Letter from Alex Sharples to the Secretary of State, 15 May 1916. Letters 1916-1923 Alex Sharples

This work was originally published by Maynooth University in Ireland in 2017. In 2026 this data, stored in a relational database was extracted and converted into this TEI/XML document.

 Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities Vienna, AT 2026

This is an open access work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0).

This letter was written by Alex Sharples (b. 1885), a English accountant. the letter is addressed to the secretary of state for Ireland. At this time there is no official chief secretary for Ireland following the resignation of Augustine Birrell (1850-1933) on 3 May 1916. Birrell's resignation was a consequence of the 1916 Rising for which he accepted responsibility. His successor, Henry Edward Duke (1855-1939), was not officially appointed until 31 July 1916. In the letter Sharples is putting himself forward as a candidate for an accountancy appointment under the secretary's jurisdiction. Sharples mentioned that he volunteered for wartime service last November but was rejected following an eyesight examination. Sharples adds that he will be able to supply excellent credentials from the Society of Incorporated Accountants & Auditors, the city treasurer of Manchester and other prominent gentlemen in the profession.

 National Archives of Ireland Chief Secretary's Office Registered Papers, CSO RP/1916/8339/1 https://letters1916.ie/item/2100 English Alex Sharples 1916-05-15 13 Reynolds Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, England Male Industry and Public Administration Industry and Public Administration

The data in these XML files was generated based on a data dump from the Magellan database (https://github.com/Maynooth-Center-for-Digital-Humanities/Magellan). Each database record has been converted to a JSON file (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/json). The element section of the JSON file contains the TEI-encoded contents of the letters. The TEI XML has been cleaned and made well-formed using a Python script (https://github.com/letters1916static/letters-data/tree/main/src).

 13, Reynolds Road, Old Trafford, Manchester. 15 May 1916. Sir, I beg most respectfully to offer myself as a Candidate for an Accountancy Appointment under your jurisdiction. I am 31 years of age, and married; and was rejected in November last for Military Service after reference to an Eyesight Specialist. My defect, however, does not, in the slightest, impair my efficiency as an Accountant. I respectfully submit an Epitome of my Qualifications, Appointments, and Experience, and shall be pleased to furnish any further information you may desire. I am able to provide excellent credentials from the President of the Society of Incorporated Accountants & Auditors, the City Treasurer of Manchester, and other prominent gentlemen in the Profession. I would express the hope that my candidature is commendable to you. I am, Sir, Your Obedient Servant, Alex. Sharples The Secretary of State for Ireland. 13 Reynolds Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, England Letter from Alex Sharples to the Secretary of State, 15 May 1916. Alex Sharples Letter from Alex Sharples to the Secretary of State, 15 May 1916.