Robert Erskine Childers. Writer who served in the Boer War and first came to notice with his excellent spy thriller, ‘The Riddle of the Sands’ (1903). Clerk of the House of Commons in London until 1910. Sympathised with Irish Nationalists and in 1914 used his yacht, ‘Asgard,’ to run guns from Germany to the Irish Volunteers. Joined the British Navy in World War I where he served with distinction. Became Minister for Propaganda in the first Irish governemnt of 1921, but opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Court-martialled and shot by Free State forces during the Civil War. His son, Erskine Hamilton Childers, became President of Ireland, 1973-74.  Family links:  Parents:  Robert Caesar Childers (1838 – 1876)  Spouse:  Mary Alden Osgood Childers (1875 – 1964)*  Children:  Erskine Hamilton Childers (1905 – 1974)* *Calculated relationship