Captain George Berkeley Descriptive List (Ref. PR12)

PR12/

Draft of PR12/93

3pp

28 July 1914

Letter, from Captain George Berkeley, Officer Commanding (pro tem) Belfast Regiment, Irish Volunteers, Grand Central Hotel, Belfast, to ‘Dear Sir’. Berkeley refers to the conversation in the offices of the Irish Volunteers. It is impossible to recognise private arms or ammunition amongst members owing to the danger in the hands of untrained men. Arms must be served out by and returned to the Central Authority.

2pp

30 July 1914

Orders from Captain Berkeley, concerning training and other activities of Irish Volunteers Belfast Regiment. Instructions such as, musketry instructions at St. Mary’s Hall at 8pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; Regimental office hours for men wishing to join the Irish Volunteers, Gaelic sports.

2 September 1914

Letter from Captain George Berkeley, Grand Central Hotel, Belfast, to ‘Dear Colonel Moore’ (Inspector General’s Office, Irish Volunteers, Dublin). Concerns an ‘annoying’ resolution passed at a meeting of the General Committee, so ‘...injudicious that I told them I would resign and start for home…’. He is as annoyed as anyone at the ‘loss of our men’ and thinks that McCullough is at the bottom of it thoug h ‘it was proposed by a conceited young ass named Conolly…’. Copy of resolution given, concerning instructions to prevent Irish Volunteers enlisting for ‘the furtherance of any war in which we are not as a nation concerned’.

3pp

4 September 1914

Draft letter from Captain George Berkeley, Belfast, to ‘Dear Sir’, John Simon. Concerns ‘anxious’ situation and discontent due to strain of waiting so many months for Home Rule. Berkeley believes that if the Bill is not signed soon ‘there will be an uprising of the Sinn Fein & other extremeists…’. This will take the form of an anti-enlistment campaign. The local organisers of the Irish Volunteers

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