Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 10 February 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 10 February 1916

1 I am instructing
three soldiers who
have asked to
become Catholics. Bordon Camp
Hants. 10/2/'16. My dear Father, At long last I
can say I am nearly a
gonner, as we have just
got marching orders for
Wed; next the 15th. It will
take two or three days to get
the whole Brigade away,
our artillery alone, when on
the march, reaching in an
unbroken line for at least
three miles! I shall remain
here till the last so as to
get as many to confession
as possible, but at latest
the last regiment will go 2 2. on Friday night, board ship
at Southampton and be
in France on Saturday. It
is an open secret that we
are going there to join
up with the rest of the
16th Division. The imparting this little
bit of news entailed a
pleasant ceremony. Our
Colonel informed us officially
that as we were now under
orders for active service any
officer who attempted to
desert would be arrested &
at once shot. Made a
good resolution not to
desert, at least till I was
tired of life. Of course
there is not the smallest
possibility of any of us 3 3. trying for do so, but I am
not far wrong in saying
that in his heart of hearts
many a poor fellow is
wishing himself well out
of it all. As for this child,
like the Scriptural war-horse
he scents the battle from
afar and snorts, at the
same time (figuratively
at least) waggeth of his
tail from joy. I could easily get leave of
absence to run across and
see you before we leave, but
I know you would far
sooner I should stay with
my men who during
the last couple of days
have been coming with
a rush to square their
accounts with God. The
new drafts have brought our 4 4. number of R. Cs to 3,500,
not including the artillery
and South Africans who are
also here, so I am not
exactly eating the bread
of idleness just now. I shall write as often as I can
from the Front, but you must
not mind if you do not
hear from me for some
weeks. When a big battle
is on, lasting perhaps a
fortnight or more, the doctors
and chaplains are working
day & night, snatching an
hour's sleep when best they
can. After Friday your
letters should be addressed
as enclosed. Once more au revoir.' I am
leaving behind me close on
a ton of miraculous medals
etc sent by pious nuns as I
think our Blessed Lord, Whom I
shall carry with me day & night
to give Viaticum to the dying,
will be protection enough. Will.

Letter from Irish Jesuit Chaplain, Fr Willie Doyle SJ (1873-1917) to his father, Hugh Doyle, regarding his activities before being sent to the front. Doyle informs his father that they have finally received their marching orders and that the regiment will join up with the rest of the 16th Division on the following Saturday in France. As a result of their change to active service Doyle and his fellow officers were warned of the consequences of desertion. While swearing off the act himself Doyle acknowledges that there was many a poor fellow who was seeking an end to it all. Doyle writes that the number of Catholics has increased to 3,500 and that many are anxious to swear their accounts with God. In a postscript on the first pages he notes that three soldiers have asked to become Catholics. Fr Willie Doyle served as a military chaplain with the 8th Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, 16th Irish Division. In April 1916 he was recommended for the Military Cross (MC) for helping to dig wounded men out of a collapsed shelter under fire. He moved to the 8th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers around Christmas, 1916. He was killed during the third battle of Ypres while going to the aid of a wounded man near Frezenberg and his body was never recovered. His name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot memorial, Zonnebeke, Belgium.

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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__3888.html)