Letter from Frances Hodgkins to Will Field
Date
14 Apr 1918
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Object Detail
Date
14 Apr 1918
Transcript
St Ives April 14th
My Dear Will
Another week has gone by & still no news of Geoff. I am doing all I possibly can to get news of him. The H.C. has not written yet but these things take time. I have written to one of the Miss Wilsons (of Chch) who is working among the N.Zealanders to do what she can & a man I know of whose brother is just back from the recent fighting wounded in the London hospital, where he says, every man but himself & one other, is a N. Zealander. I have given him Geoff’s address & he is going to enquire all round. It may be of course that Geoff is too pressed & harassed to write to me. Without fearing the worst one must face the possibility of one of several nasty things happening. One hears so often of men gassed losing their memory temporarily. This new mustard gas the enemy is using affects the eyes more than the lungs. This is just a hurried line to let you know that I am fully alive & aware of the horrors our dear Geoff is up against & that you & Sis may rely on me to act at once if I get any news that is disquieting. I would give much to hear of him being in hospital with a clean shrapnel wound, & safely out of that hell over there. The men who are back from it are certain it cant last much longer at this awful pace: but will it mean that England will be England again? Haigs appeal has thrilled & rallied the nation, and I hope settled the Man Power bill, as no doubt it was meant to. I hear from Judge Rich that my pictures have reached Sydney after 4 ½ months and in another ship – something spirited must have befallen them. Love to all I am all hopes fears & alarms but it is no time to despair. If ever there was a time to rouse our souls it is now. Our men are fighting to the death for us. We must be strong. It is the real crisis. I am thinking of you all & loving you. I can say no more. Yrs Fanny
My Dear Will
Another week has gone by & still no news of Geoff. I am doing all I possibly can to get news of him. The H.C. has not written yet but these things take time. I have written to one of the Miss Wilsons (of Chch) who is working among the N.Zealanders to do what she can & a man I know of whose brother is just back from the recent fighting wounded in the London hospital, where he says, every man but himself & one other, is a N. Zealander. I have given him Geoff’s address & he is going to enquire all round. It may be of course that Geoff is too pressed & harassed to write to me. Without fearing the worst one must face the possibility of one of several nasty things happening. One hears so often of men gassed losing their memory temporarily. This new mustard gas the enemy is using affects the eyes more than the lungs. This is just a hurried line to let you know that I am fully alive & aware of the horrors our dear Geoff is up against & that you & Sis may rely on me to act at once if I get any news that is disquieting. I would give much to hear of him being in hospital with a clean shrapnel wound, & safely out of that hell over there. The men who are back from it are certain it cant last much longer at this awful pace: but will it mean that England will be England again? Haigs appeal has thrilled & rallied the nation, and I hope settled the Man Power bill, as no doubt it was meant to. I hear from Judge Rich that my pictures have reached Sydney after 4 ½ months and in another ship – something spirited must have befallen them. Love to all I am all hopes fears & alarms but it is no time to despair. If ever there was a time to rouse our souls it is now. Our men are fighting to the death for us. We must be strong. It is the real crisis. I am thinking of you all & loving you. I can say no more. Yrs Fanny
Pages
2 pages
Sender's address
St Ives
Recipient's address
W.H.Field M.P. Solicitor, Wellington, N.Z. P.M. 15 Apr. 18
Institutional No.
MS-Papers-0085-34
Credit Line
Letters.
Field,
Isabel
Jane,
1867-1950
:
Correspondence
of
Frances
Hodgkins
and
family
/
collected
by
Isabel
Field.
Ref:
MS-Papers-0085-34.
Alexander
Turnbull
Library,
Wellington,
New
Zealand.
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23182852
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23182852