Letter from Stanley Owen Buckmaster to John Redmond, 15 February 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Stanley Owen Buckmaster to John Redmond, 15 February 1916

1 HOUSE OF LORDS,
S.W. 15th February, 1916. Dear Mr.Redmond Please excuse a dictated letter: I have
little time for writing in my own hand. There have always been, as you know well,
a very considerable body of Irish operatives in the
town of Keighley. They are strongly Nationalist,
and have always formed a body by themselves. Many
of them were members of the Labour Party, and I do
not know, and I have never sought to ascertain, how
they exercised their vote, although I believe that
I enjoyed at once their confidence and their support. What I thought right to tell you was this :
that as soon as the War was declared all of these
men available for military service enlisted in a
body, and it may be doubted if there are even a
handful left who are fit to fight and have not offered
their service. I want you to know this, as the Irish
position is, as no one knows better than yourself,
often but imperfectly understood. You could probably
verify this statement of mine by enquiry in the district. 2 At any rate I know it will give you encouragement
in the difficult work at which you have laboured so
hard. from your servant Buckmaster

Letter from Stanley Owen Buckmaster, Viscount Buckmaster (1861-1934) to John Redmond (1856-1918), politician, nationalist MP and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Buckmaster writes to inform Redmond that the vast majority of the 'strong batch of Irish operatives' in the town of Keighley, Yorkshire (Buckmaster's constituency) have enlisted in the army. Buckmaster believes this will be encouraging to Redmond. Buckmaster was a politician and lord chancellor 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.

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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__3506.html)