1 Ivanhoe Lindsay Road. Thursday 4th My darling Bert Well my dear once again I can sit
down & write you a letter. Thank God we are all
still alive & well, although I need hardly tell you we've
been through an awful time. Oh no Bert I never want
to hear guns again. we've had quite sufficient since Easter
Monday. We are all very well up in sniping & machine
Guns etc. etc. On Easter Monday Kit and I were going off
to Howth by the 10 to 3 & your Father, Mother, Uncle Joe
Auntie Mag & Arthur were going down by the same train
just as we were going up Liindsay Road a Priest stopped
us and said for goodness sake not to go down town as there
was terrible work going on down there and that the Sinn Feiners
had taken the Post Office. Needless to say we didn't attempt
to go down to Howth but just went up the canal for a
walk. About 1 o'clock in the morning we were wakened by
the most awful banging & this went on off and on for the week.
I suppose Bert if I say too much this letter won't be
let through so like the soldiers in France we'll have to 2 Sing dumb. Suffice it to say that Sackville St from
Taaffes down to O'Connell Bridge is in ruins our old
show half of it is standing all right but the rest is in
a hopeless state & we've got to start work again on Monday,
in the good half, all the staff are quite all right thank
goodness. You know my dear I came up to Ivanhoe for
three days and I'm here still and it's just a fortnight now.
Louise and her Mother only came back from Cork yesterday
They had ten days there instead of one, but as I told
Louise she was well out of it. I'm sure you were in
an awful state Bert when you didn't get any letters.
& were wondering what on earth had happened. I was pitying you
& wishing I could let you have a word to say we were
all right. Poor Uncle Joe's place is down and out, wouldn't
you feel awfully sorry for him after all his years work gone
for nothing. So Auntie May says if you have any have any stray halfpennies
knocking around you can send them on, she also said she
would write when things settle down a bit. Oh by the
way Kiddums has the sore throat. I hope you have quite
got rid of it by this. I do hope we'll get some letters
very soon to let us know how you are Of course
Chris hasn't turned up yet. I suppose they wouldn't
let him cross, but it's very well that he didn't come for
Easter. Well Bert dear when we all get together again
you boys won't be the only ones that can tell tales
about the war. The funny side of the business was 3 to see all the men going for the grub and carrying
sacks of flour, bundles of rhubarb & cauliflower
We were nearly sick of the sight of rhubarb, I'm
sure the men never did so much shopping in their lives
Your Mother introduced me to Howard one day, so
we had a long chat with him. I also was speaking
to his wife & saw the baby. Well Bert there
was a delivery of letters to day & I got your one
written on Good Friday & I was very glad to hear
that the throat was better, you certainly must have
had it pretty bad. but you showed your good sense
in not smoking as it would have irritated it terribly
It was grand getting a letter again after not having
had one for just a fortnight. Oh no my dear I wouldn't
like to have to go through a week like we've just had
not for all I'd get. What absolutely got on my nerves
were the snipers as you didn't know where on earth
they were firing from you can imagine that when Kit
and I were sitting out in the garden we heard a bang
& a whiz over our heads you should have seen
me doing a gallop into the house. Another evening
we were down in Uncle Joe's & were sitting out in
the garden when a few whizzed by, we had the
military up as far as the top of Lindsay Road
Doyle's Corner & Cabra was a pretty hot place. A
bullet came in the window of our little room off
the kitchen at home. but there was nobody in the
room at the time lucky enough. Oh I could tell
you any amount only I can't think of everything 4 I will send you on the papers & then you can judge
for yourself all that's happened You would honestly
feel inclined to cry if you saw the town & especially
the G.P.O. which had been done up so beautifully.
the four walls and pillars are really all that's standing
Of course there were terrible fires in town & that's what
did the most of the damage. On Easter Monday
night Percy couldn't get home from Howth he had
to stay in the Royal Hotel & June couldn't get back.
from the mountains & of course I was up here so
Mother & the Pater were in a terrible state they weren't
so anxious about June as they thought she might have
gone to Dartmouth Villas but they didn't know where
Percy had got to & of course Mother kept imagining
the worst. However, I'm thankful to say they both
turned up on Tuesday, although Percy had to walk
from Howth along with many another, as they didn't
run any trams the whole time. Some of the nights
I didn't get more than a few hours sleep as you know of
old Bert I'm not a terribly brave person. Oh I
absolutely can't tell you how thankful I am that
it's all over. We can breathe freely again now.
We've all got to be in at 7.30 & as there's no
trams or noise of any kind the silence is sometimes
inclined to get on your nerves. My dear when you come
home we'll have so much to tell you about our war 5 that we won't have time to listen to your French a/c
we were getting off too safe altogether we simply had
to have our share but we've had quite sufficient, I
can tell you. I went in to
to day nearly all the staff were there but of course
we couldn't do anything, the men folk were trying to
get the good half into some kind of order, the place was
simply soaking in water after the Fire Brigade, a lot
of stuff was looted & of course a lot damaged but
I was surprised to see such a lot of stuff intact
considering. From the G.P.O. down to the place beside
us is completely in ruins. Oh I simply couldn't
describe the look of the place to you Bert. I only
stay in my office back here for
the rest of the day. I suppose we will have to stay
all day on Friday though. Did you hear anything about
this trouble over in France Bert? You might by
chance have heard it but I suppose the other Boys
wouldn't hear anything at all. Now dearest I'm not
going to write any more this time & I hope sincerely
that this will reach you safely, as I'm sure you
are anxiously looking out for a letter. Oh yes dear
we have a great lot to be thankful for. 6 No. 75598. Sapper A. G. Woodman 'L' Signal Company. Army Post Office S.I. British Expeditionary Force France