Letter from Emma Duffin to her sister Celia Duffin, 29 December 1915

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Emma Duffin to her sister Celia Duffin, 29 December 1915

1 15 thGen. Alex. Dec.29/15. My dear old Celia Ever so many thanks for the two little
books, they are really a joy for I have not read a line of
poetry since I left & I have found several old friends in them.
I suppose your Xmas was very much like mine, very busy
with decorations, plans etc. for the men. I made my tent
quite pretty with strings of keys, paper lampshades, & big bowls of
roses (which I'm sure you didn't have!) etc. and we had a
little wee Xmas tree in the centre of the table. â€” How funny
you having a man out of the tents. What was his name!
I have had some very nice Australian patients, a bit obstreperous
sometimes, as you say, but jolly & full of life! I am sorry
for you on night duty. I simply loathed it & I'm afraid my
turn will be round again soon. I gather that you mean to sign
on again, is there no chance of a few days leave between. We
have no B.P. work at all, the orderlies do all that, I occasionally
give one if there is a bad case & no orderlie at hand but we
are not supposed to & we never empty them. I had a
patient to wash the other day, an who had come straight
from the French trenches & had never had a bath, he had felt
ill on leaving & had got ill on the transport & of course no nurse
to look after him poor fellow. At present I have a
Pneumonia case who had a T. of 105.4 the other night, but
he is a lot better today. I have just come up from 2 seeing Alice Russell off on a hospital ship, poor thing her father
is dying. Matron let me off to see her on board which was
very decent of her. I shall miss her dreadfully as we have
shared a room ever since we arrived. I do like to work here much better than I expected, & of course
the weather is lovely & I never get tired of watching the sights,
but I do wish I could have a little more free time. I have
never had a day off yet, & I have been here over 13 weeks now.
I wish you could come out, but of course our times would overlap,
whether I shall sign on again I don't know the worst of it
would be the dreadful heat in summer. Still you'd feel rather a
freak going home when others have to stick it out, besides the
climate agrees with me & it doesn't suit some people at all.
I must leave it till nearer the time. It made me feel a
bit homesick to see Celine going home. I owe so many Xmas letters, you must excuse a short one.
Best love dear, how I wonder when we'll next meet! Ever Yours
Emma.

Letter form Emma Duffin to her sister Celia. Emma thanks her sister for a book of poetry sent to her, most probably a Christmas present. She describes her day-to-day work as a VAD, including interactions with the patients and the enjoyable weather. At the time of writing she had worked for 13 weeks without a day off.Emma (1883 - 1979) and Celia Duffin, born in 1888, were two of Adam and Maria Duffin's nine children and they were educated at Cheltenham Ladies College. Emma served in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) during the First World War. She served initially in Egypt and was transferred to northern France just before the Battle of Somme, where she remained to the Armistice in 1918. On her return to Belfast, Emma worked as an illustrator of cards and books, including children’s stories written by her sister Ruth.Also Celia served in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) during the First World War. Along with her sister Ruth, she published a book of poems titled 'Escape Poem' (illustrated by their sister Emma Duffin) and published by Maunsell & Co. Ltd in 1929.This letter is part of a rich correspondence between various members of the Duffin family, a large prosperous family living in Strandtown, Belfast. Several family members served in the war, including Major Terence Duffin, who served as a staff officer with 107 Brigade, and later with Royal Irish Rifles; Major Charles G Duffin MC, Royal Field Artillery; and their sisters Emma, Celia and Dorothy who served as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADS) in Egypt and France, and with the YMCA.

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How to cite

Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0623.html)