1 War Office 29th September, 1916 My Dear Redmond The state of the two Irish Divisions in France -—
the 16th and 36th -— has been giving a good deal of anxiety
lately. The 16th Division in particular is now little
stronger than one Brigade, and the Ulster Division is hardly
up to two-thirds of its war establishment. There are, as no doubt you will appreciate, many
objections to filling the Irish Divisions with Englishmen,
and at the present moment our recruiting reservoir is by no
means in a satisfactory state, so that a demand to keep
these two Divisions up to full strength will add further to
our difficulties. When they were raised, it was understood
that Irishmen would be able to keep them up to strength with
the necessary reserves, but, as you know, this has proved
fallacious. Under the circumstances, and until such time
as it may be possible to obtain the requisite amount of
recruits from Ireland, I propose to amalgamate the two
Divisions into one. With their present numbers there would
be
John Redmond, Esq., M.P. 2 be, approximately, two Brigades of the Ulster Division
and one Brigade of the 16th Division. It would be
necessary to amalgamate Battalions in each Division in
order to make up the Brigades as far as possible keeping,
of course, the Ulster and South of Ireland Brigades distinct. Before any steps are taken in this direction, I
should be much obliged if you would kindly let me have your
ideas on the subject. Ever sincerely D Lloyd George