Letter from Major-General Lovick Bransby Friend (1856-1944) to John Redmond (1856-1918). Friend writes to Redmond about the activities of the Irish Volunteer Training Corps. Friend assures Redmond that the manoeuvres were unofficial and unarmed. Friend writes that he is also willing to use both the National Volunteers as well as the Ulster Volunteers in the same unofficial capacity. The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence militia during World War I. Major General Sir Lovick Bransby Friend was a British Army major general and cricketer. Friend was in charge of Administration at Irish Command in 1912 and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in 1914, he was replaced following the Easter Rising in 1916. John Redmond was an MP and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. He was instrumental in securing the promise of Home Rule from Asquith's liberal government. Upon the outbreak of war, Redmond addressed a group of Irish Volunteers at Woodenbridge, Co. Wicklow, encouraging them to fight with the British Army to ensure the implementation of Home Rule. Redmond's words split the Irish Volunteers across the country. The Easter Rising shocked Redmond, who condemned it bitterly. Nonetheless he appealed for leniency towards those who had not been involved in planning the Rising.