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Yesterday I posted the wonderful description of the military careers during the First World War of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The two never met at that time, but they both became dons at Oxford and fast friends, as well as two of the nation's most important literary figures.

I was very surprised and pleased to learn of Tolkien's involvement in the Battle of the Somme, and at Thiepval, near the Schwaben Redoubt. The 36th (Ulster) Division assaulted and took the redoubt during the Somme's terrible first day (1 July 1916), but, exposed to enfilading fire from both sides, were unable to hold it long. I've often wondered whether the defenders were Wirtembergers and whether any relations of that famous Swabian warrior, Erwin Rommel, were involved.

Yet the only comment I made was on the supposed promise that C.S. Lewis made to Edward "Paddy" Moore to take care of his mother, should Paddy fall as a victim of war, as Paddy did.

It was an alphabetic co-incidence that threw Moore and Lewis together as military trainees. There is no evidence that they were ever great friends. But Moore introduced Lewis to his mother, whom Lewis liked and began to write to.

In the form originally proposed, the "promise" was a mutual one. Both trainees had only one parent. Should either fall in battle, the other would "take care" of the other's parent. Yet this made no sense for Albert Lewis, whom Paddy never met. Indeed, the boot was very much on the other foot, for Albert "took care" of his son for much of the period up to Albert's death in 1929 by giving him a good education and providing him with a regular allowance.

A one-sided "promise", then? Well again there is no evidence of that. Lewis doesn't mention Mrs Moore in his "spiritual autobiography" SURPRISED BY JOY - he only alludes obliquely to an episode that gave him spiritual anguish. 'Jack' (as his friends called him) kept his true relationship with Mrs Moore a secret from his father, Albert Lewis, up to Albert's death in 1929, even though Albert suspected the worst. In fact Jack had set up home with Mrs Moore and her daughter Maureen, flitting round various short-term addresses in or near Oxford. This arrangement was contrary, incidentally, to University regulations and Jack was using Albert's allowance for a purpose which his father never intended.

Albert died in 1929. Even then Jack Lewis refused to discuss openly with his brother Warren or 'Warnie' the true nature of his relationship with Mrs Moore. From the proceeds of the sale of LITTLE LEA in Belfast, Jack had determined to buy a house in Oxford which he would share with Warnie, Mrs Moore and Maureen.

The two Lewis brothers were bachelors and in the prime of life. Either, or both, could well have married and set up families of their own. In this light, the financial arrangement for the purchase of THE KILNS made little sense. As discussed in The ownership of "The Kilns", Monday, August 18. 2008, the Lewis brothers supplied the majority of the funds towards its purchase, while their status was that of mere "tenants for life"! The owner was Mrs Moore and, on her demise, her daughter Maureen.

For the 1997 edition of his biography, Jack, George Sayer wrote -

I have had to alter my opinion of Lewis's relationship with Mrs. Moore. In chapter eight of this book I wrote that I was uncertain about whether they were lovers. Now after conversations with Mrs. Moore's daughter, Maureen, and a consideration of the way in which their bedrooms were arranged at The Kilns, I am quite certain that they were.

John Bremer writes in the entry on Janie King Askins Moore (1872-1951) in THE C. S. LEWIS READERS ENCYCLOPEDIA (Ed Jeffrey D. Schulz and John G. West Jr., Zondervan, Michigan, 1998) -

[Mrs Moore's son Edward "Paddy" Moore] did not get on particularly well with his mother - and he may have resented her move to Oxford to be near him. But she obviously liked Jack [Ed: C.S. Lewis], who, in turn, liked her "immensely." It was easy for Jack to like her - she was Irish, motherly, attractive, and he was away from home, motherless, attracted by beauty, and sexual. At the end of his cadet training Jack spent the first part of his leave with the Moores in Bristol, much to his father's chagrin. It is highly probably that the relationship became overtly sexual at this time. It seems that from early on, Janie Moore and Jack exchanged letters or notes almost every day. This continued when Jack and Paddy (in different regiments) went to France in November 1917.

Paddy was reported missing in March 1918 and this must have drawn Janie and Jack closer together. Jack himself was wounded by shrapnel in three places on April 15, 1918, and was sent back to England on a stretcher in May 1918. Janie went to London to be near him, and later moved, in turn, to Bristol, Andover, Eastbourne, back to Bristol, and, finally, to Oxford after Jack had resumed his studies.

In late summer 1920, Janie Moore rented a house in Headington and Jack (who had lived in college, as he was required to do, in his first year, but visiting Headington every day) made his home with her. In the next eleven years, they lived in nine or ten different houses, with Jack contribuiting his parental allowance (unbeknownst to his father) to supporting Janie and Maureen. Her husband-"The Beast"- was unreliable in his financial support.

Throughout this period, Janie Moore was referred to by Jack as "my mother", "Minto" (after her favourite candies), and the Greek letter Delta in Jack's diaries (Transcribed by Warren Lewis in The Lewis Family Papers as "D"). This last almost certainly stands for Diotima, the priestess in Plato's Symposium, who introduces Socrates to the meaning of love (although quite a different kind from that to which Jack was introduced). Janie called Jack "Boysie"-and later referred to him and Warren as "the boys". When she needed him to help, usually in some trivial domestic task, she would call out "Barboys".

The other side of Janie Moore's propensity for hospitality and mothering was her need to dominate and control others, making them subservient to whatever tasks, needed or not, that she chose to impose on them. She observed that having Jack was as good as having an extra maid. She seems to have had little real sense of the importance of his work and was ruthless in interrupting it - even if she was also capable of preventing others from doing so. This infuriated Warren.

She had little formal education, and took small joy in reading, except when she and Jack read something together and talked about it. Of the intellectual life she had no idea.

She was, however, a gracious hostess and the house was frequented by odd characters and the needy. It was also a haven for lost animals. Her generosity - often at Jack's expense - was far-reaching. Although Jack knew, in some measure, of the enormity of her demanding nature, and of her senseless wranglings, lyings, and follies, he had made a commitment to her, telling Warren that he had made a choice, did not regret it, and would stick by it. Only after her death did he begin to realise "quite how bad it was".

However long their sexual relationmship lasted, it must have ended when Jack was converted to Christianity in 1931 because, according to Jack himself, outside of marriage celibacy was demanded. This may in part account for Janie Moore's hostility to Jack and Warren taking Communion - for taking part in "blood feasts", as she said. She as a decided atheist in later life - excusing this by attributing it to an effect of Paddy's death, which she blamed on God.

As Janie Moore got older she became even more demanding and difficult to please. She had suffered from severe varicose veins (which had copnfined her to her bedroom for nearly all 1947) and various other ailments - all of which were useful as controlling mechanisms. In April 1950, at the age of seventy-eight, she had to enter Restholme, a nursing home, where Jack visited her nearly every day; she was incoherent, senile, very grumpy, and given to blasphemous outbursts. All Jack could do was pray for her. On January 12, 1951, she died of influenza.

The Irish national censusus for both 1901 and 1911 are now available on line; and very easy to search they are.

The National Archives of Ireland: Census of Ireland 1901/1911

To search go here and enter the desired options.

For example, choose "1901", enter ""O'Fee" as the desired surname and choose "All counties". The surname appears 34 times, in the counties of Londonderry, Antrim and Down. You can examine a photo of each record.

There aren't any great surprises here - we can fit all the O'Fees given into the existing family trees. Even though we didn't know that my great-uncle Stewart lived in Drumbeg, Co Down, near Belfast, in 1901.

Great-Uncle Stewart served in the Royal Navy as a naval schoolmaster during the First World War. His dates are 2 May 1878-18 March 1920.

My father, called Stewart as well, passed on to me memorabilia of his uncle and namesake. They include (a) a photograph of Stewart in ceremonial naval uniform (b) his ceremonial sword and (c) a gilt box containing unsmoked cigarettes and tobacco. These were a royal gift to all servicemen at Christmas 1914. Uncle Stewart was a non-smoker and preserved the cigarettes and tobacco unsmoked. This is rare.

For better versions of my photos see Great-Uncle Stewart O'Fee RN on Mister Keep Fit.