and with all his faults it is a pleasure to be with him. I am after giving them their weeks wages, a good feed and a foot inspection and now they are settling down for a sleep. Breakfast is at 5,30 in the morning so we shall be up with the lark and on the road before the sun is high. The journey is being made through very muddy roads and sleep is falling nearly all the time just to keep things cheery. We have not an idea of where we are going or where the journey will end but we are in good spirits and there is not a grumble anywhere . Oh, it is a queer old life and ordinary life will never be the same again to anyone who comes through these times. Things which appear important in ordinary life days seem very insignificant and petty now — I am feeling a bit stiff about the shoulders with the weight of the kit but I will get a sleep & wake up alright — I am very glad to know that all old friends still remember me and certainly I often think of them. I shall not forget the kindness you & yours have always showed to me & I look on your home as though it were my own. When we get through this scrape we will warm up at the home fires and in the meantime do what we can for the good old cause. The Huns have been here but by the grace of God as Cromwell said they'll never be here again. With affectionate regards to you and Mr. Bell , Lilly & Dawson I am yours cordially J. Cordner Lisburn, Ireland Letter from J. 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