Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association/Monica Roberts Collection

Repository: Dublin City Archives

Identity Statement

TitleRoyal Dublin Fusiliers Association/Monica Roberts Collection
Archive ReferenceIE DCLA/RDFA/001
Web Link to this Entryhttps://iar.ie/archive/royal-dublin-fusiliers-associationmonica-roberts-collection
Creation DatesOct 1914-Oct 1918
Extent Medium782 items

Context

Creator(s): Monica Roberts

  • Administrative History ↴

    In 1914, Monica Roberts established ‘The Band of Helpers to the Soldiers’ in her home village of Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland. This group of friends raised money to provide comforts to soldiers fighting in the First World War, including socks, vaseline, cigarettes and chocolate. Soldiers wrote to thank Monica Roberts for the gifts and a correspondence ensued.
  • Archival History ↴

    Donated by Mrs Mary Shackleton, daughter of Monica Roberts, per Mr. Tom Burke, M.B.E., Chairman, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, June 2005
  • Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

    Donation

Content & Structure

  • Scope & Content: Monica Roberts ↴

    418 letters; 328 envelopes; 29 postcards; 1 concert ticket; 1 song-sheet; 1 memorial card; 1 playbill; 1 diary; 2 photographs. Many envelopes are marked by Censor. 14 postcards contain inserts embroidered in silks. Letters and postcards describe training received by soldiers, life in the trenches, songs and activities used by soldiers to boost moral, attitudes towards the German enemy and Kaiser, death and injury of their comrades, and homesickness for Ireland. Correspondents include soldiers from Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Flying Corps, Belgian Army, and the British Expeditionary Forces. Soldiers are from a variety of ranks including private, chaplain, corporal, captain and sergeant major. Whilst some wrote only a single letter of thanks to Monica Roberts, others wrote over thirty throughout the course of the war. Diary is a copy of a contemporary original eye-witness account of the Easter Rising 1916, written by Monica Roberts, giving a unionist perspective.

  • Appraisal Destruction ↴

    Permanent Retention
  • Arrangement ↴

    Collection is arranged according to sender.

Conditions of Access & Use

Access Conditions Available to view by public who apply for research card in Dublin City Library and Archive Reading Room, 138-144 Pearse street, Dublin 2
Conditions Governing ReproductionBy permission of donor; per Dublin City Archivist
Creation DatesOct 1914-Oct 1918
Extent Medium782 items
Material Language ScriptEnglish, French
Finding Aids MS Access Database which records name of correspondent, his service number, number of letters sent, and covering dates. Archive Web Link →

Allied Materials

Copies InformationPostcards and some letters have been scanned. Exhibition on display boards has been generated.
Related MaterialRoyal Dublin Fusiliers Association Archive at DCLA, in particular RDFA/017 Keogh Postcard Collection. Service records of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers are held by the National Archives, Kew, London (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk)
Publication NoteDigital Copies and transcriptions of letters available at: http://www.dublinheritage.ie/monicaroberts/index.php

Descriptive Control Area

Archivist NoteMary Clark, Andrew O'Brien
Rules/ConventionsISAD(G): General International Standards Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
Date of Descriptions38626