Letter from Flossie Briggs to George Hackney, 1 October 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Flossie Briggs to George Hackney, 1 October 1916

1 The Guest House Hope via Sheffield Oct 1st 1916 Dear Mr Hackney, After a mad rush and scramble I
managed to get the train I aimed for. The
station was packed with people & somehow I
lost sight of my luggage (and the porter in
whose charge it was!) However 'alls well'- ek -
and I arrived safely â€” bag & baggage â€” here! The Staff all seemed pleased to have me
back again, (I'll be getting spoiled & conceited!)
and now, today, when in harness again.
Eastbourne seems like a dream â€” though a happy
one. We have the full number of guests for the
weekend (over 60), but during the week the
number goes down to less than half, I
believe. Now I must tell you how pleased I was
to spend a short time with you yesterday, &
that you are progressing favourably in health. I was sorry that the visit of your
sister-in-law & her sister happened the same 2 time as mine â€” for I fear they would not
enjoy the time with you as much as they
anticipated, with me, a stranger to them
being present. I was selfishly sorry, too.
But never mind, I say, another chance may
turn up ere long. In fact I already have a proposition to
offer. Owing to a large number of Free
Guests coming here next week & then my
'Head's' absence on holiday I shall not be
able, I'm afraid, to have a full 'off' day during
that time so I am to have one this week, and
as far as I know today, it will be Thursday
. Now, if you would like, I will come over to
see you on that day. it would be a pleasure
to me to do so. I know you are expecting
your brother some time this week â€” that's right
isn't it? â€” so please if he is to come on
Thursday, don't think I shall be offended if
you ask me not to come. I quite understand, 'Patsy'. And in that case we
can arrange something later. See? I don't know when you will get this letter â€”
the posts from here are very erratic, but perhaps you
wouldn't mind answering as soon as it is 3 convenient. Of course I should go to Sheffield in the
morning so could be up to the Hospital early
in the afternoon. Do you think you would
be allowed out by then? Or only just to
the gate again? But no thinking about that till I hear again
from you. Now mind! just please yourself
and I will fall in with your decision. So, for tonight, goodbye. Every good wish to you
from Flossie Briggs 4 envelope 5 envelope

A letter from Flossie Briggs to George Hackney (1889-1977). Flossie opens the letter with an account of her train journey from Sheffield back to the Guest House in Hope, Derbyshire, where she works. She tells him that 'we have the full number of guests for the weekend (over 60)', but they will be less busy during the week. She apologises that her visit to George coincided with the visit of his sister-in-law, and she worries that her own presence as a stranger spoiled the visit. She finishes the letter by making arrangements for her next visit.This letter is from the papers of George Naphthali Hackney , a Lance Corporal from Clifton, Belfast. Before his time in the army, he worked as a book-keeper for a florist. He was the youngest in a Presbyterian family of six, with three older sisters. In 2014, his collection of photographs taken in the trenches were made available to the public in an Ulster Museum exhibition, and his life and photography became the subject of a BBC documentary, 'The Man who Shot the Great War'.

Flossie Briggs
George Hackney
1916-10-01
World War I (1914-1918) Country and City Life

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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__0730.html)