Letter from Lady Granard to John Redmond, 20 January 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Lady Granard to John Redmond, 20 January 1916

1 Jan 20th FORBES HOUSE,
HALKIN STREET, S.W. Dear Mr Redmond , Granard has gone back
to Salonica, and as you
have taken such a kindly
interest in his having the
opportunity of doing some
important work in Ireland
he asked me to write
& explain to you why
nothing has happened.
It was as you will quite 2 understand absolutely
essential that if he came
away from active Service
he should have really important
work to do. We had hoped
that he might be either be
allowed to take over
"Manpower" in Ireland
with the rank of Brig. General
and do some oficially good
work on the Civil side,
under the Ch. Secretary. Mr Dukes
was very friendly, but at
present no scheme scheme
has been decided. On 3 the Military side when it
came to the real point
Granard was informed
that they could do nothing
better for him than put
him on the staff, really in
an honorary capacity for
for he was told that he would
have nothing much to do.
This of course was useless
for Granard to do, so
he has left again for the
Salonica Front. I trust that
you will appreciate
that Granard was really 4 most anxious to serve
Ireland, but — he felt
that the only offer he
had, gave him no oppertunity
for doing so. I hope that something good
may yet come of the
Civil side of things
& that he may be recalled.
I hope you will forgive
me bothering you with
this long letter, but you
have been so very kind
that Granard felt he would
like you to know what really
took place. Sincerely Yours Beatrice Granard

Letter from Beatrice Forbes to John Redmond regarding her husband's intentions towards Ireland. According to Mrs Granard her husband had hoped to arrange some position in Ireland, but, when told that they had nothing for him and that he could only occupy an honorary position he could not accept. As a result her husband as returned to the Salonika front. Beatrice Forbes (1883-1972), née Mills, was an American heiress. In 1909 she married Bernard Forbes (1874-1948), the 8th Earl of Garnard. Forbes was a professional soldier and politician. He was recalled to command the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment in 1916. He was later Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Salonika Forces from 1917. John Redmond (1856-1918) 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__4123.html)