Letter from Terrence Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 10 December 1915. Letters 1916-1923 Terrence Duffin

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

This is an open access work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Letter from Major Terence 'Terry' Duffin to his sister, Ruth. Terence apologies for the delay in correspondence. He writes that he is very sorry for the death of a Mr. Finlay and that his son David would be expected to suffer the most. He feels that one may feel at loss at home more so than on the front despite the fact that he and his brigade face death every day. Despite the dangers he feels that his brigade has been 'fairly lucky' thus far. He describes the weather on his front. Once the frost cleared, it gave way to high amounts of precipitation, subsequently flooding their trenches and other areas of the front such as the blast craters. He states that the trenches are 'simply too awful for words'.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.

 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Duffin Papers, D2109/4/C https://letters1916.ie/item/630 English Terrence Duffin 1915-12-15 Ruth Duffin 20 Riddle Hall, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland Male World War I (1914-1918)

The data in these XML files was generated based on a data dump from the Magellan database (https://github.com/Maynooth-Center-for-Digital-Humanities/Magellan). Each database record has been converted to a JSON file (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/json). The element section of the JSON file contains the TEI-encoded contents of the letters. The TEI XML has been cleaned and made well-formed using a Python script (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/src).

 To Riddel Halls, 1915 My dear Ruth Many thanks for your letter which reached me tonight — I owe you many I know — yes, your paper arrives very regularly and nothing to pay in spite of the halfpenny stamp — I am always glad to get it and know what goes on at home — many thanks for sending it. I was terribly sorry to hear about poor Jim Finlay — It is a sad change for Wolfhill — Poor Lavit will feel it terribly I am afraid. I think one feels home casualties even more when out here even though when here you are up against them every day. Our brigade however so far has been fairly lucky. The weather out here is indescribable — Since the first week it has rained in torrents and everything is under water — The trenches are simply too awful for words. Talk about Ireland and rain, this beats it hollow! Tell Aunt Margaret if she has not already heard it, that she may expect Sam back for a course of rest duty in England at any time — the correspondence curiously enough passed though me, his name with some others — I am sure he has well earned a turn of duty at home. Of course I have no idea where he will be sent to on return. Our General is home on leave and Day the Bde. Major will go for his return after that I may stand a chance but I am by no means sure of it. Day says he thinks he may be a connection of the Day's in Belfast but apparently does not know them well. Glad to hear you are getting settled down in the Riddel Hall and that the work is not too strenuous — how does the lady cook do? A lady cook strikes me as being a somewhat dangerous experiment to try. Rather curious the case of Lieut Shillington who was taken prisioner and at first thought to be wounded. The Germans stuck up a notice about him in 'no mans land' stating he was safe and unwounded and asking us to inform his wife and 2 children! Our men went out and brought in the bound at night. — There is evidently still some shreds of chivalry in the Hun! We have got an officer with the Bde. Office to learn staff work now and I am getting gradually more time to get out of the office and work my way by degrees round the different battalions in the Bde and talk to them — It is a great help as I get to know their difficulties better and get can take steps accordingly to help them and they also to help me. A staff Captain's work some — what resembles that if the manager of a big hotel — every guest, represented by battalion officer out here, has their own particular pet fad and it is difficult to have to try and please all! You have to listen to each in turn, talk sympathetically to all and finally when you return to your office with endless excellent suggestions which are all impossible to carry out. It is all rather trying and somewhat thoughtless. Do what you can and let the rest slide is the only way out of it. You will be a smaller party than usual on Xmas day this year. They have just been working out our spell of duty and we will be in the trenches on Xmas day but will probably be relieved on Xmas night — rather a curious division as it happens. Posts have been most irregular lately and I don't know how long it takes my letters to reach Ireland — let them know at Dunowen that I am well and flourishing. Your loving Terry 20 Riddle Hall, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, Ireland Letter from Terrence Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 10 December 1915. Terrence Duffin Letter from Terence Duffin to his father Adam, 29 January 1916Letter from Major Terence Duffin to Auntie B.Letter from Terrence Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 10 December 1915.Letter from Terence Duffin to Edmund Duffin, 3 December 1915Letter from Terence Duffin to Maria Duffin, March 1916 Ruth Duffin Letter from Terrence Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 10 December 1915.Letter from Olive Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 31 March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 6 December 1915Letter from Celia Duffin to her sister Ruth, 3 November 1915Letter from Dorothy Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 29 November 1915