TCD MS 11274/21 folio 2 recto
[11 March 1916]
the papers to the time he had to report at the War Office. I was quite amused by your two classes of people you met with different views on RGA & its functions I would like the Home Defence better if I were you. You may have seen that Lord Kitchener in the House of Lords stated they were withdrawing some picked anti-aircraft & gunners from here to look after your Zeppelins. A disgraceful thing if I may say so since everyone knows that they dont do a penworth of appreciable damage there and the number of casualties do not amount to a row of beans proportionately to the value of anti-aircraft gunners to keep the enemy’s planes high up & so hinder reconnaisance work. I should have thought everybody knew this.
Ive just been reading your “John Ferguson” again & like it a good deal and I can see it would be a terribly sad & tragic play. All the characters are very good. I got your (?) shamrock and am keeping it in water till the 1th as also your green flag. Im so afraid of it being pinched off my bike by one of the many beastly little children that live in the village. Yes beastly Im sorry to say it. They are as badly brought up as Canadian children which says a lot & their dogs too are cross This is probably because they use the poor dogs for drawing little carts & put muzzles onto them. I had a row with two children about 4 & 6 I think. They annoyed me by making a clattering noise with a bicycle pump & irritating a puppy with it too, so I took their bicycle pump & threw it away and also took the dog from them