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Copied FROM HENRY. W.NEVINSON,
4, DOWNSIDE CRESCENT,
HAMPSTEAD, N.W. May 9/16 Your letter of the 4th
reached me only yesterday
as I was away. It did not
appear to have been opened or
delayed. Oh, my dear Mrs Skeffington,
I cannot express to you my
grief. Soon after the event I saw
in the Manchester Guardian that
your husband had been found
dead in the streets. Heart failure
was suggested. I only hoped that
cause was true. Now comes your terrible
news, and in yesterday's
M.G. there is an account of
the unauthorised shooting of
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three men in Portobello Barracks,
your husband being supposed to
have been one. An official enquiry
is promised. But what is the
comfort of an inquiry now? I and other friends are
consulting as to the best means
of making the truth known. Today I hope to see M.J.S
about it, and probably we
shall write to the best papers. You know what living under
a dispotism means, but still
we will do out utmost to let
people know the truth about your
husband. It is a bitter grief to us
all, so brave & honourable, & unselfish
& enlightened a man! I spoke
of his death & the meaning of his
life to a large meeting last
Wedn! The audience was deeply
moved. I will write again. My heart is with you in your sorrow
H.W.N
In this letter from Henry W. Nevinson (1856-1941) to Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (1877-1946),
Henry expresses his grief over the death of Hanna's husband, Francis. He discusses
the rumors that circulated regarding the cause of death and tells her hopes that people
will learn the truth about his horrific death.
Henry Nevinson was a British war correspondent, political commentator, and suffragist.
Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, suffragette, nationalist, language teacher, was the founder
of the Irish Women’s Franchise League and a founding member of the Irish Women Workers’
Union. She was the widow of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington who was summarily executed
on 26 April 1916. She was active during the Rising, bringing food to the Volunteers
in the G.P.O. and the College of Surgeons. Four days passed before she found out what
had happened to her husband, Francis (1878-1916), and it wasn't until almost two weeks
later that the full details of his execution emerged.