Transcriptions
1916 PR6/11 Irish prisoners in Wakefield and Frongoch (Seamus Fitzgerald letter)
Address to reply to – C 1036 James Fitzgerald Irish Prisoner (Wakefield) London c/o Chief Postal Censor
Wakefield Prison Sat 10 th June 1916
My Dearest Mother, // It is strange that / I have not had any letter from you. / since the PC you sent with the clothes [crossed out] / I have got in all one you sent with / the money order. I have got in all, / five PCs and one letter from Bob. You / must thank him for the parcel which / I received yesterday containing biscuits. / Only for what we receive from outside we / would never be able to live here at all. // Well, mother, I have news to hand, but / I can’t say that it is good news. One / hundred are leaving here this morning for / a concentration camp in North Wales (called / Frongoch). I was included with them at/ first by mistake, but am still here. / Nonetheless, I can’t say how long more we / [new page] may be here. It is said a lot more are / to go to concentration camps. This means / of course that the first appeal that these men / made for release has been dismissed and / they are given one week more to make a / second and final appeal. If this appeal / fails, in all probability they will be / imprisoned for an indefinite period. I hope / so that my appeal will be taken, altho’ my / hopes have been shattered a little. You see / it all depends on the charges which the police / of the district have manufactured against / them, and I’m sure those in Q’town haven’t / any qualms of conscience for me. // The imprisonment is beginning to tell a / little on us now. I have lost my appetite / and feel rather melancholy now and then. / It is a long time to be imprisoned and / it has been all anxiety from the start. / It is especially distressing to see a lot / of those who were fighting escaping scot / free and innocent men being kept a / great deal longer in prison. Not of / course that I wouldn’t like to see / everyone free, but it isn’t fair and / shows the blundering of the Government, / [new page] or, what is a great deal more probable, / the spite which the police bear / a lot of those men and the harm which / they are undoubtedly trying to do / them. That is why I fear if such will / be my case or not! // I asked you to send on some food, / as I am greatly in need of it. Yet, / I never got any from you, altho’ Lily and / Bob sent me some. I would like you / now to send me some money instead/ say 15/- , as they would not allow us the / even pounds but keep them until our / release. // I saw on the Cork Exam of the / loss of Patrick. It is a terrible blow to / us all. I pray for him every day. and / hope he is in heaven (PG). // The weather here is very cold and / dismal. I had a letter from Willie Farrell. / I hope all at home are well and that / ye received all the letters I sent. / I sent one to Pat’k, Lily, you, and Bob / this week. No more news, so goodbye / for the present. I remain, my dearest Mother, // Your loving son, // Jim// PS Excuse writing. It is quite dark. Jim [Ends]
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