Letter from the President, Royal College of Physicians to Viscount French, 7 June 1918 Letters 1916-1923

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Sir John Denton Pinkstone French, first Earl of Ypres, was a British officer. Upon the outbreak of war, French was appointed Field Marshal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Although popular with his men, the failure of his offensives, Neuve-Chapelle and Loos, to break the German lines and his criticism of the home government led to his replacement as Field Marshal by sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) in late 1915. French was appointed Commander in Chief of the Home forces in January 1916. In 1918 he was appointed the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He served in this position until his resignation in 1921.

 Royal College of Physicians of Ireland RCPI/2/3//3/14/9 https://letters1916.ie/item/4564 English 1918-06-07 John French Male Industry and Public Administration Industry and Public Administration

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 RCPI/2/3/3/14/9 To His Excellency Field Marshal Sir JOHN DENTONPINKSTONE FRENCH, Viscount of YPRES and HIGH LAKE,Lord Lieutenant General and General Governor ofIreland. May it please Your Excellency, WE, the President and Fellows of the Royal College ofPhysicians of Ireland, desire to approach Your Excellencyupon your arrival in this country as Representative ofHis Most Gracious Majesty the King, with a cordialwelcome and an expression of our devoted attachmentto the Throne and Empire. At this moment when the forces of our King, drawn fromall parts of his Empire, are engaged in a deadlystruggle with our common foe for the defence of ourhomes and liberty, we welcome the opportunity ofexpressing to you our unwavering attachment to theEmpire and our confidence in the ultimate triumph ofthe cause for which our People and our Allies arefighting. In this great cause the Fellows, Members and Licentiatesof this College are willingly taking their part both at home and abroad, endeavouring, as far as in them lies,to bring health and healing to those who have suffered,and to ward off those attacks of disease which have sooften proved the most dangerous enemies of armies in thefield. A considerable number of the Fellows andMembers of the College are serving with His Majesty's forcesand of those who have obtained the License of the Collegesince the outbreak of the war some ninety per cent haveentered either the Naval or Military service. In lending what aid they can in this the common danger thePresident and Fellows feel that they are merely carryingon the great tradition of their College handed down tothem by their predecessors since its foundation by KingCharles the second. We desire to assure Your Excellency of our readinessto afford to His Majesty and to His Government ourhearty assistance in this time of the Empire's periland to express again our loyalty to His Throne. 7th June 1918. PresidentRegistrar To HIS EXCELLENCY Field Marshal Sir JOHN DENTON PINKSTONE FRENCH,Viscount of YPRESS and HIGH LAKE, LORD LIEUTENANT GENERAL andGENERAL GOVERNOR OF IRELAND, May it please Your Excellency We, the President and Fellows of the Royal College of Physiciansof Ireland, desire to approach Your Excellency upon your arrivalin this country as Representative of His Most Gracious Majesty theKing, with a cordial welcome and an expression of our devotedattachment to the Throne and Empire. At this moment when the forces of our King, drawn from all partsof his Empire, are engaged in a deadly struggle with our commonfoe for the defence of our homes and our liberty, we welcome theopportunity of expressing to you our unwavering attachment to theEmpire and our confidence in the ultimate triumph of the causefor which our people and our allies are fighting. In this great cause the Fellows, Members and Licentiates of thisCollege are willingly taking their part both at home and abroad,endeavouring, as far as in them lies, to bring health and healingto those who have suffered, and to ward off those attacks of which have so often proved the most dangerous enemies of in the field. A considerable number of the Fellows andMembers of the College are serving with His Majesty's forces, and who have obtained the License of the College since theoutbreak of the war some ninty per cent., have entered either theNaval or Military service. In leading what this common danger the Presidentand Fellows are merely carrying on the great tradi—tion of their College, handed down to them by their predecessorssince its foundation by King Charles the second. We desire to assure Your Excellency of our readiness to afford toHis Majesty and to His Government our hearty assistance in thistime of the Empire's peril, and to express again our loyalty toHis Throne. John French Letter from John French to John Redmond, 15 April 1916Letter from the President, Royal College of Physicians to Viscount French, 7 June 1918Letter from Thomas Kirkpatrick to Sir John French, 7 June 1918Letter from the President and Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians to Sir John French, 7 June 1918