Letter from Dorothy (Dussie) Duffin to Auntie B, 27 March 1916 Letters 1916-1923 Dorothy Duffin

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A letter from Dorothy Duffin (b. 1881) to her Aunt. Dorothy's main news is that her sister Emma (1883–1979) has returned from Alexandria, Egypt, where she served as a VAD, and is currently in London. Dorothy is hoping that she, Olive and Celia will get to see her. She remarks on seeing women employed by the railway and comments that a job as a bus conductor would be 'infinitely more attractive than ordinary clerical work'. She describes a trip to St. John's Gate with her sister, Celia, and they discovered that there is little chance of Celia getting a posting abroad (France), of of Dorothy herself being called up.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, D2109/10/1/C/31/3 https://letters1916.ie/item/646 English Dorothy Duffin 1916-03-27 Ardeevin, Epsom, England Auntie B Female World War I (1914-1918) Personal Relations

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 March 27thSunday Ardeevin Epsom Dearest Auntie B. Emma has just telephoned to say she is at the Strand Palace Hotel! I am going to meet her to-morrow morning & she has wired to Olive so I expect she will be there too. I hope Celia can get off. Such a gathering! I could not hear a word she said over the telephone except the address! What a lot she will have to tell! I have been doing all I can to find a job & have been to several Bureaux Associations etc. Miss Sharok started me with two letters. I was passed on to several people who took notes about me, but I can't tell if any thing may turn up. I am not going to take ordinary office work on small pay. They tell me private residential work is now almost nil. Since the War. I sent in a form to the War Office. It is disappointing about the Admiralty. Uncle Edmund says it is no use going there without a definite letter of introduction to a definite man. I wrote to Mrs Arnold-Forster about a week ago asking for her advice & if she would give an introduction but have heard nothing from her so I am stuck. Aunt Fanny & Uncle Edmund are as kind as possible & I expect to stay here till April 1st & then go to the Donnets at Eastbourne. After that Olive tells me she will be 'on the loose' for a fortnight as Miss Roberts is closing her house to give the household a rest, and will not require her. I hope we can arrange to join together somehow for that fortnight. Baby Lee is a great joy. I don't know what they would do without her. She is a plain but attractive little soul. Emmie Epson has decided to remain on in India for the present. My heart aches for Charlie & Marjorie but I am glad they are together, if only for a short time. It is vexing that Charlie's training is not what was expected. If Marjorie wants me I shall go to her but perhaps she will think of being with her poor Aunts for a little bit. Uncle Edmund has gone off to golf & Aunt Fanny & I are going to walk over the Downs to Tadworth and see Harry and Janet. I am anxious to see their children. It will be a cold, stormy, long walk but Aunt Fanny says she is able for it. I hope Aunt Charlotte's throat and ear are better & that Craig can really make her well. Have you good news of Effie? I trust the change is a success. I have met Celia twice, & she stayed a night here. She looks well and is cheerful. It is interesting seeing women in London employed at all the railway stations, on lifts, omnibuses etc. I think being an omnibus conductor would be infinitely more attractive than ordinary clerical work. Celia & I made our way over to St John's Gate & interviewed Lady Olivia, who was covered with orders and ribbons. She told Celia there was not much chance of her getting abroad. I doubt if I shall be called up at all now as the demand for V.A.D. nurses is evidently not so great. St John's Gate is a quaint old place. The walls lined with portraits of the knights, suits of armour etc. We got lost several times in the back streets of Clerkenwell but found the place eventually. I was all over London the other day from the heart of the City to South Kensington. Finding the way was quite amusing, but interviewing the heads of offices & Bureaus became wearisome & I got a glimpse of the deadly boredom of London offices! Best love to all the Aunties — I was so glad to get your letter. Days are very long here, but I try to be cheery for Aunt Fanny, and if we all 4 meet in London to-morrow it will be splendid. Your loving Dussie Ardeevin, Epsom, England Letter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 25 March 1916Letter from Dorothy (Dussie) Duffin to Auntie B, 27 March 1916Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 30 March 1916Letter from Celia Duffin to Maria DuffinLetter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 22 March 1916 Dorothy Duffin Letter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 25 March 1916Letter from Dorothy (Dussie) Duffin to Auntie B, 27 March 1916Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 30 March 1916Letter from Dorothy to Maria Duffin, 22 March 1916Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother, Maria Duffin, 31 July 1916Letter from Terence Duffin to his sister, Dorothy Duffin, 12 November 1915Letter from Adam Duffin to his daughter Dorothy Duffin, 7 November 1915Letter from Dorothy Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 8 November 1915Letter from Dorothy Duffin to Ruth Duffin, 29 November 1915Letter from Dorothy Duffin to Maria Duffin, 28 November 1915