March 1924

Seagoe Parish Magazine.

MARCH, 1924.

A Splendid Gift to Seagoe Parish.

The Central Church Fund Committee of the Church

of Ireland have, through the Representative Church

Body, given a most generous gift to the Parish of

Seagoe. The Rector on Saturday, February 23, received

from the Rev. R. A. Kernan, B.D., Assistant

Secretary of the Representative Body, the following

letter notifying the gift :—

52 St. Stephen's Green,

Dublin, 22nd February, 1924.

To the Rev. Canon Archer, B.D.

Rector of Seagoe (Dromore).

Sir,—I am directed by the Representative Church

Body to inform you that at their meeting this week

they approved of a grant from the Central Church

Fund of a sum of £150 per annum to the Parish of

Seagoe towards providing a Second Curate for the

Parish, on condition that the sum be made up to

the Minimum Stipend from other sources. The grant

to be for a period of five years, or until the Curacy

falls vacant.

I am, your obedient servant,

R. A. KERNAN, Assist. secy.

The sum so generously offered is not sufficient to

cover the income of a Second Curate. It will require

to be supplemented by at least £50, and perhaps a

still larger sum, but we are quite sure that the

Parishioners will make a ready response in consideration

of the generous way in which the Parish

has been dealt with by the authorities of the Church.

The appointment of a Second Curate will help to

solve some of our difficulties as a Parish. It is important,

too, as a recognition of the fact, so often

emphasised in recent years, that a Rector and one

Curate is not a sufficient staff for so large and

populous a Parish. With our great and growing

population of Church people this Parish possesses

splendid possibilities, which can be largely developed with a sufficient staff.

LENT, 1924.

This year Lent will begin on March 5th, Ash

Wednesday. Loyal members of the Church who

understand and value the round of the Christian

Year will observe this season by special self denial,

Prayer, and attendance at Public Worship and Holy

Communion. It is the time when the Christian takes

stock of his position in the sight of God, and to

attain to a true knowledge of himself he has much

recourse to solemn self examination. We hope that

many will avail themselves of the Special Services

which will be held in the Parish Church and at other

centres

Ash Wednesday Services,

11.30 a.m.—Morning Prayer, Litany, and Service for

Self-examination

8 p.m.—Evening Prayer and Sermon.

On the Wednesday Evenings during Lent the

following subjects will be considered at the Services at

8 p.m. in the Parish Church—

March 5th—Ash Wednesday, Repentance.

12th— ' Our Sunday Schools."

19th —" Our Bible Classes."

26th— ' Our Home Life."

April 2nd—" Holy Communion."

9th— " Non Churchgoing. "

Special Services will be held in the Parish Church

during Holy Week, beginning April 13th. See the

April issue of the Magazine for particulars.

The Rev. F. J. Halahan, M.C., Rector of Drumcree,

will preach in the Parish Church on Sunday evening, March 30th.

On Sunday, March 9th (1st in Lent) Special

Temperance Sermons will be preached at Morning and

Evening Prayer, and Collections will be made on

behalf of the Diocesan Temperance Society and the

Irish Temperance Alliance.

Our Sunday Schools.

Almost all the Teachers have now provided

themselves with Notes on the Lessons with the result that

really good sound instruction is being imparted to

the children in all our Sunday Schools each Sunday.

We hope the Teachers will use the book to the full

and introduce " expression " work. It is very useful

and is very interesting for the children.

If any Teacher has not yet paid for "Notes" the Rector

would be glad to receive the amount.

Seagoe Select Vestry.

At their last meeting held on Monday, February

25th, the following Vote of Thanks was unanimously

passed to the Representative Church Body for their

generous gift to the Parish for a Second Curate. It

was proposed by Mr. Moses Gilpin and seconded by

Miss Atkinson—" That we, the members of the Select

Vestry of Seagoe Parish, hereby express our gratitude

to the Reepresentative Church Body for their

generous grant of £150 per annum for five years

towards providing a Second Curate for the Parish."

Edenderry Parochial Hall.

In the near future a substantial iron railing will

be erected round the grounds of the Parochial Hall.

This is much needed. The present unsightly gate

and palings have always been an eyesore. So fine a

building should have well protected grounds.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE,

Drumgor Sale of Works

EASTER TUESDAY, APRIL 22nd.

Please keep this date in mind, and also keep it clear

of other engagements. Drumgor is having a Sale of

Work on that date to raise money to renovate and

improve the School buildings. The people at that.

end of the Parish can do anything when they make

up their minds to do it, and the Drumgor folk, young

and old, are working might and main to make the

Sale a huge success. There will be all kinds of

amusements, and the Stalls will be well stocked with

goods of every description. Help them by your

sympathy, gifts and presents. Remember Easter Tuesday.

Parish Register for February.

Baptisms.

The following were Baptized in Seagoe Parish

Church on February 2nd, 1924—

M'Court—Desmond, son of Henry and Matilda Kathleen M'Court, of Edenderry.

Sponsors—Mary Gracey, Matilda Kathleen M'Court.

Fiddes—Winifred, daughter of Robert and Mary Elizabeth Fiddes, of Edenderry.

Sponsors—Anne Best, Mary Elizabeth Fiddes.

RuddeIl—Mary Isabella, daughter of Joseph and Mary Jane Ruddell, of Kernan.

Sponsors—Dinah M'Cabe, Mary Jane Ruddell.

Cilpin—Pearl, daughter of Richard John and Ellen Gilpin, of Carne.

Sponsors—Sarah Jane Gilpin, Ellen Gilpin.

C)ayton—Winifred, daughter of William and Mary Elizabeth Clayton, of Portadown.

Sponsors—Charlotte Fulton, Mary Elizabeth Clayton.

Marriages.

M'Crory and Thompson—February 15th, 1924, Joseph Alexander M'Crory, of Edenderry,

to Margaret Thompson, of Edenderry.

M'Cormick and Reid—February 20th, 1924, Thomas John M'Cormick, of Ballyhannon,

to Elizabeth Reid, of Edenderry.

Beckett and Boyce—February 28th, 1924, William Robert Beckett, of Tamnifiglasson,

to Sarah Boyce, of Bocombra.

Burials,

Guy—February 4th, Sarah Guy, of Lower Seagoe, aged 74.

Carson—February 6th, at the Forster Green Hospital,

Margaret Elizabeth Carson, of Upper Seagoe, aged 32.

Allen—February 16th, William Allen, of Edenderry, aged 48.

Quinn—February 23rd, Mary Jane Quinn, of Drumnacanvey, aged 73.

Death of Mrs, Sarah Guy.

We regret to record the death of Mrs. Sarah Guy,

of Lower Seagoe, which occurred very suddenly on

the evening of Saturday, February 2nd. Mrs. Guy

had been in her usual vigorous health until an hour

or two before the end came. We will miss her very

much from the Services in the Parish Church. For

years she had attended the Service on Wednesday

evenings with unfailing regularity, never being

absent from her place in the House of Prayer, and

though advanced in years she delighted also to share

in the Service of Holy Communion celebrated each

month in the early hours (8 a.m.) of the Day or

Rest and Worship. Suddenly translated from Time

to Eternity she was found steadfastly at the post of

Duty. One who knew her intimately has written of

her : " She was a good Christian woman, a lowly

and humble follower of our Saviour, but, not one

that talked a lot about it, but one that lived it in

her daily life, and of whose life it may be said

' The trivial round, the common task

Will furnish all we ought to ask,

Room to deny ourselves ; a road

To bring us, daily, nearer God.'

and in her case it was true." We express our

sympathy with her daughters in their bereavement.

Jews' Society,

The Rev. I. E. Davidson, of the Jews' Society, will

(D. V.) give a Lantern Lecture on the work of the

Society in Edenderry Parochial Hall on Thursday.

March 13th, at 8 p.m. Those who have boxes for the

Society are asked to return them without delay to

the Secs. (Miss Halliday and Miss Rachel England)

so that they may be opened and the amount counted

at the Meeting.

ITEMS.

The Mothers' Union meets (D.V.) in the Parochial

Hall on Tuesday, March 4th, at 3.30.

" Flu " of a mild type has been prevalent in the Parish.

Sam Gracey, Air Artificer, Halton Camp, England,

has passed his Trade Test exam. with an average of

70 per cent. answering.

For the Drumgor Sale on Easter Tuesday the following

Stalls are being arranged—Work Stall, Refreshment,

Farm Produce, White Elephant, Sweet

and Pound Stall combined, and a Bran Dip.

A Jumble Sale will be held in Edenderry early

April. Further particulars in our next issue.

Much regret is felt at the death of Mrs. Carson,

of Upper Seagoe, who passed away in the Forster

Green Hospital, Belfast, early in the month after a

long illness. During her comparatively short

residence in the Parish she had made many friends. We

sympathise very sincerely with Mr. Carson and his

family in their affliction.

Our readers are invited to study the advertisements

in our columns and they will read of something to

their advantage.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE.

Prize Distributions.

During the month two Prize Distributions took

place—in Seagoe Sunday School on Thursday, Feb.

7th, and in Edenderry Parochial Hall on Monday;

February 18th. Very large numbers of children were

present on both occasions, and the Prizes were

bigger and better and more numerous than ever

before. In each School an interesting programme of

music and recitations was performed by the children

—in Seagoe it was arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Rennix,

and in Edenderry by the Misses Hawthorne. Some

Of the pretty fairy " pieces were reproduced in the

Edenderry programme. An abundant supply of

and cake were provided for the children. Mrs.

James Twinem distributed the Prizes in Seagoe, and

Mrs. Stothers in Edenderry. There is always a

certain amount of dissatisfaction about " gilt edges"

and 'red edges." Of course it is impossible to give

gilt edged leather bound books to the Infants. We

would require to have a gold mine somewhere in

the Parish to do this. As it is, the expense of

providing Prizes is almost beyond our resources, and

the time seems to be at hand when we shall have

to limit them in some way.

THE NINTH" IN FRANCE.

By Lieut.-Col. S. W. BLACKER, D.S.O.

(Continued from February Magazine.)

WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 7th.

I don’t think America will fight; in fact, I rather hope not, but breaking off relations is a tremendous slap in the face for the Huns. I don’t think she is going to give way on ‘the whole world against me’ tack. She is not ready to agree to the Allied terms, but we shall have to beat her land forces before she goes down. Another bright frosty day, not quite so cold last night. Attended Bde. boxing contest and gave away the medals. Personally I dislike watching two men slogging away at one another; it’s an excellent school for self control, but the looking on is too much like watching gladiatorial shows, and I hate it. Boys and light weights are all right, but heavy and welter weight contests are rather slogging contests. 9th did quite well; they should win silver bugle for best Bn. now. Glad you are not having it as hard as we are—anything from 20 degs to 27 degs. of frost every night. Went round the line; the 9th had a man badly hit this a.m., Hickey, was sniped looking over the parapet. They have had a quiet time, thank goodness.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8th.

Similar day, hard frost and sunny. It’s really very healthy and bracing. The sun is delightful, and getting powerful, but it freezes all day. Rode round back units this a.m. Going up this p.m. to see how matters go at the change. I think things could be improved—blocks prevented, etc., by a little care. Did I tell you Saunderson has gone home? G.H.Q. come here this time. I feel there is much waste out here, especially in Higher Command messes. I’m glad to say they’ve taken my hint about liqueurs.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9th.

Still the same glorious sunny days and cold nights. Was down the line today. I like going into the Coy. dug-outs and having a chat with the Coy. officers, and getting to know them. Am planning out a different way of reliefs. I went down yesterday and watched the relief being carried out and noted various points for amendment. Being six weeks in command of Bde. has given me the chance to really command it, and not mere cipher or locum tenens . It has been most interesting, and very enjoyable. Our various Battalion H.Q. in this sector are quite good and comfortable.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10th.

Another lovely day, not quite so cold. Going to B_____ [ Bailleul] this p.m. to get my hair cut. Bosche very busy for two hours this a.m. with heavy stuff, trying to find our guns, but failed; though he put in over 100 shells he did no damage. Have fixed up my new system of reliefs, which, I hope, will work well. At last met Shirley—new G.S.O.2, 54th Sikhs. He’s been a Bde. Major on the Somme for six months; rather interesting.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11th.

Last night very little frost and thawing cloudy sky, up to about noon today, and mud. Cleared now, and I think will freeze again. I don’t know what’s happening to our ‘planes about here, but they are letting the Bosche ‘planes come over freely. The 9th played 2nd R.I.R [ Royal Irish Rifles ] in a neighboring Div. at footer yesterday and beat them. Fergie very pleased. He marched the Battalion over with the Band to view the match, and the men loved it. He’s simply splendid. Duke comes back on Thursday, I’m glad to say. Good deal of shell fire going on all day. B. Oliphant gone to Senior Officers’ Course, at Army School today. They wanted to send him in a lorry, but I protested and got him a car.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12th.

A partial thaw. Froze early, but has been thawing slowly all morning. Things getting greasy. Had a long trek round the line today. Everything very quiet as it is misty. Have begun an hour’s daily conversation with Percy ‘le’ interpreter, 6.00—7.00 p.m. Quite a Sahib. He’s a Sergeant in the French Cavalry, and was wounded. Rain now set in.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13th.

Thaw still continues mildly, but mud is prevalent and going very greasy. Went round one of the Batteries this a.m. with Cowan, who is acting in command of the group. Everything very apple pie; men well turned out and in the most comfy dug-outs, all with beds, dining hall, bath room, Sergts’ mess, and a piano. Cowan was Sub. [ subaltern] in 43rd Batt’y; came out with 1st Div. Pleasant dinner with 9th last night. Seven of the old lot there—Pratt, Stronge, Fergie, young Shill., Brew, Padre and self. Very good repast, soup, fish, chicken, apple tart and savoury. 9th played 10th Inniskillings yesterday and beat them 9—0. Fergie in excellent form. Sun coming out, much milder.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14th.

Frost again and bright sun today. The thaw seems to have stopped. Thank goodness there is plenty of work; there are various shows on which we keep busy. I haven’t met Mayes yet; he is with some Field Ambulance. Don’t send socks till you hear. One of the leave boats rammed and sunk a submarine lately—rather a good performance. Heavy bombardment on our front between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. Duke returns today or tomorrow.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15th.

Another gloriously sunny day after a sharp frost. Witheycombe has done very well and should get a Division. Campbell was in 8th R.I.R., [ Royal Irish Rifles ] was a Sergt. in 18th Royal Irish [ 18th (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) ], is bottle washer to Staff Captain. Great bombardment from our guns between 6.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. last evening. Bosche retaliated a bit, causing a few casualties in Downs. [ 13th Royal Irish Rifles ] They lost an officer, Dewar, the night before. Another of their officers, Apperson, did splendidly the night before. He met five Bosche in the trench, when he was alone. He shot three with his revolver, and the others ran, after knocking him senseless. However, he came to in a few minutes, and is none the worse. Didn’t go down the line this morning, but visited one of the reserve Coys, ‘D,’ under Given, who are in a farm and quite comfy. My French is improving with the daily talks.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16th.

Frosty night, sunny morning, now turned cloudy, and looks like a thaw. Duke returned yesterday very weary after an awful 12 hour railway, with no food, and very cold. Great excitement yesterday about tea time. A Hun ‘plane, evidently winged, came over here quite low (150 ft.), went towards our front line, was heavily fired at, swerved and ultimately came down about a mile south of this in our lines—‘plane and aviator captured. Went round the line this a.m. Met G. Bruce and others. Gen. Nugent has a heavy cold and is in bed. Had a chat with Padre and several Coy. Commanders. Took Percy ‘le’ interpreter with me and chatted French to him between whiles; he is such a nice little fellow, and such a little gentleman. Found Bob Maxwell in; he’s got a cough and cold. Food will be very scarce even after the war. Have plenty of potatoes put in.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17th.

Had a long hod round the line with Duke this a.m. He’s such a nice fellow. I strafed them last night about the slackness of Brigade staff, etc., etc. He absolutely agreed. I’m putting in for three weeks’ special leave for Fergie. He has had a hard time and deserves it. The next Div. South of us had a strafe this morning, in which our guns took part, from 11.00 a.m. to noon, and the Bosche retaliated a bit on our line. Haven’t heard of any casualties. Thaw still continues gradually, but ground very greasy and walking is fatiguing exercise after have been so long on the top of the ground. The Boss Army Chaplain is still trying to get Padre away from us to the Div.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18th.

Poor Joseph Johnston was killed by a sniper about 7.00 a.m. today; shot through the head and killed instantaneously. He is being buried this afternoon, and I am going down. He is a fearful loss to the Battalion. Always cheerful, with a thorough knowledge of his duties, keen and splendid at handling men. I am very low at the thought I shall not see his cheery face again, and at the serious loss the Battalion has sustained. Would you go over and see Mrs. Johnston. I will write to her.

There are a good lot of schemes on hand, which worry me rather. The raid yesterday of a neighboring Div. was quite successful I hear. A good deal of damage done and many Bosche killed.

6.30 p.m. We laid Joseph to rest this afternoon, and accustomed as one is to death out here, there were not many dry eyes amongst those of us who stood by his grave. His loss takes me back to the July days. He was a man one could absolutely rely on; when he was in the front line I was quite happy.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19th.

Another dully, foggy day. The General came over about 10.30 a.m. and had a talk with Battalion commanders and Bde. staff. We all brought up various points, to which he gave a sympathetic hearing. The Regt. S.M. was wounded this morning—M.G. bullet grazed eyelid and bridge of nose, not serious, but he has gone to hospital. Two 9th officers went sick yesterday, and one gone today, which makes four in two days gone. Saunderson has got a job at home to do with tanks.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th.

Today steady rain and everything is horrible. Yesterday our stretcher bearers went out in the daylight and brought in a dozen wounded, of the next Div. who were lying in no-man’s-land. Very fine performance. Fortunately the Bosche allowed them to do so, but they didn’t know that when they went out. We received the thanks of the Brigade on our left, and I issued an Order of the Day. An officer of ours who went out first ( Dobson) was shot and died last night. The story is the Bosche tried to take him prisoner and he refused to go. If true, most gallant. It’s hard to get reliable information. A quiet night, but two mine explosions during the night further north, shook the place. Today we have a trench mortar strafe on, so I expect there will be some retaliation. They are quite mad on courses of instruction. The latest is one for padres. Went down the line this morning.

In my daily French conversation with the Interpreter I have learnt a lot of French affairs.

(To be continued.)