TCD MS 10247/1/841 folio 1 recto
3 June 1917
Dear Mother, You can imagine how disappointed & disgusted I was on returning to the battery to find a silly idea [sic] had sent all my letters down to the base. It is hard to believe what fools some people can be! but when they mean the best you can’t very well strafe. Goodness knows now when I shall get my letters, if ever. Anyway I got one of yours & one from Win, and was much cheered on getting one from V enclosing May’s today. The Irish Times was distinctly interesting – one might say perhaps a bit idealistic and imaginative but after all it seems to be sentiment & not logic rules the world! – e.g. this war. Well anyway you can’t imagine how glad I am to be back in the battery again. I duly arrived the day before yesterday. After travelling all around France! The doctor wants to send me down the line – but I persuaded him to send me back to the battery instead – which he finally did much to my relief. I was heartily disgusted with lounging about the hospital all day. Wonderful the doctors are – cutting legs & arms day & night – certainly thats the rotten side of this poor fellows just sort of starting life and then crippled. One officer came in the same night as I did – he had hi[s] leg absolutely shattered from the knee down. But still he was in good spirits and