Mary Ward Letter to Joseph Boyce - October 24, 1918
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[October] 24th 1918 My dear cousin Joseph, My silence upbraid one & I feel very guilty for my apparent neglectof yr. splendid letter with enclosures received a considerable time ago - I forwarded to Hubert Madame Beauregards letter & all you sent. I see by yrs. received just now that he had only time to say he read them & acknowledged. For months he get only a "field card" or a few times "While the horses feed" - how busy he & Mr Airadn have been for months the latter writes "We hear rumors of peace but Mother dear it is bloody war out here" we are at it day & night" [left margin] goodbye & God bless & spare you all to see a satisfactory peace accompanied by genious victory tonight about by the help of your dear country. Only for the American assistance where [ms illegible: 1 wd] be now. Good luck to them my dear Joe yr. fond cousin Mary Ward
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[Page 2] "our victories have bucked us up & we are more enthusiastic than ever". So far thank God Hubert & Edward are safe & sound. Hubert says his luck is extraordinary & he attributes it to prayer. I am getting his decorations photographed for you & I will get a letter typed for you sent once by a great friend, Kit MacCarthy who was at Hubert's investiture at [Bellingham] Palace by the King July 17th 1918. She is a life long friend of Ms Children - she is on the stage & a great success. The photo & the letter will follow this promptly. The destruction of life & property on the sea by the Hun is appalling. The mail boat Leinster close on 1000 lost - the T.T. "Dundalk" & another
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[Page 3] steamer all inside a week. It is heart rending & marry heart & hearth are sad & lonely for loved & lost ones so cruelly & so unexpectedly sent to eternity - some where blown to atoms. Two torpedoes being used, "The Dundalk" sunk in three minutes. Sorrow & gloom rests on this flourishing town from this disaster. Today we have requiem mass in St. Patricks Cathedral for the repose of those lost in the Dundalk. our loved Cardinal presided last ev at a meeting held to protect against such outrage. The words of his
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[Page 4] Eminence were well chosen & went through to every heart. While sorrow came he was ever formed to console & comfort this sympathy so Kind so practical seems above all his other good deed 2000 [British Pound Sterling] were subscribed & [ms illegible: 1 wd] will grow. Seventy four children have to be provided for - orphans of the [ms illegible: 1 wd] - Thank God the good people of Dundalk, headed by Cardinal Logue will see to them & they will not be abandoned. I have had a good deal of trouble & worry myself - sickness & then Tony joining the Royal Air Force before he finished his profession. I will not dwell on my own trouble it is selfish to mention it in face of the end happenings so grave in results. I hope you are all well - How is Uncle Tony? [ms illegible: 1 wd] sal. Mary & all
Details
| Title | Mary Ward Letter to Joseph Boyce - October 24, 1918 |
| Creator | Ward, Mary |
| Source | Ward, Mary. Mary Ward Letter to Joseph Boyce. 24 October 1918. Boyce, Joseph Collection, 1844-1913. A0161. The Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | In this letter, dated October 24, 1918, Mary Ward wrote Joseph Boyce of St. Louis concerning her son Hubert Ward's military service. |
| Subject LCSH | Great Britain. Army. British Expeditionary Force; Great Britain. Army--Cavalry; Great Britain. Army. Royal Army Medical Corps; Great Britain. Royal Air Force; World War, 1914-1918--Atrocities |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Bellingham Palace |
| Site Accession Number | A0161 |
| Contributing Institution | Missouri History Museum |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond those allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Missouri History Museum: 314-746-4510 |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. Contact the Missouri History Museum's Permissions Office at 314-746-4511 to obtain written consent. |
| Date Original | October 24, 1918 |
| Language | English |