Letter from Marie Martin to her mother Mary Martin, 1915

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Marie Martin to her mother Mary Martin, 1915

1 B/F/1/16 I am enclosing Photo we had taken about
a week ago on our way to Valetta it
is very good we all think & I look very
fat in it. The centre one is Paul & the
other Jenkins an Australian. I hope you
will like it— There is a man going to England to-day
so I am going to give this to him to post—
I received your letter of the 21st Nov: last
night also Violets it was too bad you
had the trouble of coping Charlies letter
as Violet also sent me a copy, certainly
it was worth reading & so cheerry
& bright— Very many thanks for sending Gerald
a Plum Pudding it is much too good
of you to send one out to me, we
shall enjoy it I know— I am longing for your photo—
It will be very nice to see Aunt Lily
& hear all the home news I tried the other day to get warm
Vest or Spencers but failed, they are absolutely
no use also Silk Blouse as it is getting too cold
for cotton— I have had a horrible cold
this last week but am glad to say is
nearly well now & has gone up to my
head— I must end now as it is time 2 for duty—
With heaps of love & kisses,
Your loving daughter—
Marie
The patient did not go to-day so open this again as
to add a few sensible lines — You will be glad to
hear I was innoculated against Para. Typhoid
so have the evening off & need not go on duty
til after 2nd Dinner to-morrow so shall have a
good rest in the morning, it does not seem to be
effecting me in the slightest except my arm is
a bit stiff, I am also glad to say my cold
is quite gone to-night— I went for a lovely
walk after Tea with my Staff Sister into Sliema
& back. She is a dear & so kind to me—
Well we were at last asked to sign on which
I have done for six months, for the present any-
how. I had a letter from Nellie to-day saying
they were off to Sicily, it would be nice to be
going with them. I am wondering how
A. Lily will like being out here, I am sure
she will find it very trying at 1st I hope
she will be lucky & get under nice Sisters as
it makes all the difference whether you are happy
or not, they can either make it heaven or Hell
for the V.A.D's

This is a letter from Marie Helena Martin (1892-1975) to her mother Mary Martin (1866-1955) in Dublin. Marie Martin, later known as 'Mother Mary', was a volunteer nurse during the First World War. She served in field hospitals in Malta, Leeds, and France working for the British army and later went on to become the founder of the Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM). In this letter from the theatre of war, Marie writes home to her mother to talk about her new posting in Malta. Marie explains quickly how her recent days have gone.

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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__1613.html)