Penny News Pamphlets for Plain People

Page 1

DENNY NEWS DAMPHLETS FOR LAIN EOPLE N.I. MEN OF THE FREE STATE ARMY— READ WHAT YOUR ENGLISH ALLIES THINK OF YOU. English soldiers attached to the Free State Army are instructing men at Baldonnell Aerodrome. They write letters to their homes in England and, having succeeded in intercepting some of these, we quote the following passages worth noting:- 'I have been out here for about a week now under the protection of the Free State Army. It is a ragtime lot. They are carry loaded arms and threaten to plug one another; officers and men alive. There are two of us here and when we go into the city at night they send us, in a car with an escort of six of these madness, and come to fetch us back at night. We haven't been ambushed yet but expect it every time we go into town. It gets quite exciting at times. On Friday night we were walking up one of the main streets and they started off shooting machine guns from the house tops and rifles in all directions - I don't know what at, for all I could see were men and women walking about just as if everything was quiet'. 'Just a few lines to say we are still alive up to time of writing. You ought to see this place-now. It would break a good soldier's heart to see the way they carry on. The men talk to the officers when on parade and threaten to shoot one another, and there are shots going off all day and night. On Friday one lad was shot dead in one of the huts while unloading. The officers are just as bad as the men. I was in the mess the other night and a crowd came in and called for drinks. They threw their guns all over the place and one went off. You should have seen me move through that door. You should see the car they came to meet us with at the station - an open tender with about six men with guns and were drove through the city like h---. We have a car at our disposal and an escort any night we like. We haven't been ambushed yet but expect to be one night coming home at about 12-30. My pal has gone on a trip to Limerick to look over and get off if possible a Bristol that had a forced landing and damaged the leading edge of one plane. They say it is very hot down that way. He went this morning in an armoured car. They don't know the first thing about any engine or machine here. There hasn't been a machine off the ground yet since we have been over. I think they are waiting to get the two AVROS so they can get some duty on to them. Remember us to the boys and TELL THEM THERE IS PLENTY OF WORK OVER HERE IF THEY GET THE SACK'. Now then English Unemployed roll up and join the Free State Army. You will soon outrumber the Irishmen in it. Most of the decent Irishmen have downed arms in Portsbelle and Wellington Barrens and more follow suit daily. Irishmen - how much longer do you intend to wait?