A large collection of Second World War Prisoner of War letters (30+) relating to Second Lieutenant Percy Anthony 'Tony' O’Reilly (No. 10004, First Battalion, The Welch Regiment with the Middle East Force Z).
O'Reilly was captured in Crete in 1941 and held as a Prisoner of War until he contracted Hodgkins Lymphoma and was, therefore, most unusually, repatriated due to the severity of his condition. O'Reilly appears to have held in several camps including Stalag IV-B, Oflag IX A/Z and Oflag VI-B.

The letters include one from the War Office stating O'Reilly was reported missing on 1st June 1941 along with a Red Cross Society written to Percy's sister, Miss T. O'Reilly on 9th July 1941, further advising that he was reported missing in Crete and requesting information in order to aid their search of prisoner records, alongside a returned envelope marked as undeliverable due to the 'Addressee Reported Prisoner of War'.

Letters written from Percy O'Reilly include one in pencil, stating 'My dearest girls, still no sign of any letters but I feel they will arrive soon ... I have a little news, I have been put down on the list for repatriation by the German Doctor. I am in hospital at present; don't get alarmed, I'm not very bad and may possibly have an operation as the chances of getting back in the immediate future I gather, are slight'. Other letters are all addressed to his sister, including both official Kriegsgefangen paper and type-written transcriptions. Content varies, with sample extracts such as 'I had a regular feast day yesterday, as I got 9 Invalid Comforts Parcels', 'I'm hoping to have a snap of a group I'm in to send to you soon' (presumably relating to the group photograph included with this lot); 'Aunt Ethel evidently thinks that I don't get any letters still - don't disillusion her it's much easier not writing'; and otherwise documenting daily life in the camp with general commentary about other inmates and discussion of the most recent news from home. Other letters include a copy of a translation from German written by doctors at the P/W Hospital of Nase Camp 9C following O'Reilly's transfer, which includes a general description of his diagnosis and condition.

Sold together with O'Reilly's identity card, portrait photograph, group photographic postcard taken inside Stalag IX (O'Reilly appears in the top right-hand corner), leaflet giving instructions for 'Next of Kin' parcels for Prisoners of War and, sadly, a funeral card relating to Percy O'Reilly's early death on 7th February 1949.

Further included is a selection of Ancestry website family biographical detail together with a funeral program for Winifred Boyd-Rochfort. The Irish O'Reilly and Boyd-Rochfort families were united by a marriage between the Irish Polo player Captain Percy O'Reilly (d.1942) and Alice Eleanor Boyd-Rochfort of Middleton Park on 18 January 1900. Alice was the sister of the royal horse trainer, Captain Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort. To this end, one letter mentions Sir Cecil 'I gather poor old Chaucer was galloped till they soured him and he was a complete wreck when they got him back, also I hear the same thing happened to St. Martin - if it is true its very silly of Cecil B, as they were two valuable horses.' Furthermore, the recipient of the majority of the letters in this lot, 'Tups' O'Reilly would go on to marry the famous British Second World War Commander General Sir Miles Dempsey.