Letter from Lord Granard to John Redmond, 3 February 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Lord Granard to John Redmond, 3 February 1916

1 Army Headquarters
Selonica Private Feb 3rd My dear Mr Redmond. I arrived here the
other day after a very
long ardous journey,
but one must be thankful
that we met no subversions
or other danger on the
way. I find everything going well
here. General Nugent 2 In very good health and
spirits. He is doing very
well indeed and the
cordial relations that
exist between the French
poilusand ourselves is
entirely due to the tact
he has evinced in dealing
with these people. I think it right to enclose
you a note, I received
from Father Stafford
Saturday, in case that 3 he should approach you
in this matter. I have made
very full inquiry into the
facts and find that the
Monumentssecretsin the
enclosed letter are not
in accordance with fact.
I am sorry to say that Father
Stafford has not done well
since he was appointed
Chaplain to the 10th Division.
There were continual complaints
sent to Headquarters of the
neglect of the men under
his charge. He was a
continual source of trouble
to us, and in fact to speak
quite plainly, I was really 4 quite ashamed of him.
Our Chaplains, other than
this problem one in question
were a pattern of what
Catholic Priests should be
and in consequence it
was all the more unfortunate
to have any exception to
the above rule. With Kind regards to you
&MrsRedmond, & many
thanks for all your
Kindness to me. Yrs vy Sincerely Granard

Letter from Lord Granard to John Redmond discussing his return to Salonika and the on-goings of a [problematic army chaplain, Father Stafford. Bernard Forbes (1874-1948), the 8th Earl of Garnard, 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__4131.html)