Letter from Lady Mayo, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Kildare Committee, to Lady Clonbrock, 31 December 1915.

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Lady Mayo, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Kildare Committee, to Lady Clonbrock, 31 December 1915.

1 GARRYARD, PALMERSTOWN, JOHNSTOWN, STRAFFAN, CO. KILDARE 31st December 1915. Dear Lady Clonbrook, Many thanks for your letter, When Pte. Joseph
Connolly's name was first sent to me I thought he was a
civilian, that was why I sent him a parcel at once. Also
I had some difficulty in finding out who looked after the
Connaught Rangers' prisoners, Would it not be well if you
occasionally put an advertisment into the newspaper. Our
Co. Dublin organization works very well I think. But exactly
the same thing happens as you describe, kind people send
parcels to men whom we know are getting many. I saw a returned prisoner from Limburg, yesterday,
a native of Naas, and he told me that the men are all getting
too many parcels and if too many come the Germans suppress
them. I sent Â£1 4 to Berne for bread for Connolly which will
do for 24 weeks from Decr. 28th. I hope this is not a nuisance
but it is difficult to alter it now. Yrs sincerely, G. U. Mayo 2 Lady Mayo 1915
Pte. J. Connolly
Connaught Rangers
She sent Â£1.4 to Berne
for Connolly â€” to last for
24 weeks.

This is a letter from Geraldine Sarah Bourke (née Ponsonby), Lady Mayo (1863-1944) to Augusta Caroline Dillon (née Crofton), Lady Clonbrock (1839-1928). Lady Mayo refers to a parcel sent to Pte. Joseph Connolly - there appears to be a situation where some prisoners are getting too many parcels and the German authorities are suppressing them. She also refers to £14 sent to Berne to cover 24 weeks' supply of bread for Connolly - a note on the back of the letter, possibly written by Lady Clonbrock, confirms this and also that Lady Mayo is the contact. Lady Mayo is having difficulty finding out who looks after Connaught Rangers POWs and suggests that Lady Clonbrock try to find out by placing some newspaper advertisements.Lady Clonbrock was the wife of Luke Gerald Dillon (1834-1917), the 4th Baron of Clonbrock, Co. Galway and the daughter of Lord Crofton of Mote Park (Edward Henry Churchill Crofton, 3rd Baron), Co. Roscommon. Aged 75 at the outbreak of war, Lady Clonbrock, worked closely with the Irish Women's Association to send basic necessities to Irish POWs. Many of her care packages went to members of the Connaught Rangers imprisoned in Limburg near Cologne.Lady Mayo, was a committee member in The Royal Dublin Fusiliers' County Kildare Committee. The Committee dealt with parcels for RDF prisoners of war abroad.

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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__1530.html)