1 CONNAUGHT RANGERS' AID FUND. From The Marquess of Sligo, Westport House, Co. Mayo, Ireland. 15th June, 1916. Nearly a year has elapsed since I started the Co. Mayo
Branch of the Aid Fund for our regiment, the Connaught Rangers,
and I take the opportunity to publish a brief account of what has
been done with the money entrusted to me. These monies were
primarily intended to assist the men of the Regiment who are
Prisoners of War, and, after arrangements had been made to meet
with their requirements, any surplus was to be devoted to assist-
ing men of the various battalions of the Regiment serving abroad,
with clothing, outfits, and comforts. After many enquiries and
negotiations I came to the conclusion that the way t obtain the
best results was to do all my business through the Irish Women's
Association. Of the Executive Committee of the I.W.A., the
Marchioness of Sligo is a memebr and my daughter Lady Eileen
Browne has been regularly assisting. H.M. the King having
observed the excellent work done by the I.W.A. has graciously
granted to it a suite of apartments in Kensington Palace, London,
from which place the work has been carried on for many months. To deal with the Prisoners of War first. of these there
are 505, of whom 121 are in Bulgaria, 6 in Turkey, 2 in Asia
Minor, and the remainder in Germany. To every one of these
every fortnight there has been, and still is, send a parcel.
Each parcel consists of two boxes, each containing: 4 lbs. hard biscuits such as "Rations and Cabins"
or Dujon Bread
1 lb. tin of beef or mutton
1 lb. tin of vegtables
1 lb. tin of milk
Two pieces of soap
Compressed soup
Worcester sauce
1 lb. tin of fish
1 lb. tin of jam or dripping
1 lb. each of tea and sugar
One tin of fruit or cocoa
Coffee or cheese
Mustard. Salt.
50 Cigarettes or tobacco. To these are generally added a pair of socks, a pipe, a
toothbrush, etc., etc. Some of the prisoners are in hospital
or are not sufficiently strong to assimilate the solid food snet
to those who are well, and to them are sent special consignments
or easily digested, prepared foods. Every prisoner receives the
following:- 1 kit bag
Once a year, one great-coat
Every three months, 1 pair of boots and laces
Every six months the following:
2 vest 2 pants
1 Cardigan 1 cap
1 pair canvas shoes and laces
2 shirts 1 suit
2 pairs socks 1 pair gloves
1 comforter
Extras: Dubbin, comforters, hair, shaving and tooth-
brushes; razors, mittens, cards, games, etc. 2 2
At Christmas time we sent an extra parcel to every Prisoner
of War and on St. Patrick's Day we made substantial additions to
the food parcels. There has been great difficulty in assisting prisoners in
Bulgaria, but as the result of long interviews this month with
the American Consul for Bulgaria, it is hoped that these diffi—
culties have been overcome. Some people prefer to send parcels direct, instead of
through me, to friends in Bulgaria, or to N. C. O. there to be
distributed. It has been found that owing to faculty communica—
tion, the carelessness, or otherwise of N. C. O., the men often
have not received the parcels consigned to them. The American
Consul in Bulgaria strongly advises that articles should until
further notice be sent to that country through central distri—
buting organisations, such as I. W. A., rather than through indi—
viduals. Parcels to Germany as a rule arrive at their destina—
tion with regularity and are acknowledged in the most grateful
terms by the Prisoners themselves and very often by their rela—
tives over here. From the exchanged prisoners and those trans—
ferred to Switzerland we hear that parcels generally deliv—
ered intact, and we also hear that the Prisoners depend for their
very lives on these parcels and that were it not for them many
men would have died of insufficient and unsuitable food. As regards men of the various battalions of the ;C. R. serving
abroad, the I. W. A. sends regularly parcels of regimental clothing
as woollen socks, flannel shirts, smokes, cards, games, under—
clothes, soap, chocolate, milk, writing paper, envelopes, boot—
laces, matches, tinder lighters and many other articles. In
order to avoid waste and overlapping these things are sent only
at the request, or with the sanction, of the O. Cz. of the unit.
All foods and materials, thanks to the generosity of manufacturers,
the I. W. A. buys at wholesale prices; it often obtains them below
cost price and frequently free. Having been constituted a
"Bonded Warehouse", it does not pay duty on tea, sugar, golden
syrup, smokes, etc.; and all packing and supervising is done by
voluntary workers, so that expenses are reduced to a minimum. I trust that those who have so generously responded to my
appeals, and who have assisted in raising funds, will consider
that their efforts have been put to good use. Further and larger
funds are needed. The tightening of the blockade means that
food will become scarcer in Germany. The first to suffer will
be our unfortunate countrymen who are prisoners. It is therefore
certain that their sufferings will increase, and we must be pre—
pared not only to continue to send consignments as before but to
those who were good enough to subscribe a year ago will do so
again. In order that the poor might assist their fellow countrymen
and, at the same time, reap some benefit, I started a scheme of
purchasing woollen socks made by the people of this neighbour—
hood. My daughter, Lady Eileen Browne, and Miss Annie Powell
of Cloghane, Westport, undertook and have since most ably carried
this out. For the last nine months, an average of over 600
pairs of socks per month have been sold to the I. W. A. and distri—
buted by them to Irish Regiments and Irish Prisoners of War. SLIGO H. M. Lieut. for Co. Mayo.