Letter from Gladys Johnson to her future mother-in-law, Ellen Vickery, 15 May 1916
a few lines, and you are perhaps wondering
when you are going to hear. I have been hearing about you all from
Alice. I am sure you were all delighted
to have her with you for Easter, and for longer
than you expected — What terrible times
we have had! it makes one wonder
what we will hear next, and we little dreamt
of rebellion in Dublin — Things have
quietened down wonderfully well, but occasionally
still odd shots are to be heard, & only 2
nights ago a soldier was shot down & bought
to Mercer's hospital. Being so near to
Jacobs, we felt rather nervous, it was occupied
all week by the Sinn Feinners, and we seemed
to live amid the whirl & buzz of flying bullets.
it seemed quite like a week at the 'Front' &
made us realize what it must all be like, but
one week was quite enough & we were thankful 2 when it was all over, and with no serious
damage except broken window panes —
the poor patients were terrified, they were all
put down in the cellars on mattresses, & we
ourselves had to sleep on the corridors two
on a mattress. The bedrooms were not safe
with the bullets flying in, and some of the nurses
had narrow escapes. The Adelaide certainly
saved Jacobs from being blown up. They got 5
chances to surrender on account of us, as it
would have meant damage to the hospital as well.
Sackville St is one mass of ruin
— I was sorry to hear that Sam was so near to
you & you didn't see him, it must have been
very tantalizing, but perhaps he may come
round that way soon again. Percy seems to keep well and happy, & it is
nice to hear where he really is at last — I am
wondering when he will get 'leave', he is 6
months out this month, but of course from
Egypt they don't get leave so often - he says
he feels much better out there than in this
climate, so that is a good thing - I suppose
he will be Khaki colour when he gets back! Much love to each one of you - Lovingly Gladys 3 Photograph of Gladys Johnson, nurse with child
A letter from Gladys Johnson to Ellen Vickery, written on May 15th 1916. Gladys Ruth Johnson (b.1890) was training to be a nurse at the Adelaide Hospital in Dublin at the time of the Easter Rising in 1916. The hospital in Peter Street was close to the fighting and she writes about how the patients were moved to the cellars to keep them safe from the bullets. She writes how Jacobs Factory was occupied by 'Sinn Feinners' and they were give five chances to surrender because if the building had been blown up it would have meant damaging the hospital. Gladys qualified as a nurse later in the year and then volunteered to work as a VAD in France nursing the troops. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Medical Corps. Her fiancée , Dr Percy Vickery, was in the Royal Medical Corps and was stationed in Egypt, Gallipoli and Palestine. They married in June 1918 and subsequently moved to England and settled in Hampshire where Percy was a GP.
How to cite
Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__1439.html)
- Place
- Adelaide Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Gladys Johnson to her future mother-in-law, Ellen Vickery, 15 May 1916
- Place
- Kinsale, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Gladys Johnson to her future mother-in-law, Ellen Vickery, 15 May 1916