1 Mesopotamia 29 Aug. 1918 Dear Reverend Father Provincial, P.C. We are just beginning to 'haloo'
in this part ofthe world, as there are signs of our being
out ofthe wood. In other words, the hot season is fairly
over. It was not nearly as bad as last year. The highest
temperature was, I believe, just about 1180 in these parts; but
that is taken in the shade at H.Q. which is the
best shade tobehad. In tents it must have been
up to 1260! Last year the highest official mark was 128 0.
but it was 136 0 in many hospital and camp tents. One
ofour chaplains, a Father Watson C.S.S.R. died this year of
heat stroke, on the Euphrates. R.I.P. A few days ago
I was called across the river for a burial. On arrival
I found that a little Armenian child had died in the
refugee camp of starvation and exposure. It was 2 years of
age. Four Catholic Indians carried it tothe grave, and so
it got a military funeral. The grave was a great big one,
over seven feet long and about three wide, while the little
body was hardly two feet long. We are very short of
priests. Five or six are knocked out by illness, and others
are at the end oftheir contract. We would require about
a dozen or more extra to do the work really well. I have
had Irish papers up toabout 12 June, from an Irish priest at
Basra. They just get up tothe eve ofthe East Cavan election.
I hope sometime tosee the comments on the result. An old 'Irish Catholic' has an account of FrOmahony's one
day retreat in Egypt. Fsuperscript textMolony, our Senior Chaplain, is
having a kind of mission in Baghdad next week. I
hope to have one in my district when another priest
comes for the other side ofthe river. At present the most 2 I can aim at is to prevent the out-lying parishioners
from becoming 'rustici'. I am hoping tohave a church
built here. At present the hospital is being put up, and
is nearly finished — the canteen, the open-air stage, the
tennis-courts etc are either completed or under way, but
churches are not tobe thought of until everything else is
settled. I never saw such a lot, as they are in this
country. There was a rumour current that the mails from
England for us for the second half of June have gone
tothe bottom. So if there were any suffragia at that
time it would be well tosend a second notice. I got
the notice for FrHassett and BrFlorian in Australia.
I said another Mass for an R.a.m.c. orderly, who died
suddenly here; but by giving your Reverence some ofmy
own Masses and an extra Sunday Mass, I have been
able tosay 18 for your intentions during August. I shall
send Fr Farley a separate note, but it would be well
to tell him in case the under-the-sea boats get a hit.
17 for July and 18 for August. I suppose the status
did not disrupt the Province. All I want is togetburied
away in some out ofthe world spot for the rest ofmy
life. I see my Bishop's name prominently in the
papers I have. I'm proud that he should be one of
the most active in the cause. I recommend myself tothe prayers ofall. It will
be better towritetome still c/o Archbishop's House,
Bombay. My present unit is 65 British General
Hospital. The hospital I began my chaplain career in, in
France, no.3. B.General is now in this country. I spent a
day or so as a patient in it last May on my way down to
Basra. FrancisMShaw S.J.