Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 December 1915
49th Brigade
Whitley Camp
Surrey 12/12/'15.
Dear F. Provincial, I should
have written to your
Reverence before this
only I had no very
definite news to give.
We came here from
Wohing last Saturday 2 and remain till
the 22nd when we move
to Bordon Camp, Surrey
to join the other three
battalions of the 49th
Brigade and remain
there till we sail for
France, which will
not be till Jan, I
believe. We are living in
wooden huts, which are
comfortable enough
though rather cold as
there is no means of 3 heating them norat
Wohing. In
additon it has been
raining almost in-
cessantly for the past
fortnight which does
not tend to make
things more pleasant,
but for all that we
are in the best of
spirits, the officers being
a very nice set of
fellows, practically all
Irish, though only
five Catholics out of
34. There is abundance of 4 good work to be done
among the men as
my companion, F. Kelly
from Cashel, and myself
have the best part of
3,000 men to look after,
but neither of us will
be sorry to go on to
the Front. Asking a remembrance
in your Reverece's Name,
Believe me
Yours obediently in
W. Doyle. SJ Kindly give enclosed
note to Fr Farley.
Letter from Irish Jesuit Chaplain, Fr Willie Doyle SJ (1873-1917) to Father Provincial Thomas V. Nolan SJ (1867-1941) informing Nolan about his recent movements. Doyle writes that their accommodation is comfortable but cold, yet despite the ad weather they are keeping in good spirits. Doyle also comments that despite the battalion being nearly all Irish there are only five Catholics out of thirty-four men. Despite this Doyle believes there is a lot of good work to be done as overall he has 3,000 men to look after. 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. Fr. Thomas V Nolan was the Provincial of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus (1912-1922) and was a member of the Distribution Committee which looked after the welfare and distribution of the the Belgian refugees who arrived in Ireland as a consequence of the First World War. During the Rising Nolan was based at St Francis Xavier’s, Upper Gardiner Street and, alongside Rector Fr John Fahy SJ, risked his life in aiding the wounded and supplying local areas with food and milk.
How to cite
Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__4474.html)
- Place
- Whitley Camp, Surrey, England
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 December 1915
- Mentioned in
-
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle to Hugh Doyle, 10 March 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 20 July 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 23 September 1916
- Letter from Fr Willie Doyle SJ to Provincial Thomas Nolan, 13 May 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 25 January 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 25 February 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 1 December 1915
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 10 December 1915
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 31 December 1915
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 30 December 1915
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 15 January 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Mai, 22 January 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 25 January 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 4 February 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 10 February 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Mai, 11 February 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 17 March 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 24 March 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 29 April 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 19 June 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Hugh Doyle, 26 October 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J., 16 April 1916
- Letter from Father Willie Doyle S.J. to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 December 1915
- Postcard from Fr Willie Doyle SJ to Sister M. Anthony, 7 April 1916