Sir, – Dermot Curran in his piece on the battles of Guillemont and Ginchy refers to the presence of Danish soldiers in the German army fighting against the 16th Irish Division (An Irishman's Diary, September 19th). This arose because Schleswig formed part of Germany at the time. He draws the parallel with the position of Irish members of the British army.
I had the honour of being Irish ambassador to France from 1995 to 2001. When I presented credentials to French president Jacques Chirac, the new Danish ambassador presented credentials immediately before me.
This decided our precedence for the duration of our time in France, and we sat beside each other on formal occasions, such as Armistice Day.
We discovered the interesting and moving coincidence that both our grandfathers were killed in the first World War in 1916. My grandfather was a member of the Munster Fusiliers and of the 16th Irish Division; his grandfather was from Schleswig and was a member of the German army. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK O’CONNOR,
Dublin 18.