Letter from Celia Duffin  to her mother Maria Duffin, 14 February, 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Celia Duffin to her mother Maria Duffin, 14 February, 1916

1 D2109/10/1/B St.George's Hospital Feb. 14. Dearest Mamma, I hope the family have recovered and all coughs and chills
are gone. It has been awfully cold here, and last week we
were quite frozen up at our billets, not a drop of water to be
got, so no baths or any luxuries of that sort. We are
looked after by Mrs Tirrewell, the matron's sister whom we
all dislike. She said she had got enough water for everybody
to have a wash one night, she had collected the
drippings off the roof and when I saw it I thought I preferred
going to bed dirty. You would have laughed if you had
seen us starting for hospital in the morning, everybody
carrying their hot bottles to fill at St. Georges. We
brought them back full and emptied them for a wash
in the mornings. The pipes have thawed at last, and I
managed to get my first bath last night. I haven't heard from Emma for some time, what
news have you had of her. I am going to give in my
name for foreign service as I expect a lot of people will
be wanted abroad soon, and I think a year of Stockport
will be very dull and monotonous. I wonder if there is any skating at home, all the ponds
and rivers are frozen here. Nearly all the last cases
that came in were men with trench feet, some of them 2 D2109/10/1/B
quite black.; they are talking of putting up marquees in the
school yard here to hold more beds for the spring— I have just finished the Broad Highway, and liked it
very much, especially the 2 part about Charmain, I
expect you have read it. I suppose Molly will be home at the end of next month. I
may see her on her way back. How far is Pleasley from
here I wonder, if it is any place near I would ask
Annie to put me up my next day off, it would be
nice to go there for a change. I am glad Emmie
got home safely. I am sure Aunt Fanny must have
been anxious about her, it is dangerous work travelling
these days. Its awful how many ships have been sunk lately. There is nothing to do here at present, and I am too lazy
to go into Manchester, it will be better when the summer
comes and we can go some expeditions again. Is Dorothy going back to her old job again. I suppose
her leave must be nearly up now. I see Lord Norfolk,
Colonel Donnet's friend is dead. I wonder what the old Colonel
is doing now and if he is well again. I have no news, everything here is the same as usual. With much love
Ever your own Celia.

This letter is part of a rich correspondence between various members of the Duffin family, a large prosperous family living in Strandtown, Belfast. Several family members served in the war, including Major Terence Duffin, who served as a staff officer with 107 Brigade, and later with Royal Irish Rifles; Major Charles G Duffin MC, Royal Field Artillery; and their sisters Emma, Celia and Dorothy who served as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADS) in Egypt and France, and with the YMCA. This letter was written by Celia Duffin (b. 1888) to her mother Maria (1854 – 1954). According to Celia’s letter the cold water has interfered with the availability of running water for washing and other such ‘luxuries’. Celia enquires after her sister Emma, (1883 – 1979), who was serving as VAD in Egypt initially and then France (1915 – 1919). Celia writes that she will be giving her name for foreign service soon since she expects a lot of people will be wanted abroad soon and a year at Stockport would seem very dull and monotonous. According to Celia nearly all the cases coming in to the nurses were men with trench feet due to the cold and wet conditions. Before signing off Celia asks her mother about news concerning friends and family and tells her the news that she has heard.

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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__2649.html)