Sent from Sinaia. Ifor has no news except that he has diarrhoea and the weather is overcast. He is expecting to see Mr Vaitila Bratiaun(?) and will then have a better idea of what his plans for the next 2 to 3 weeks will be.
Informing his mother that her order for him arrived yesterday. He is sorry about the considerable cost incurred, then informs her of his plan to leave Paris and expected arrive in London.
Detailing definitive arrangement for Ifor's trip to Germany. He details costs and suggest a route of travel; provides advice on how best to prepare and the things he should bring with him.
Sends thanks for Ifor's letter and his recommend of Wycliffe to Mr Richards. He writes that they currently have many more applicants than vacancies and is not expecting any considerable number to arise until Christmas. Furthermore he says that Ifor did not tell him nearly as much about himself in his letter as he wished but hopes he is enjoying life. He also adds that he has just heard that the contingent of Wycliffe boys are keeping loyal to Wycliffe traditions.
Thanks for letter of 4th this month. ILE answered this before, but the letter was returned as undeliverable, so now attempting postcard instead. Held here as a prisoner of war for these last four weeks. Things are okay, and ILE has his books and other stuff with him. He has received his money from home. Please send this news on to his father.
In reply to ILE. The writer states he is currently busy studying French, specifically the essays of Montaigne, whose philosophy he likes, but whose style he finds archaic and incorrect. There is not much new to say about events at the Lycée. Fat Laborde has gone to Paris to enter St. Louis to prepare for joining the navy in three years time. The writer is working hard, though not as much as in the first semester, as he has been a little distracted with writing literary prose and poetry. He goes to Paris once a month to do something disreputable. This might scandalize ILE, but what is a man to do? He has to divert himself somehow. There is a new Scottish boy who as yet does not speak a word of French. He is quite rich and has been living it up. The principal has remonstrated with him several times, but always to no avail. And he has a saying that the French are "no more pigs" than the others. The writer is getting bored at the Lycée as he has been here for four years. Hopefully at Easter he will go to Paris to attend the Lycée Carnot, with the old Principal who was so much fun. He is only interested in his studies now so he can go to Paris where there is so much binging, he will forget about work. He has heard ILE is off to Germany for his studies. He hopes that ILE will write him from time to relate his experiences of the Germans and their habits.
Ifor writes from the investigatory prison in Neurenburg. ILE thanks him for his card. Please inform ILE's father that he is well, but that he finds himself held as a prisoner in Neurenburg. Could he send 25 pounds to the American Consul there, who will pass the money on to ILE. Could he also send 3 cards to Mrs. Dale, Hughes & Harold to inform them that their sons are all well, but also imprisoned here in Neurenburg. Things are not going too badly, ILE has English friends here.
Thanks for postcard of ILE's father that he received today. Unfortunately ILE is being held as a prisoner of war for 5 weeks now. Remainder partly unreadable - something about Prussia. Please tell parents not to fear for him.
Mr Dale is overjoyed that the Ruhleben prisoners are soon to be released. He does not know when exactly Ifor will get home but hopes he will get this letter soon. Mr Dale hopes to visit a friend in Kerry on 14 December and wonders if it would be possible to visit Ifor on his way home. He has no idea where Kerry is but hopes it is not far from Aberdare.
Thanks for card of 7th this month. ILE is well. Please inform parents I can be released from prison in Nuremberg in return for 3000 marks bounty. Dale and Hughes have been released in the town for the last 3 weeks because of their health. Send greetings to my family.
Thanks for letter received today. Returning a card instead of a letter as it is more certain to be received. 3000 marks is wanted to release ILE from confinement. ILE is well and cannot complain about his treatment, but he longs to be released. The prisoners are allowed to walk in the court every day for 3 hours and they can get supplies from the prison or the town. The Consul takes care of them. Please greet his parents.
From Nuremberg. Thanks for postcard. Unfortunately ILE has to inform him he is being held as a prisoner of war in Nuremberg. He hopes to be released in some days. Otherwise he is well. Please send this news on to his father. He fears to die here before the end of the war.
Happy to have received ILE's letter. Finally ILE has left the German hell and happily enough in good health too. He and his family rejoice that the trials and tribulations ILE and his parents have borne over the last four years is now over. How has ILE borne this trial. How difficult it must have been to be a prisoner. He hopes Britain and France will go forward together to a better future. Poor France has suffered terribly, too many of her youth have been sacrificed and her occupied lands systematically destroyed. An immense desolation in a devastated region. The French will never be able to forget this and other crimes against humanity. As ILE knows, the writer's own lands were devastated by the Boche. He asks ILE whether he remembers seeing it. Those beautiful memories of 1912. The writer has informed George of ILE's news. George is in the Alsace. He ends by giving his address (c/o 237th Regiment Campaign Artillery) and extending family greetings.
He was delighted to hear from Ifor and wishes he was in a position to accept his offer to spend a weekend with him and his parents. However his future plans are currently uncertain and he is unable to consider anything of the kind at present. Mr Dale explains that he has plans to visit Gibraltar 14-20 January, though has had trouble getting his passport. So much so that he dare not leave town in case he is summoned to attend the Passport Office. He will be travelling overland via Paris and Madrid; he will return via Rome and Paris. He writes that all this travelling has given him an excuse to retire from his post at St Stephen's. He asks what Ifor is planning to do with himself before saying that if he thinks of coming to town before he leaves, he will be most welcome to stay.
He dare not attempt the journey from Kerry to Aberdare. He has an important engagement in Emma on the Tuesday and could not possibly make the journey from Kerry to Aberdare and then be home again by Monday.
Glad to hear ILE's news after these last five years. His French is excellent. He addresses ILE with tu as this is common usage amongst comrades, especially in the army. He is glad to hear that the political debacle gives ILE no pleasure. The military debacle neither. The writer and his fellow soldiers were en route to the front towards Nachy for the 'famous' attack that never took place because the colonel came past in his automobile crying out to us the good news. The last three months of the war under the command of General Mangin have been hard. Perhaps ILE knows that the general has a bad reputation. The writer does not know whether the German army deserved its defeat. Perhaps all that happened was deserved. In the army we have always considered that the enemy troops defended themselves tenaciously until the very end. We were, after three months of pursuit, in front of their famous Hermann Stellung at the end of last October and the Prussian Troops defended it with their usual courage and their artillery gave a good and precise account of itself. As for the writer, he will not be demobilized until June or July. Meanwhile they are having a capital time in the Alsace. If ILE is in France in six months perhaps they could meet, but in these times nothing is certain. The writer ends by speculating whether in the future he will go to study in Paris or Edinburgh.
How is ILE? Writer has gone to war and has been at the frontlines since the beginning. He has experienced great misfortunes, having lost his brother, mother and little daughter. The only person left to him in the world is his wife. He asks ILE's opinion of the war and states that England has good reasons for pursuing its participation in the war with vigour. Morale is excellent. He awaits ILE's letter impatiently.
The writer has received ILE's letter of 30 March with great pleasure. The writer did not do military service during the war, because of his extreme myopia. His health was very good until May 1918 when he caught the flu, which whilst not serious, was very persistent and annoying. He caught the Spanish Influenza when it was at its height in Cerignola. Now he is better, but still somewhat feeble. He hopes to recover fully soon. He understands that ILE was in captivity in Germany during the war, and that this has released him from his sympathies for his German cousins. Does ILE remember his project in Tours for an Anglo-German alliance? Could ILE relate his experiences during his long stay in Germany to the writer. As regards the writer's plans - they are still the same. He hopes to join the consular service. Subsequently he remarks that there are a lot of opportunities for an import-export company in Italy. There are good opportunities here for ILE. If he comes to Italy, he hopes to meet ILE again. And ILE should not find it difficult to learn Italian.
