<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:base="https://id.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/letters1916" xml:id="item__2789.xml" prev="https://id.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/letters1916/item__2788.xml" next="https://id.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/letters1916/item__2790.xml">
   <teiHeader xml:id="L1916_2789">
      <fileDesc>
         <titleStmt>
            <title type="main">Letter from Rev Robert Kelson to Mrs. Punton, 25 September 1916</title>
            <title type="sub">Letters 1916-1923</title>
            <author>Robert Kelson</author>
         </titleStmt>
         <editionStmt>
            <p>This work was originally published by Maynooth University in Ireland in <date>2017</date>. In 2026 this data, stored in a relational database was extracted and converted into this TEI/XML document.</p>
         </editionStmt>
         <publicationStmt>
            <publisher>Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities</publisher>
            <pubPlace>Vienna, AT</pubPlace>
            <date>2026</date>
            <availability>
               <p>This is an open access work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0).</p>
            </availability>
            <ptr target="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"/>
         </publicationStmt>
         
         <notesStmt>
            <note type="summary">
               <p>This is a next of kin letter from Rev Robert Kelson to Mrs Punton. Mrs Punton's  son John died of wounds at the Canadian Hospital, Bolougne.  Kelson attempts to console Mrs Punton by writing that she had been called upon to make great sacrifice for King and country. Kelson writes that everything possible was done to save his life. He was buried with full military honours.</p>
            </note>
         </notesStmt>
         
         <sourceDesc>
            <msDesc>
               <msIdentifier>
                  <repository>Public Record Office of Northern Ireland</repository>
                  <collection>Kelso Papers, D3019/1/1</collection>
                  <idno>https://letters1916.ie/item/2789</idno>
               </msIdentifier>
            </msDesc>
         </sourceDesc>
      </fileDesc>
     <profileDesc>
        <langUsage>
           <language ident="en">English</language>
        </langUsage>
        <correspDesc>
           <correspAction type="sent">
              <persName key="#letters1916_person-0479">Robert Kelson</persName>
              <date>1916-09-25</date>
              <placeName key="#letters1916_place-0024">Principal Chaplain Department, Boulogne Base, France</placeName>
           </correspAction>
           <correspAction type="received">
              <persName key="#letters1916_person-None">Mrs. Punton</persName>
              <date/>
              <placeName key="#letters1916_place-0434">Mid Pemberton, Dunbar Scotland</placeName>
           </correspAction>
        </correspDesc>
        <textClass>
         <keywords>
            <list>
               <item n="gender">Male</item>
               <item n="tag">World War I (1914-1918)</item>
               <item n="topic">World War I (1914-1918)</item>
            </list>
         </keywords>
        </textClass>
     </profileDesc>
     <encodingDesc>
         <projectDesc>
            <p>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).</p>
         </projectDesc>
     </encodingDesc>
  </teiHeader>
   <facsimile>
      <graphic xml:id="L1916_2789_img_2207_1" type="Letter" url="8fbc7932da895960a008a99e5bb96681.jpg"/>
   </facsimile>
   <text>
      <body>
         <ab>
            <pb n="1" facs="L1916_2789_img_2207_1"/>
             Mrs Punton, <lb/> Mid-Punleton, <lb/>Durtan, <lb/> Scotland   John Punton (<seg type="unclear">reg</seg>6685, <lb/> 1st Roy Dragoon   Principal Chaplains Dept., <lb/> Boulogne Base, <lb/>B.S.P. France   25.9.16   Dear Mrs Punton   You will doubtless have already <lb/>heart of the death of your son (John Punton) which took <lb/>place last week. As Presbyterian Chaplain of the <lb/>Canadian Hospital in which he died I feel I ought to <lb/>let you know how much I feel for you in your loss. <lb/>You are one of the many mothers who are being called <lb/>upon to brave great sacrifice for King &amp;Country at the <lb/>present time &amp; I am certain that <seg type="unclear">full</seg> sacrifice will <lb/> not be in vain. I know you are bound to feel keenly <lb/> the loss of such a brave son but try &amp; comfort <lb/> yourself with the thought that he lived a man's <lb/> life &amp; died a hero's death. Thank God that you <lb/> nurtured a man. He laid down his life for <lb/> others &amp; truly such a life is acceptable in the <lb/> light of him who said Great love hath no <lb/> man than that a man lay down his life for his <lb/> friends".   I may add that everything possible was done for <lb/> him here both by Nurse &amp; Doctor &amp; he was <lb/>buried with military honours.    May God comfort &amp; sustain you in your sorrow.   Sincerely yours,    Robt Kelson 
         </ab>
      </body>
   <back><listPerson><person xml:id="letters1916_person-0479" n="Robert Kelson">
               <persName>Robert Kelson</persName>
            <noteGrp><note target="item__2789.xml" type="mentions">Letter from Rev Robert Kelson to Mrs. Punton, 25 September 1916</note></noteGrp></person>
            </listPerson><listPlace><place xml:id="letters1916_place-0434" n="Mid Pemberton, Dunbar Scotland">
               <placeName>Mid Pemberton, Dunbar Scotland</placeName>
            <noteGrp><note target="item__2789.xml" type="mentions">Letter from Rev Robert Kelson to Mrs. Punton, 25 September 1916</note></noteGrp></place>
            <place xml:id="letters1916_place-0024" n="Principal Chaplain Department, Boulogne Base, France">
               <placeName>Principal Chaplain Department, Boulogne Base, France</placeName>
            <noteGrp><note target="item__0710.xml" type="mentions">Letter from Rev Robert Kelso to Mrs.Rankin, 10 October 1916</note><note target="item__0717.xml" type="mentions">Letter from Rev Robert Kelso to Mrs. Jackson, 14 October 1916</note><note target="item__2789.xml" type="mentions">Letter from Rev Robert Kelson to Mrs. Punton, 25 September 1916</note></noteGrp></place>
            </listPlace></back></text>
</TEI>