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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34188-8.txt b/34188-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..74d9181 --- /dev/null +++ b/34188-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7324 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of With our Fighting Men, by William E. Sellers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: With our Fighting Men + The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War + +Author: William E. Sellers + +Release Date: November 1, 2010 [EBook #34188] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, Jeannie Howse and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + * * * * * + + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + | Transcriber's Note: | + | | + | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has | + | been preserved. | + | | + | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For | + | a complete list, please see the end of this document. | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + + * * * * * + + + + +WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN + + + + + [Illustration: "WE BESEECH THEE TO HEAR US GOOD LORD." + _See page 57._] + + + + + With + Our Fighting Men + + THE STORY OF + THEIR FAITH, COURAGE, ENDURANCE + IN THE GREAT WAR + + BY + + WILLIAM E. SELLERS + + _Author of "From Aldershot to Pretoria"_ + + + WITH COLOURED AND OTHER + ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS AND FROM + PHOTOGRAPHS + + LONDON + THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY + 4 Bouverie Street & 65 St. Paul's Churchyard + + + + +PREFACE + +[Illustration] + + +In sending forth this book I wish to acknowledge the kindness and +co-operation of many friends, new and old, who have made my task easy +and my story, so far as possible, complete. + +In the first place, I express my hearty thanks to the Rt. Rev. Bishop +Taylor-Smith, D.D. (the Chaplain General); Revs. E.G.F. Macpherson, +M.A., and F.G. Tuckey (senior Church of England chaplains at the +front); Rev. J.A. M'Clymont, D.D., V.D. (Convener of the Church of +Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy chaplains); +Rev. J.H. Bateson (Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Army and Navy +Board); Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A. (Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Free Church Army and Navy +Board); Rev. E.L. Watson (senior Free Church chaplain at the front); +General Booth and Brigadier Carpenter (of the Salvation Army); Mr. +A.K. Yapp (General Secretary of the Young Men's Christian +Association); and several others. + +In the second place, I acknowledge with gratitude the help I have +received from reports in the _Methodist Recorder_, _Methodist Times_, +_United Free Church of Scotland Record_, _Church Pennant_, _Baptist +Times and Freeman_, _Guardian_, _Guy's Hospital Gazette_, _War Cry_, +and many other papers, to the respective editors of which I tender my +thanks. + +I also wish to express my cordial thanks to my colleague, the Rev. +E.G. Loosley, B.D., for the painstaking care with which he has revised +the proofs of my book. + +I hope and pray that the story recorded in these pages may quicken +interest in Christian work among soldiers and sailors, and so help to +extend the kingdom of Christ. + + W.E.S. + ROCHDALE, + _April 1915_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + PREFACE iii + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii + + INTRODUCTION ix + + I. AT THE HOME BASE 1 + + II. EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT 26 + + III. AT THE FIGHTING BASE 44 + + IV. THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES 63 + + V. THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES 79 + + VI. CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT 100 + + VII. CHRISTIAN HEROISM 116 + + VIII. AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS 135 + + IX. WITH THE GRAND FLEET 153 + + X. CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK 171 + + XI. HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF + WORK AT THE FRONT 192 + + XII. WHEN THE MEN COME HOME 207 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + A MOONLIGHT CONSECRATION SERVICE _Frontispiece_ + + THE MILITARY CROSS: THE NEW DECORATION FOR SPECIAL + GALLANTRY OF OFFICERS p. ix + + TO FACE PAGE + + WHEN THE LADS DEPART 12 + + HELPING THE HELPLESS 26 + + "IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY" 43 + + BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH, CHAPLAIN GENERAL, AND OTHER CHAPLAINS 58 + + BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT 74 + + BRITISH SOLDIER COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN 88 + + A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD 98 + + IN THE TRENCHES 108 + + THE BISHOP OF LONDON ADDRESSING MEN OF THE ARMY SERVICE + SERVICE CORPS AT THE FRONT 118 + + HOT FOOD FOR THE WOUNDED--A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS + WORK 134 + + A RESCUE PARTY. GOOD SAMARITANS OF THE BATTLEFIELD 142 + + AN INCIDENT DURING THE FIGHTING ON THE MARNE 150 + + A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP 162 + + A FIGHT IN THE AIR. BRITISH AIRMAN ATTACKING A GERMAN + MONOPLANE 178 + + AN INCIDENT IN THE FORÊT DE LA NIEPPE 190 + + WHEN THE MEN COME HOME 207 + + [Illustration: THE MILITARY CROSS. + The New Decoration for Special Gallantry of Officers. Already + several Army Chaplains have won it.] + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The story I am about to tell is one of surpassing interest. It is the +story of Christian life, work, and heroism among our troops at the +front. + +The soldier is easily moved to good or to evil. In the past evil +influences have been more powerful and more numerous than influences +for good. Our soldiers had been drawn, for the most part, from classes +outside all churches and Christian influences, and the wet canteen had +been the most popular institution in the Army. + +For the last twenty-five years, however, the situation has been +altering for the better. The day-school has done its work, and a free +education has accomplished splendid things for the working-man. The +Sunday-school, too, has extended its scope and has of late years been +more efficient than ever before. There has been a steady levelling up +of the people, and the Army has risen with the rest. Said a soldier to +me during the South African war: "They think we are the same as we +used to be, but we are no longer the scum of the earth." + +Slowly and surely the work done outside the Army has been reflected +_in_ the Army. The Army Temperance Association, the Soldiers' +Christian Association, the Soldiers' Homes provided by the churches, +and other uplifting organisations have found that they were working on +soil to some extent prepared. The soldier has responded readily to the +appeals made, and the Soldiers' Homes have become as popular as the +canteens, and often more so. A Soldiers' Home in a camp has meant at +once a change for the better. The senior officers have recognised this +fact, and have gladly welcomed every Christian effort on behalf of +their men. + +I remember, when Bordon and Longmoor camps were formed, with what joy +my colleagues and I were welcomed by the officer in command. +Everything he had was placed at our disposal, a hut was apportioned to +us, and we furnished it, for the most part, from furniture belonging +to the camp. Everything was very rough in those days, and the roads +well-nigh impassable; but when we got there what a welcome we had! The +late Colonel Gordon, R.E. (nephew of Gordon of Khartoum), lent us his +piano and his wife often played it for us. + +I was standing on Petersfield Station platform one night looking sadly +at a group of drunken and half-drunken soldiers, when a +non-commissioned officer came up, and, after saluting, said, "They +would not be like that if you had a Home for them, sir." + +By and by it was not only a hut we had, but a permanent Soldiers' +Home, and when it was opened by the Earl of Donoughmore, it became +crowded at once. Brigadier-General Campbell stood our friend through +all those difficult days, and rejoiced as much as we did in the +prosperity of the Home. + +It must be remembered also that for many years past there has been an +increasing leaven of Christian men in the Army. The Home to which I +have just referred could not have been the power it became had it not +been for this. I remember a lance-corporal who, so far as he knew, was +the only Christian in his regiment. He used to go out among the solemn +pines at night and pray for his comrades. Soon another joined him +there, and many another, and by the time the Home was opened we had a +company of Christian men ready to work among their fellows. + +During my ministry in Aldershot I saw this illustrated in much larger +measure, and the Christian men were, all of them, Christian +missionaries working with great success. + +I have already told the story of Christian work during the South +African war in my book "From Aldershot to Pretoria." The story is one +for which all the churches may well thank God. Though that war was +child's play compared with this, the higher war waged--the war for +Christ and His Kingdom--was one of constant victory. Large numbers of +men gave themselves to Christ, and when the war was over remembered +the vows they had vowed to Him. + +Now we have witnessed a mobilisation of Christian forces, such as +would have been impossible hitherto. The Chaplaincy Department has +developed into a great and well-organised agency for good. Over two +hundred chaplains are already at the front, and the ministers of all +the churches are busily at work in the camps at home. All the old +Christian and temperance organisations are to the fore, only developed +out of all former knowledge, and the Young Men's Christian Association +has astonished and delighted the whole Christian world. + +The Christian men in the Army--more numerous before the war broke out +than they had ever been--are carrying on their noble work and are +constantly receiving additions to their ranks. + +We have known for years what Thomas Atkins was like--susceptible as a +child. I have heard sobs all over the room while picture slides of a +little child's story, such as "Jessica's First Prayer," were being +shown. But what will the new army be like? Will it be as susceptible +as the old? Will the men still thrill when the Gospel story is told? +They are different men--men drawn from all classes, actuated by a +common purpose to save their country. Will they think only of that, or +will their hearts also be "strangely warmed" by tidings of their +Saviour's love? Already the answer comes to us "Yes." Never before has +such deep seriousness fallen upon our men, and in their quiet moments, +and even amid the stress of battle, thoughts have turned to Christ and +hearts have been surrendered to Him. + +"The truth of the matter is," wrote the Bishop of London, in the +_Times_, after his visit to the front at Easter, "that the realities +of war have melted away the surface shyness of men about religion; +they feel they are 'up against' questions of life and death; and I +have heard of more than one censor who has for the first time realised +the part religion bears in a soldier's life by censoring the +innumerable letters home in which the writers ask for the prayers of +their relations or express their trust in God." + +It is the purpose of the following pages to tell, so far as it is +possible, in these early months of the war, something of the Christian +work attempted and accomplished among our men at the front and at sea, +and to answer the questions I have just asked. + + + + +WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +AT THE HOME BASE + + Enlisting--"Good-bye"--Excitement and Drunkenness--Then came + Kitchener's Army--The Churches gave of their Best--A Canvas + City--Not for Pay, These--What the Churches Did--The Home + Church in the Camp--A Powerful Christian Leaven--Theological + Students Volunteer--What the Boys Did--Organising Religious + Work--Fifty Men Stood Up--The Y.M.C.A. Tents--A Proud + Boast--At Work in the Tents--A Typical Service--The Canadian + Y.M.C.A.--What the Salvation Army is Doing--The Church Army at + Work--Huts of Silence--W.M. Hut Homes and "Glory Rooms"--Hymn + 494--Teetotal Soldiers--Lord Kitchener's Message--The Work of + the Navy Chaplains--The Sailors' Homes--Work among the Wounded + in Hospital--Hospital Stories. + + +A troop train slowly passing through Winchester Station. Heads out of +every window. One great shout by hundreds of eager young lads, "Are we +downhearted?" And then, not waiting for those of us on the platform to +answer, the emphatic response "No!" + +Winchester Station looked strange that morning, early in August 1914. +Its dignified quiet had gone. No one would have dreamt that this was +the station of an ancient cathedral city. Armed sentries were posted +at every point of entrance and departure. With fixed bayonets they +guarded the signal-boxes. Their beds were in the waiting-rooms. The +whole station was given up to the military. + +And this was not the only case. All down the line it was the same, +while every few yards by the side of the metals, all the way to +Portsmouth and Southampton, soldiers with fixed bayonets were on +guard. Here and there Boy Scouts were assisting, and enjoying +themselves immensely. + +Portsmouth Harbour at that time was closed to ordinary traffic. The +few passengers who still ventured to the Isle of Wight, in what should +have been the height of the holiday season, had to betake themselves +to Southampton, and be thankful if after long waiting they could get +across from there. + +The Solent was full of troop-ships. We counted over forty at one time +waiting to take troops across, while many more were in Southampton +Water. The Isle of Wight was an armed camp. At night search-lights +played all over it. + +What touching farewells there were! Stand on almost any platform and +see--that is if you have the assurance to look on at that which is +sacred. A mother brings her little ones to say good-bye to their +soldier father. An old woman with difficulty slowly comes to the edge +of the platform to give her blessing to her soldier son. A wife is +locked for a few brief moments in a loving embrace. + +The father, or son, or husband brushes the sleeve of his tunic across +his eyes, and then, as the train begins to move, says "Good-bye. I'll +soon be back!" And as the train steams out those brave lads ask +again, "Are we downhearted?" and the mothers and wives and +sweethearts, with tears streaming down their faces, strive to answer +"No!" + +Those were stirring times at Aldershot. The old scenes at the outbreak +of the war in South Africa were re-enacted, only on a larger scale. +That was mere child's play to this, and every one realised it. +Incessant coming and going as troops gathered from all parts of the +country. Military bands marching detachments to the station on their +way to the front. + +At first there was much drunkenness, for this is generally the case +where there is much excitement. But soon a serious feeling crept over +all, and the town grew more sober in every respect. Our troops were +going to fight the greatest military power in the world, and every man +realised that it would be a struggle such as this country had never +known before. + +By and by our regular troops had departed, and the "Terriers" began to +come in. A workman-like lot of men these, shaping like good soldiers. +In their thousands they had volunteered for active service, and to +active service after a period of training they should go. + +And then came Kitchener's Army. And what an army! The appeal had gone +forth for half a million men, and then for another half million, and +by and by for still another million. + +The response was magnificent. Never was our country so great as in +those days when Kitchener's Army was being formed. The rush of +recruits was overwhelming. It seemed as though the whole body of young +men in the country would volunteer. + +The churches were to the front in this matter. All suspicion that the +churches would prove unpatriotic was blown to the winds. They had been +training their young people for peace, but when their country was +threatened they were ready for war. They had, many of them, been +strongly opposed to conscription, but it was no conscript army which +was being embodied; it was an army of free Englishmen. + +The churches gave of their best. The vicarages and manses of the +country were denuded of their sons. In some Sunday-schools the young +men's classes volunteered to a man. In many places it was only with +great difficulty that the work of the Sunday-schools was carried on, +because the male teachers had enlisted. From the Nottingham Wesleyan +Mission went five hundred young men. + +All sorts and conditions of healthy young manhood responded to their +country's call. Kipling's lines, true of the regular army, were +prophetic when applied to Kitchener's Army of those days: + + Parson's son, lawyer's son, son of the parish squire, + Garden hand, stable hand, hand from the smithy fire, + Counter boy, office boy, boy from the dock and mine, + Eat together, sleep together, follow the drum in line. + +And the young women would have gone too, if they could. It went hard +in those days with a sweetheart who was not disposed to volunteer. And +the young women _did_ go. The rush of volunteer nurses was tremendous +and had to be checked. We shall hear of their good work as we +progress. + +Aldershot was taken by storm by Kitchener's Army. At one time there +were a hundred and fifty thousand men in the camp. Seeing that the +barrack accommodation in the camp is not for many more than fifteen +thousand in normal times, it was evident that the only way to meet the +new conditions was to create a canvas city, and a canvas city it +became. There were many miles of tents. + +It was a sight indeed to see Kitchener's Army drill. The rush was far +too great to be met by the Army clothing factories, and for many weeks +there were no uniforms, and the men drilled and were drilled by other +men in ordinary civilian clothing. + +One could see the varied occupations of the men who had enlisted. Here +is a man, great of girth, who will need to have his size reduced +considerably ere he rushes at German trenches, and he still wears the +leggings with which he trudged across his fields. Here is a man who +evidently a few days ago held in his hand the yardstick with which he +measured his calico. He is bent on sterner work now. + +Here, again, is one from the pit and another from the mill, and a +third who looks as though he had been a lawyer or a lawyer's clerk. +And drilling them all is a man who evidently a few days since was +hewing coal from a Welsh mine. He is back to the colours now, but will +have to wait for his transforming uniform. + +But all eager, all intense. No work for pay this. "Mercenaries" the +Kaiser called them, but no mercenaries these--England's best and +noblest ready to give their lives for the land they love so well. + +It was a happy thought which allowed men who had been accustomed to +live and work together to form their own battalion or regiment; and so +we had the Public School Corps, and the Pals' Brigade, and many +another. Fastidious young men from West End drawing-rooms proved that +they had the hearts of true Englishmen, and worked hard as the rest. +Later on, in one hut were men whose income was said to average £2000 a +year. They were just privates. + +From the religious point of view it was a great opportunity. Nearly +every church in the land had sent of its best and had done its best to +honour those who went. "Rolls of Honour," containing the names of +those who had gone from that particular church, hung in the porches. +In many, Sunday by Sunday, the names on the Roll of Honour were read +out and special prayer offered for them. + +The young men had left their homes and churches with the voice of +prayer ringing in their ears. They knew that they were going to +serious work and that many of them would never return. The most +careless of them were serious now, and were ready, if the impression +did not pass away, to give themselves not only to their King and +Country, but to the King of Kings. + +And right earnestly was the work begun in the Home Church continued in +the camps. These camps were established all over the country, for +Aldershot and Salisbury Plain were altogether inadequate. To all such +camps chaplains were appointed, and, for the first time, the Baptists, +Congregationalists, Primitives and United Methodists, who, except in +the great military centres, had stood out of the Army work, had their +appointed chaplains--not many as yet--but sufficient to show that they +also felt the need and were ready to do the work. They have since +joined forces for this service, and are carrying on their united work +by Free Church chaplains. + +The entry of the Free Churches into the Army work is of such general +interest that I asked the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of +the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, to send me a brief +account of the facts. Mr. Shakespeare replied under date of February +10, 1915. + +"Up to ten years ago, the sentiment among Baptists and +Congregationalists was not very sympathetic towards the Army, and +there was no provision on the Attestation Sheet for the entry of men +as belonging to these two denominations. I then secured a column for +this purpose, which has been in use ever since, but I do not think it +has been very effective. + +"When the war broke out, our churches were practically unanimous in +their support of the Government. At that time about three thousand +troops were entered under our two denominations. I went to see the +late Mr. Percy Illingworth, who interested himself very warmly in the +proper recognition of Baptists and Congregationalists. Large numbers +of our young men began to enlist. The Rev. R.J. Wells and I, through +interviews at the War Office, secured that orders were sent out +directing that men were to be entered according to their religious +professions. Mr. Lloyd George brought the matter under the notice of +Lord Kitchener, who strongly resented any sort of sectarian unfairness +and wished our recruits to have the same facilities as those of other +denominations. Meanwhile, Mr. Wells and I collected the names and +regiments of Baptist and Congregational recruits, with the result that +we are able to announce the following figures, though more than a +third of our churches have made no reply:-- + + Bloomsbury 113 + Hampstead, Heath Street 92 + Plaistow, Barking Road 400 + Hornsey, Ferme Park 160 + Peckham, Rye Lane 116 + Glasgow, Hillhead 210 + +"In spite of what had been done, a great mass of certified evidence +began to reach us that recruiting sergeants were refusing to enter our +recruits as Baptists or Congregationalists, but were putting them down +to some other church. Of this we have exact evidence. Further orders +were then issued by the War Office that this must not be done. + +"At the beginning of the war there were only two Baptist Chaplains to +the Forces--Rev. F.G. Kemp at Aldershot, and Rev. J. Seeley at +Woolwich. The War Office now asked our Army Board to nominate +additional provisional chaplains, both for home camps and for the +Expeditionary Force, and, in addition, that ministers should be +appointed for any place where there was a considerable body of troops +as 'officiating clergymen,' still carrying on their churches, but +having the right to hold church parade, visit in camp, hospitals, &c. +Of these a large number have been appointed. In addition, +Congregational chaplains were appointed. + +"The next stage was that we were approached from the Primitive +Methodist and United Methodist Churches asking to be grouped with us +for Army and Navy purposes. The result has been the formation of a +United Army and Navy Board for the four denominations, and our +chaplains and officiating clergymen have charge of soldiers and +sailors belonging to these four churches. + +"The next step was that an appeal was made by the Rev. R.J. Wells, for +the Congregationalists, and myself, for the Baptists, for an 'Army +Tent and Chaplain Fund,' the result being that we have raised a +sufficient sum to enable us to erect permanent institutes or huts with +chaplains, or 'officiating clergymen,' in about half a dozen camps. +The Primitive Methodists and United Methodists are taking the same +course, and together we shall shortly have a considerable number of +such huts available. + +"Concurrently with this we have succeeded in securing appointments for +'officiating clergymen' and chaplains for the Navy and at naval +stations, though some of our chaplains hold a double position, both to +the Army and Navy." + +From the character of the response it was evident that there was a +powerful Christian leaven working in the Army itself. + +To begin with, there was a wholesale offer by Christian ministers for +chaplaincy work. Not a tithe of the offers could be accepted, and then +was witnessed a sight such as has never been seen before. As they +could not be accepted as chaplains, a large number of ministers of +religion enlisted as private soldiers, and these from practically all +the churches. + +Certainly the proposal that the clergy should volunteer as combatants +was not favoured by the ecclesiastical authorities. The Archbishop of +Canterbury recognised the _prima facie_ arguments used by the younger +clergy in support of such action, but concluded that fighting was +incompatible with Holy Orders. + +However, many, with the Archbishop's consent, enlisted in the Army +Medical Corps, and are devoting themselves to the sick and wounded. +Among the Wesleyans, the matter was left to the judgment of the men +concerned. Some enlisted in line regiments, but the majority also +entered the Army Medical Corps. In one barrack room of the R.A.M.C. at +Aldershot, we hear of five Church of England curates and one Wesleyan +minister. So far as we know the other Free Churches adopted the same +line as the Wesleyans. + +The Theological Colleges were not slow to follow the example of the +ministers, in fact in many cases they led the way. Both in this +country and in Scotland a large proportion of the students +volunteered--so many in fact that it has become a serious matter for +the immediate future of the churches. + +The Church of England has been suffering from a dearth of candidates +for its ministry for years past, and, as the _Times_ says: "The great +reduction caused by the war may quite seriously affect the Church's +efficiency." However, these young men evidently thought that they +might serve their Church and its Divine Lord as well in the ranks as +in the pulpit, and might serve their country at the same time, and +they went. + +This was a new army--new in every respect. Never before had Christian +ministers and young men in training for the ministry volunteered, in +any numbers, as private soldiers; but the call had been imperative, +and they were out to save their country. They took their religion with +them and made it felt. + +Still another great work for the Army has been done by the Christian +churches. In an important article in the _Times_ of January 1915 we +were told: + +"It is impossible to give an adequate account of the valuable work +done by the different churches in providing men for the Army through +the various Lads' Brigades and Boy Scouts. The Boys' Brigade is the +senior and largest of these organisations; it has many branches +throughout the Empire, with a present total strength of 115,000. Many +of its members have enlisted. The Church Lads' Brigade had in 1913 a +membership of 60,000, besides two junior organisations, the Church +Scout Patrols and the Church Lads' Brigade Training Corps. It has also +contributed a very large number of recruits. In London the Diocesan +Church Lads' Brigade, which forms part of the Cadet Force of the +country, sent practically every officer eligible and nearly every +cadet of seventeen years of age to join the regular forces soon after +the declaration of war. Many of these have been in action, and the +following casualties have been reported: Killed, two; wounded, +thirty-two; missing, six; invalided, five; prisoners, two. These Boys' +Brigades have become very popular. Besides those already mentioned +there are the Jewish Lads' Brigade, the Catholic Boys' Brigade, the +Boys' Life Brigade, and the Boys' Naval Brigade. Three of the new +V.C.'s have been won by former Brigade lads. On behalf of all these +admirable organisations the Lord Mayor of London has issued an appeal +for financial support, pointing out that 225,000 of those now serving +with the colours have been prepared for their work by one or other of +these organisations." + +The Government heartily backed the efforts of the churches. In +addition to the chaplains of all denominations, others for whom no +appointments could be found were allowed to go to France at their own +or their friends' expense, to render to the soldiers what spiritual +help they could. + +Services for the men in training were organised everywhere. Schools, +vicarages, and manses were turned into temporary soldiers' homes. +Wherever they came, the men found the churches ready to receive them. +They supplied them with literature to read and with writing materials, +provided refreshments, organised religious services, and did their +best, not only to cater for their social needs, but to enlist them +into the Army of Jesus Christ. + +Numbers of the soldiers were preachers too, and supplied the pulpits +of the Free Churches where they were stationed. They occupied choir +stalls, taught in Sunday-schools, and generally helped to carry on the +work of the churches. Many of these Christian lads were themselves +unofficial chaplains among their comrades. + +At Aldershot and the other great military centres, the work of the +churches was naturally of the best. Never was the opportunity so +great, and never was the response so rapid. + +Take, for instance, the report that comes to us from Grosvenor Road +Wesleyan Military Church, Aldershot. Grosvenor Road Church dominates +the town. It is a noble Gothic building, its tower visible for many +miles. It is locally known as the "Wesleyan Church of England." It is, +of course, customary for it to be crowded at the Parade services, but +now it was thronged with soldiers at the voluntary services also. +Wesley Hall at the back and the Soldiers' Home Lecture Hall at the +side were thronged at the same time. On one Sunday evening, when the +appeal was made for decision for Christ, fifty men stood up in the +midst of eleven or twelve hundred of their comrades, to avow that they +did then and there give themselves to Christ. It was no easy matter +for a soldier to do, but it was done, and similar scenes were enacted +on many occasions. + + [Illustration: _Drawn by Arthur Twidle._ + WHEN THE LADS DEPART. + One of Kitchener's army salutes his mother as he leaves.] + +Let no one suppose, however, that this was the only place where +decisions for Christ were registered. Nearly all the churches could +make some such statement, though perhaps they could not speak of such +large numbers. Never a night passed but some soldiers gave themselves +to Christ, in the "Glory Rooms" of the various soldiers' homes. The +chaplains and the Army Scripture readers were busy all day and often +far into the night: by day visiting the men in barrack room and tent, +in the evening conducting services for them, and at night writing +letters on their behalf. + +It is impossible to chronicle such work as this. Much of it is too +sacred to be told. Many of the best workers are the slowest to speak +of their work, and where all did their best--their _very_ best--it is +invidious to mention names. But on every hand we hear of spiritual +results surpassing all previous experience in work among +soldiers--work which the Great Day will declare. + +It must be borne in mind that the men were ready for this spiritual +work. The times were serious and they were serious too. It must also +be borne in mind that splendid preparatory work had been done in the +churches and Sunday-schools of our land. And now that the spiritual +need was felt, the response was rapid, and the Sunday-school teacher +far away reaped the result of his labour. + +I turn now to another class of work, the work of the Young Men's +Christian Association. For many years the Y.M.C.A. has been identified +with social and Christian work in the Army. It has had its tents +wherever soldiers have gathered for their training, and during the +South African War it rendered most efficient and appreciated service. + +Since the outbreak of the present war it has to a large extent +suspended its ordinary work, in order that it might establish a system +of recreation tents and reading rooms in all the naval and military +camps. It is the boast of the Association that it has not refused a +single request for a tent, and by the end of March 1915 it had 700 +centres in different training camps, each with its wooden "hut" or +canvas tent. + +Not only are they in England, but in Scotland and Ireland, and by and +by upon the Continent also. When the Canadians came they found the +Y.M.C.A. ready to receive them. Six buildings were erected for their +use, and the largest of these measured a hundred feet by thirty, with +wooden walls and floor, and a canvas roof. + +Coffee is served in these extemporised Soldiers' Homes from five +o'clock in the morning to the end of the day. Everything that it is +possible to do for the soldiers' comfort is done. In one of these +tents 5000 letters were written and posted in one week. In the +evenings "Singsongs" are arranged, and hundreds of thousands of a +popular Christian songbook have been sold. Literature, largely +provided by such agencies as the Religious Tract Society, abounds. + +On Sundays the "Homes" are given over to the ministrations of the +chaplains. All denominations are welcome, and the freedom of the +buildings is also allowed for services to the Roman Catholics and the +Jews. + +Over 3000 voluntary helpers have taken part in this work as well as +the staff of the National Headquarters, while 95 per cent, of the +general secretaries throughout the country have acted as supervising +agents. We do not wonder that the Association has received the thanks +of the Government. + +May I describe one service in a Y.M.C.A. tent? It is Sunday evening. +The various Parade services of the morning have been held, the Church +of England in the open air, and the Congregationalists and Wesleyans +in the tent. But now a sergeant is in charge, and for half an hour he +allows the men to choose what hymns they like, and right heartily do +they sing. But now an Anglican archdeacon is on the platform, and with +eager words and practical advice is urging the soldiers to live as +Christian gentlemen. Then follows a Wesleyan minister with many a +story and many an appeal. Then a Congregationalist minister, in +quieter vein but with restrained earnestness. There are Christian +songs between the addresses and many an audible response from the +"Tommies" to the word of exhortation spoken. It is a re-union of the +churches, proving that at heart they are all one in Christ Jesus, and +it is made possible by the work of the Y.M.C.A. + +In the case of the Canadians, the Y.M.C.A. is actually a part of the +military force, and that is a remarkable thing. Six of the Canadian +officers of the Association in the first contingent were at the same +time officers in the Canadian Army, and were told off to the service +of the Y.M.C.A., but they were none the less officers for that. In +this way the Association is recognised, and the officers can go with +the men right into the trenches, and do. Fine men were these first +six officers, four of them with the infantry brigades, one with the +cavalry, and one with the artillery. + +The Salvation Army is also doing this work in its own way, but on a +smaller scale. Writing to the _Times_ in October 1914, Commissioner +Higgins said: "We have established centres of work by permission of +the authorities in about forty camps, and others are in course of +preparation. We have many indications that the men highly appreciate +what is being done. In one centre alone, on one day recently, we +received 2000 letters for men in camp. + +"In addition to personal help--which is so valuable when men are +separated from their families and friends--there are opportunities for +reading and writing, simple recreation and rest, and we are, so far as +possible, holding bright and happy meetings, where men who know +something of the power of Christ are able to urge upon their comrades +the love and service of God. It seems to us that these cannot but be +of the highest advantage to the men when they come to face those +dreadful ordeals which must lie before many of them. Salvation Army +officers have been appointed by the authorities concerned as chaplains +for various units, both in the forces coming from Canada and New +Zealand." + +Everyone who knows anything of Christian work in the British Army +knows how efficient is the service rendered by the Salvation Army, and +its Salvation soldiers are always at work bringing other soldiers to +Christ. + +The Church Army is, and also has been, at work. Prebendary Wilson +Carlile reports that it has supplied tents in a number of the larger +stations, tents which were welcomed everywhere, and in which the same +class of work has been done as in those of the Y.M.C.A. The "Lord +Kitchener" tent in Hyde Park, close to the Marble Arch, has proved to +be an admirable institution, and has afforded an object lesson as to +how this work should be done. + +At the request of Bishop Taylor Smith, the Chaplain General, a new +departure in Christian work among the troops has been taken. In twelve +different camps small chapels have been built, each 30 feet by 20 +feet. In each chapel are a Lord's Table and chairs, and there is a +small room, 5 feet by 8 feet, for interviews with the chaplain. These +chapels are called "Huts of Silence" and are intended for quiet +meditation and prayer. It is a new experiment and will be watched with +much interest. Tommy is a gregarious creature, and how he will take to +silence remains to be seen. There is, however, opportunity for all +classes of Christian work in the ever-growing British Army. + +In connection with the Army work of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, +Soldiers' Homes have long played a conspicuous part. Before the war +broke out that church had already spent £154,420 on providing +forty-one such homes in different parts of the Empire, twenty of these +being in England. + +Always full in peace time, these homes have of course been overcrowded +in time of war, and scores of temporary homes have been brought into +use in all the great centres. Soon after the war broke out an appeal +was made for £5000 to erect tent or hut homes in all the camps. It has +had a noble response, and the work is succeeding beyond expectation. +In each of these homes there is a "Glory Room." The name comes from +the Mother Home at Aldershot, and they call it so because + + Heaven comes down their souls to meet + And glory crowns the mercy-seat. + +No pressure is brought to bear on any soldier to enter the Glory Room. +There are the reading rooms, games room, refreshment room as +everywhere else, but night by night an increasing number of lads find +their way into the Glory Room. There prayer is wont to be made, and +Sankey's hymn-book, loved of the Christian soldier, is in evidence. +Never a night passes but some soldier lad comes home to God, and +"Glory crowns what grace has begun." + +Every night the gathering ends with the Christian soldier's +watchword--"494." Years before the South African War it was used among +our Christian lads. It went right through South Africa. As company +passed company on the march, a Christian man in one company would +shout "494," and if there were a Christian in the passing company he +would respond "494." Sometimes the response varied and instead would +come the ringing shout, "Aye, lad, and six further on." Thus the +Christian soldier's watchword rang out from the Cape to Pretoria. And +it has been ringing right through this war. + +So every meeting in the Glory Room of a Wesleyan Soldiers' Home closes +with it. If you turn to Sankey's hymn-book you will find that "494" is +"God be with you till we meet again," and "six further on" is "Blessed +assurance, Jesus is mine." Thus our lads cheer each other in times of +difficulty and danger. + +I must not forget to mention the little Red Books and Blue Books +which, to the number of 60,000, have been distributed to all Wesleyan +soldiers and sailors in the Expeditionary Forces. These, which contain +hymns and prayers, have been compiled by the Rev. F.L. Wiseman and are +greatly appreciated by the men. Also a "Housewife" has been given to +every man, containing all things necessary for patching, darning, and +mending. + +But every church has cared for its men, if not in these, in other +ways, and the men have been loaded with comforts. I have singled out +the Wesleyan Soldiers' Homes for special mention, because that church +has made this work a speciality, and has homes now in every great +military or naval centre throughout the Empire. But it must not be +forgotten that the Church of England has its "Institutes" also, and +that the Presbyterian Church is just beginning this work. Miss +Daniel's Soldiers' Home at Aldershot has for many years rendered good +service. + +Perhaps this is the best time to speak of Temperance work in the Army, +for it is another form of Christian service. + +Temperance principles had been rapidly leavening the Army years before +the outbreak of war. We are apt to forget that we have a new army, an +army educated in our Council schools and Sunday-schools, and most of +its men have been under Christian influence. Before the war broke out, +over forty per cent. of our Army in India were members of the Army +Temperance Association, and in this country, though the percentage of +members was lower, that magnificent institution was rejoicing in great +success. There was still a "tail" to the British Army, a long and +unwholesome tail, but it was growing shorter and more wholesome each +year. + +Since the war commenced it has grown shorter still. Temperance work +has been done everywhere. The Army Temperance workers are in all the +homes, and the fruit of their work is seen on every hand. + +The decree of the Czar of Russia prohibiting the sale of vodka gave a +great impetus to British Temperance work, and perhaps Lord Kitchener +gave as great if not an even greater stimulus. + +Lord Kitchener's message to the Expeditionary Force on its departure +for France may in part be quoted: "In France and Belgium you are sure +to meet with a welcome, and to be trusted. Your conduct must justify +that welcome and that trust. Your duty cannot be done unless your +health is sound, so keep constantly on your guard against any excess. +In this new experience you may find temptation in wine.... You must +entirely resist temptation." + +Lord Kitchener also issued a strong appeal to the British public, +urging them not to treat our soldiers to intoxicating drink, and his +entreaty was backed by strong measures in many camps. + +At the request of the naval and military authorities the Home +Secretary (Mr. McKenna) carried through Parliament a measure giving to +licensing justices in any district, upon the recommendation of the +chief officer of police, the power temporarily to restrict the sale, +consumption, and supply of intoxicating liquors on licensed premises +and in clubs. + +Add to all this the immense work of the churches and various +temperance associations, and there is no wonder that we have new men +in a new army. + +I turn now for a few moments to work among the men of the Navy. Not so +much could be done for them as for our soldier lads. Church of +England chaplains were, of course, on the larger ships, but room +could not be found for the chaplains of other churches. All the +records tell of splendid work done by the chaplains on board. + +And when from their life on the ocean wave the men came in for brief +periods to the home ports, the chaplains on shore rejoiced in the +opportunity of service. Everywhere services were arranged--services on +board ship, and services on shore. All sorts of literature was +provided. Comforts, in the shape of warm garments made by loving hands +at home, were distributed. + +The Sailors' Homes were open to them, and were thronged during the +brief periods when they could be used by the men. Special mention must +be made of the splendid work done by Miss Agnes Weston for many years. +It must not be forgotten that long before the outbreak of war +Christian and Temperance work had been as fruitful in the Navy as in +the Army. But the war has made such work still more effective. + +On board ship the Christian men were always ready for prayer. The Rev. +R.H. Hingley tells that one day he had been conducting a brief service +on a cruiser, and as he was waiting for his boat, man after man came +up to him and suggested a prayer meeting. It was a newly commissioned +ship and many of the men who gathered to the prayer meeting confessed +Christ for the first time. + +At sea these men congregate every evening for prayer in the chaplain's +room, but often that room is too small, and more commodious quarters +have to be sought. + +Mr. Hingley tells of a letter he has received from a sailor saint. "We +have taken the ninety-first Psalm as our special song. How grand it +is to be sure, and how true have we proved it to be!" Thus many of our +Christian sailor lads go down to the sea in ships singing as they go, +"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide +under the shadow of the Almighty," and so they are not afraid "for the +terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day." Christ has +many witnesses among our sailors in the North Sea. + +It was not long before another class of service came to those at the +Home Base, viz. the work among the wounded in the hospitals. This war +has brought the fact of war home to every one. + +Not long was it before the hospitals already in use were all too small +for the numbers of wounded drafted from the front, and hospitals +sprang up in all the great centres of population. For weeks +preparations had been made. Red Cross amateur nurses and St. John's +Ambulance nurses had been completing their training. Medical men had +volunteered their services, and ministers of religion of all +denominations were ready to do what they could for the spiritual needs +of the men. + +The opportunity was golden. Never had there been one like it before. +These men had come through the Valley of Death. They were ready to +think and pray. Says one chaplain: + +"Again and again, while going through the wards, men have said, 'I +shall be a different man after this, sir.' They have told us of their +life in the trenches and of the prayers they have made while the +bullets have been flying about them. Said one: 'I know this--on the +field I prayed hard, more than ever I prayed before.' Another man +speaks of the peace he had when facing death. 'I remembered those +words in one of the Psalms--"A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten +thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee"--and God +brought me through.'" + +Multiply this story a thousandfold and we shall see what the war has +done for men, and also realise how easy it has been to lead soldiers +thus impressed into fellowship with our Lord. A loving work is this, +requiring ministry tender and true, but it has been done and done +right nobly. Men who had learnt not to be afraid of death have learnt +also how to live. + +In Denmark Hill Hospital a wounded man told this story to the Rev. A. +Bingham. A young soldier was mortally wounded in one of the great +battles. When he realised that he was dying he began to sing. Faintly +but clearly he sang: + + Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; + The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; + . . . . . . + Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes; + Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; + Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; + In Life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. + +Far away from loved ones--far from home--wounded to the death, the +soldier found in the love and presence of Jesus his Saviour and +friend, rest and peace. And his comrade in the hospital remembered his +dying song and passed it on that it might become a message to many +another when they too came to die-- + + In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. + +One more hospital story will suffice. It is of a different order from +the last, but it reveals Thomas Atkins as he really is. + +The wife of the local colonel was making the round of a hospital and +paused at the bedside of a wounded soldier, who evidently hailed from +the North of England. He was toying with a helmet, apparently a trophy +of war. + +"Well," said the lady, "I suppose you killed your man?" + +"Well, naw," quietly responded the soldier. "You see it was like this. +He lay on the field pretty near me with an awfu' bad wound an' +bleedin' away somethin' terrible. I was losin' a lot of blood too fra' +my leg, but I managed to crawl up to him, an' bound him up as well as +I could, an' he did the same for me. Nawthin' o' coorse was said +between us. I knew no German an' the ither man not a word o' English, +so when he'd dun, not seein' hoo else tae thank him, I just smiled, +an' by way o' token handed him my Glengarry, an' he smiled back an' +giv' me his helmet." + +Thus Thomas Atkins has shown how to fight his enemy and to love him +too. + + * * * * * + +This, then, in brief outline, is the story of Christian work at the +Home Base during the early stages of the war. + +Chaplains or acting chaplains everywhere, Scripture readers, Y.M.C.A. +workers, voluntary workers, all sorts and conditions of workers. +Bright, cheery services every evening. Loving appeals for decision for +Christ--appeals which have been responded to by thousands of our lads. +Centres for thought and rest and recreation everywhere. The need has +been great, and the need has been supplied by people moved to +self-sacrifice as never before. + +Few families but have had some members in either Navy or Army, and as +parents have said good-bye to their sons they have known that a hearty +Christian welcome awaited them where they went, and that they might +safely leave them to the kindly ministry of willing hearts and hands. +The motto of everyone, high and low, has been _Ich dien_--I serve. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT + + If Minister Shoots Minister!--A Brighter Side--A Beautiful + Story--Pastors and Members in the Firing Line--A German + Pastor--The Retreat through Belgium--The Work of Heroes--A + Rear-guard Action--Seeking the Wounded--Refugees Stupid with + Terror--Behind the Rear-guard--A Narrow Escape--A Night to be + Remembered--The Man who Saved the British Army--God has been + with Me--The British Soldier will Joke--Why Not?--Awful + Experiences--A Monotony of Horror--Picking up Wounded + Stragglers--Lines of Broken Men--Still Retreating--A Wonderful + Triumph of Will--Thirsty Heroes--The Ambulance Found--The End + of the Retreat--Mentioned in Despatches--No Parade Services. + + +Viewed from a Christian standpoint, the most distressing things about +this war are: (1) That _Christian_ nations are engaged in a life and +death struggle. It is a lamentable confession, an awful fact. Two +thousand years of Christian teaching have absolutely failed to keep +Christian nations at peace. + +And yet are these nations Christian? Has not Germany by its adoption +of a false philosophy forfeited the title of Christian? So far as its +military class is concerned I fear we must say "Yes," but so far as +hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants are concerned we rejoice to +believe we can still answer "No." They are fighting because they +_must_, and because they do not understand. And we are fighting in +another sense because we _must_. Like Luther, "We can no other." May +God forgive us if we are wrong! We believe--with all our hearts we +believe--our cause is just. + + [Illustration: HELPING THE HELPLESS. + Royal Navy Division helping Belgian soldiers and refugees + during the retreat from Antwerp. + _Drawn by Ernest Prater from sketches made by one who was + there._] + +And out of this first distressing thing there emerges another. (2) +Christian _ministers_ are opposed to each other in the ranks, not +because they _want_, but because they _must_. The law of conscription +in Germany and in France applies to them as to others. + +Surely these might have been left out of the call, or at any rate +might have been left free to respond or not as their conscience +dictated, as was the case in England. The consequence is that hundreds +if not thousands of churches are left without their spiritual leaders, +and everywhere the flock is destitute of the shepherd's care. + +I said "a distressing thing," but is it not a tragedy? And if they +should meet--these Christian ministers--across the trenches or in the +line of battle, and minister shoot minister, or perforce meet him in a +bayonet charge! + +But there is a brighter side even to this dark picture. There are +twenty thousand priests, "religious," and seminarists serving in the +French Army. Among them are three bishops. Monsignor Ruch, coadjutor +of Nancy, is one; he is employed as a stretcher-bearer. Another, +Monsignor Perros, is a sub-lieutenant; and the third, Monsignor +Mourey, is simply Private Mourey in the ranks. It is quite an ordinary +thing for confessions to be heard by soldier priests in the trenches, +and for absolution to be given before the charge. Protestant +ministers, too, fighting in the ranks never forget they _are_ +ministers, and their ministry may be even more effective than that of +the chaplains, for are they not comrades too? Thus the armies are +leavened by Christian men, whose supreme business must be the Kingdom +of God. + +A beautiful story comes to us from the early days of the war. In the +hall of a great railway terminus in Paris, a number of wounded were +laid out on straw waiting to be taken to a hospital. Several of them +had evidently not long to live. One especially was very restless, and +a nurse moved to his side, and began to do what she could for him. + +"I badly want a priest," moaned the dying man. + +The nurse looked round upon the company of wounded. + +"Is there a priest here?" she asked. A voice in little more than a +whisper replied: + +"Yes, Sister, I am a priest. Take me to him." + +There he lay at the point of death, wounded and wounded sorely. It was +a strange sight--his dirty ragged uniform not yet removed, the stains +of war and of awful travel from the front upon his face, and he a +priest! + +"Take me to him," he repeated. + +She said: "You are not fit to be moved, I dare not do it." And then +insistently he whispered: + +"Sister, you are of the faith. You know what it means to the dying +lad. I must go." + +He tried to rise from the straw on which he lay, and seeing his +determination the nurse had him moved to the dying soldier's side. A +few whispered words of confession, and the priest motioned to the +Sister. + +"I cannot raise my arm. Help me to make the sign," he said. + +The Sister lifted his arm and together they made the sign of the +cross. And then, exhausted, the soldier priest fell back. His comrade +felt for his hand, clasped it in his dying grasp, and together priest +and penitent passed away. + +Thus heroically are many French priests doing a double work, at once +fighting for their country and for their faith. + +It is the same with French Protestant ministers. All of military age +have had to go. The President of the French Wesleyan Conference, the +Rev. Emile Ullern, is fighting as a private soldier in the French +Army, and many another. Two-fifths of the pastors of the Reformed +Church of France are also in the ranks. Already three of them, plus a +missionary and a most promising theological student, one of the +Monod's, have fallen on the battle-field. Our French churches are +without pastors, and the work of many years is seemingly being ruined. +But their members are at the front too, and it is a joy if, now and +then, they meet and are able to comfort one another in the firing +line. + +It is the same in Germany. Already we hear of one German Methodist +minister who has fallen at the front--Rev. Friedrich Rösch, Ph.D. He +graduated brilliantly in philosophy and languages at Strasburg +University. He then offered for missionary work and rendered excellent +service among the Mohammedans of Northern Africa. He had a good +knowledge of Arabic and had learned two other African languages. Now a +British or French bullet, or shrapnel shell, has cut short his career. + +This is the grim tragedy of this awful war--Christian fighting +Christian, Christian minister fighting Christian minister. + +Our business, however, is with the _British_ army and with Christian +work therein. Our task is a difficult one, for the veil of secrecy +which enveloped the early days of the war has hardly as yet been +lifted. Only here and there has that veil been raised just a little, +but wherever we are privileged to gaze we are filled with admiration. +The work of our chaplains and doctors and nurses has been heroic, and +the no less noble work of Christian soldiers fills us with +thanksgiving. + +The war began with retreat. That apparently invincible German army +strode ruthlessly through Belgium, leaving fire and rapine and death +in its track. It found a garden, and it left a wilderness; prosperity, +and it left starvation. It will be remembered for all time for +barbarities that disgraced war. Belgian mothers will tell their +children, and the story will be passed down the ages, of broken hearts +and ruined lives, and a tortured devastated land. + +And then, the devoted little army of Belgium thrown upon one side, the +clash of war began in France. Our British Expeditionary Force had been +rushed across the Channel with General Sir John French in command. +With marvellous efficiency it had crossed without a single casualty, +convoyed by British and French men-of-war. With the forces went the +chaplains of the different denominations, their numbers to be steadily +augmented throughout the war. + +But the French were not ready, and our force was all too small for the +task allotted to it. To our eternal credit, we also were not ready. +Our Army did the work of heroes, but the huge German Army steadily +marched on, and there was nothing to be done but retire. When the full +story of the retreat from Mons comes to be written, what grim reading +it will make! + +Of course, in those desperate days all that the chaplains could do +was to look after the wounded and bury the dead. Organised services +were out of the question. A few men gathered here or there at the +close of a terrible march, a prayer or two, a message of cheer or +consolation, and then a brief sleep, and the inevitable weary march +again, the rear-guard fighting all the way. But all day long there +were opportunities of individual service and these were used to the +full. + +From the publications of the Salvation Army we get a vivid picture of +those days. Being an international institution it had, and still has, +its agents in every part of the fighting area. Germans, Russians, +French, Belgians, and British are all the same to it--they are men who +need salvation. It has been as vigorous in its work among Germans as +among any others, and its trophies won upon German battle-fields will +be bright jewels in our Redeemer's crown. + +Brigadier Mary Murray, who rendered signal service during the South +African war, and who wears the South African medal, was in Brussels +when the Germans entered the city. She gives us a vivid picture of her +experiences in connexion with the German occupation. I quote from the +_War Cry_ of September 12, 1914: + +"At last I am able to write. Twelve days of silence, no post, no +papers, nothing but such news as the Germans cared to put up, and all +the time a sound of heavy firing. + +"We reached Brussels last Tuesday week. The first impression was of a +town _en fête_. The streets, even the poorest, were gay with bunting +and flags; on every side black, orange, and red caught one's eye. + +"In trying to get an extra man officer for our party we were still in +Brussels on Thursday, and by twelve o'clock found ourselves German +prisoners. Every house in the better part of the town was closed and +the windows shuttered. The empty streets at twelve o'clock gave one a +horrid chill, but by four o'clock dense masses of people watched the +German Army pass. Old men, young men, bare-headed women, women with +hobble skirts, but one and all holding tiny dogs in their arms! +Behind, the cafés were in full swing. + +"Hour after hour the 4th German army corps rolled along the cobble +streets, a solid grey line of burly men and magnificent horses. I +turned from watching and saw a boy in the act of throwing a +heavily-weighted belt dragged away by two policemen. In the cafés men +were drinking the inevitable beer and playing cards. I turned again. +Still on they came, cavalry, artillery, and infantry--a man to my +right in French said, 'One of these men told me they knew they were +going to their death.' Just then a cavalry man, catching sight of my +uniform, very courteously and gravely saluted me, saying, 'Heils +Armee' (Salvation Army). + +"The next day--still the army passing through,--a gunner, bending +down, said, 'Heils Armee--Hallelujah!' Wild rumours throughout the +town; atmosphere electric, a single act of violence, and one felt the +Germans would have opened fire. Notices were posted all over the town +imploring the people to be calm; every day, often all day, we tried +for a way to get out, but without a ray of hope; day after day +refugees arrived with tales of misery and horror. + +"My diary runs: 'All cafés to be closed early. Germans send for +quicklime to cover their dead. 7000 wounded arrive--all Germans. +Germans posted notices to-day: "English badly beaten; French +retreated." Threatened to sack Brussels. No milk, no bread, no eggs, +no butter. We were mobbed to-day, as the rumour had spread that +Brussels had been betrayed by the English. Notice out not to touch +water, as German dead were lying in great numbers unburied near +Mallien.'" + +From Brussels Brigadier Murray made her way to Le Havre. The scenes +she witnessed among the flying Belgians were terrible. One picture +will ever live in her memory--and ours. + +"A woman who had to fly at night from her village had to do so with +three tiny children; the baby she put into her apron with some +clothing, the other two she carried. Through the darkness she had to +walk to the junction, where ensued a wild scramble for seats. When the +train had started the distracted woman discovered that the baby had +dropped from her apron, when and where no one could discover." + +Later Brigadier Murray has had charge of the first ambulance sent out +by the Salvation Army. + +The bravery of these women Salvation Army officers is past +description. + +During the battle of Mons Adjutant L. Renaud, a French-Swiss officer, +was in charge of the Salvation Army corps at Quaregnon, near Mons. She +tells us her experiences during those fearful days. + +"Here in Quaregnon it has been terrible--beyond all expression. More +than 300 houses have been destroyed, and many civilians killed, not +only men and women, but also children, _but none of our Salvation +Army comrades has been touched_. We have been protected in a +marvellous manner. We can say with David, 'The Angel of the Lord +encampeth around those that fear Him and plucks them out of danger' +(French translation). God has done that for us. The battle continued +from Sunday morning at eleven o'clock to Monday evening. The +bombardment did not cease a moment; while it was on we had thirty of +our comrades with their little children in our large cellar." + +We understand that the officers got possession of this house with the +large cellar last year. The hall is on the ground floor. In their +former house there was no cellar. The adjutant proceeds: + +"I am so glad that I remained at my post, to aid and encourage not +only my Salvation Army comrades, but also the population. The people +were completely panic-stricken. I do not know how it has happened, but +the Lord has enabled me to rest in a great calm and without any fear. +Lieutenant and I have been enabled to go amongst the people, +comforting them and taking help to them even when the balls have +whistled by our ears. Oh, how God has protected us! That night of +August 23 will never be forgotten by me. + +"The day after the battle--what horrible sights! Dead bodies in the +streets, the wounded, and from all sides poor maddened people flying +to save themselves with their little children--all the people weeping. +I could never describe what I have seen. How is it possible that such +things could take place in this age of education? And now the misery +is here for the poor workers. It is already seven weeks since the men +(colliers) could work. The food has been seized and more often than +not wasted by the German troops. The future is very dark for these +poor people. + +"When the English soldiers came here the Lieutenant and I prepared tea +for them while they dug trenches. After the battle, when the Germans +came, we lodged many of them in our hall and did what we could for +them. Then I thought of all our dear Salvationists who are in the +different armies--English, German, French, Austrian, Russian, Belgian. +Oh, how glad I am that I remained at my post to help my comrades! On +the Sunday during the bombardment the cry went forth, 'Let all those +save themselves who can do so!' I went outside to see if there was any +serious danger. Then I said to the people, 'Come with us in the hall; +I will take care of you as much as I can.' They came, and were content +to be with their officers. They said, 'If it be necessary for us to +die, well, we will be with our officers; it will be better for us to +be with them.' Thus they remained with us, and God has protected all. +Blessed be His Holy Name!" + +Adjutant Renaud and her Lieutenant, however, were not the only women +Salvation Army officers who stuck to their posts. They all did so, +nerving themselves with the strength of Christ, and daring all things +in His name. And to-day many of them are still working in Belgian and +French towns overrun by German troops doing their best for Christ and +the Kingdom. + +It is time, however, that we rejoined the British troops who by this +time are retreating from Mons. There had been terrible fighting around +Mons for four days, but the opposing forces were overwhelming, and +they had no option but to retire fighting a rear-guard action all the +way. The retreat began on or about August 24, 1914, not three weeks +after the declaration of war. It was a pitiful experience for our +soldiers who are not accustomed to turn their backs to the foe. + +It is not our purpose to tell the story of that awful retreat--other +books will do that. Nor is it possible as yet to tell in full the +story of the Christian work attempted during the hurried marching of +those fearful times. In the first place commissioned chaplains are not +permitted as yet to publish reports, and in the second place all work +attempted was necessarily unorganised and fragmentary. It could be +nothing more than caring for the wounded and whenever possible burying +the dead. + +The horrors of the retreat can only be known by those who experienced +them, and there was little light amid the darkness of apparent +failure. It must be remembered that our men were fighting all the +time, sometimes it seemed to them succeeding, but really only +succeeding in allowing the main body to retreat to the rear. For +twelve days the retreat continued and did not terminate until +Saturday, September 5. + +Here and there we get a little light in the darkness. The _War Cry_ of +September 19 contains a story from the pen of a motor driver in the +R.F.A., who was also a Salvation Army bandsman, which has to do with +the battle more than the retreat, but which may as well be told here, +leaving a description of some incidents in the retreat itself to +follow later. + +"We got everything ready for the enemy, the trenches dug and the guns +fixed, and then came the worst job of all--waiting. For thirty-six +hours we lay there watching and listening for the first sign of the +Germans. Then for five hours the battle lasted without cessation. + +"Having brought my transport wagons up to the firing lines with my +motor, I had to help load the guns. Shells were flying and bursting +all round us. I was wounded by a splinter from one of the shells, but +as it was only a flesh wound I bound it up and went on with my work. + +"Now, the enemy seemed to be beating us, then again they retreated. +All the time my comrades were falling around me, and the Germans were +falling in hundreds too. So thick were the enemy's dead that when the +advance was given we simply had to force the motor up and over heaps +of bodies--there was nothing else for it. + +"At last the battle, so far as the batteries in our neighbourhood were +concerned, went in our favour, and we were ordered to follow the +retreating Germans. In doing this six of us got lost, and for four +days we were tramping about without a mouthful of food or drink! + +"By day we lay concealed in the corn or grass fields, and by night we +crept along, without any guide, only hoping and praying--I've prayed +many times in the past, but never so much as on these nights--that all +would come right. + +"On the first day we were fairly well, on the second we were _very_ +hungry, on the third our tongues were hanging out, and two of my +comrades went mad. + +"On the fourth night we fell in with a British ambulance section and +were taken into camp. As I was passing an ambulance tent I heard some +one singing: + + 'I'm a child of a King, + I'm a child of a King, + With Jesus my Saviour, + I'm a child of a King.' + +I asked who it was, and was told it was a Salvationist. + +"In the stillness of another night from one of the tents I heard-- + + 'Then we'll roll the old chariot along, + And we won't drag on behind.' + +"I tell you it was thrilling; it made me dance for joy. Two or three +Salvationists were having a Free and Easy; after the chorus had been +sung once or twice I heard it taken up by other Salvationists in other +tents, and presently from many parts of the camp could be heard the +old Salvation Army song. It was splendid! + +"My, didn't the old verse go with a swing-- + + 'If the Devil's in the way + We'll roll it over him!' + +By this time the whole camp had joined in. Some of the +non-Salvationists would sing it with a slight change. + +"Another favourite with us Salvationists was the last verse of 'I'm a +child of a King'-- + + 'A tent or a cottage what need I fear, + He's building a palace for me over there.' + +"I was unable to get to chat with any of the Salvationists, because if +you want to go from one battery to another you have to get permission. +But one night I did go and listen outside one of the tents to their +singing. It cheered me only to know I was near some of my comrades. I +learned that the Salvationists in camp came from various parts of +England, some were bandsmen, some local officers, and others soldiers. +I didn't hear that any had been wounded beyond myself, although the +comrade I heard singing in the ambulance tent was in all probability +injured!" + +But now for the retreat itself! The passage I quote is from the pen of +the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins, as printed in the _Methodist Recorder_. + +Mr. Watkins had already seen much war service. He was in Crete. He +accompanied the British Army to Khartoum and was present at the battle +of Omdurman. He went through the South African war and was shut up in +Ladysmith during the siege. He knows what campaigning is, and he knows +how to describe what he sees. When this war broke out he was attached +to the 14th Field Ambulance, in command of which was Lieut.-Colonel +G.S. Crawford. The personnel of the ambulance consisted of nine +medical officers, one quartermaster, two chaplains--Rev. D.P. +Winnifrith (Church of England) and himself (Wesleyan)--and 240 +non-commissioned officers and men. His full description of the retreat +is as fine a piece of writing as I remember to have seen in connexion +with this war. + +"On we tramped through Maretz, our destination being, we were told, +Estrées. Never a halt or a pause, though horses dropped between the +shafts, and men sat down exhausted by the roadside. A heavy gun +overturned in a ditch, but it was impossible to stay to get it out, so +it was rendered useless, and the disconsolate gunners trekked on. +When horses could draw their loads no longer, the loads were cast by +the roadside; there could be no delay, for the spent and weary +infantry were fighting in our rear, and every moment's delay had to be +paid for in human lives. + +"Darkness fell and still we marched--I dozed in the saddle to waken +with a start, but still nothing but the creak and rumble of waggons +and guns, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of men. I cannot give a +connected account of that night--it lives in my memory like an awful +but confused nightmare--the overpowering desire for sleep, the +weariness and ache of every fibre of one's body, and the thirst. I had +forgotten to be hungry, had got past food; but I thirsted as I had +only thirsted once before, and that was in the desert near Khartoum. + +"About midnight we reached Estrées, and I asked a staff officer where +the 14th Field Ambulance was camped. 'Camped!' he exclaimed. 'Camped! +Nobody camps here. Orders are changed and there must be no halt.' +Then, as an afterthought, 'What Ambulance did you say?' 'Number 14.' +'Do you belong to it?' 'Yes.' 'Then I congratulate you, for if reports +are true, you are all that is left of it: it is said to have been +wiped out by shell fire.' I said I thought the reports were, to say +the least, exaggerated, and rode on. + +"Shortly after I heard a familiar voice also asking for the 14th Field +Ambulance. It was Major Fawcett, R.A.M.C, who, like myself, had been +detached from the Ambulance on special duty. We greeted each other +with joy, and for the rest of that awful march had company. + +"At last we felt we could go no further (remember, in the last four +days we had only ten hours' sleep, and three proper meals), and were +in danger of dropping out of our saddles from exhaustion. So we +dismounted, sat by the roadside holding our horses, and at once were +fast asleep. + +"Two hours later we wakened, dawn was just breaking over the hills, +and still the column creaked and groaned its way along the road, more +asleep than awake, but still moving. A wonderful triumph of will over +human frailty. But at how great a cost to nerve and vitality was +revealed by one look at the faces of the men. + +"I was noticing how worn and gaunt my companion was looking, and was +about to remark upon it, but the same thought was in his mind and he +forestalled me. 'Isn't it wonderful how quickly this sort of thing +tells upon a man? You know, Padre, you look as though you had just got +up from a serious illness, and only three days ago you looked as hard +as nails, and as fit as a man could be.' + +"Soon after sunrise we came up with two of our ambulance waggons and +one of our filter water-carts. The wounded were in such a state of +exhaustion with the long trek, and the awful jolting of the waggons, +that Major Fawcett decided to halt and make some beef-tea for them, so +rode on ahead to find some farm where water could be boiled. He had +hardly gone when a battalion of exhausted infantry came up with us, +and as soon as they saw the water-cart, made a dash for it. + +"Hastily I rode up to them, explained that there was very little water +left in the cart, and that little was needed for their wounded +comrades. + +"'I'm thirsty myself,' I said, 'and I'm awfully sorry for you chaps, +but you see how it is, the wounded must come first.' + +"'Quite right, sir,' was the ready response. 'Didn't know it was a +hospital water-cart,' and without a murmur they went thirsty along +their way." + +Soon the retreat was renewed and steadily they marched to the rear +until St. Quentin was reached, where they got their first wash and +actually eight hours' sleep. Then on again--back, back, always back. +The River Aisne was passed, soon to be regained and made memorable by +a brilliant fight. But now it was all retreat. Day after day, night +after night they trekked. The days were tropical, the nights arctic. +Often it was too cold to sleep, though sleep was needed badly. + +At last, on Saturday, September 5, they reached Tournan, south of +Paris, and were informed that the retreat was over, and that they +would ere long turn to attack the foe who had so ruthlessly followed +them. + +The men were not down-hearted even through that awful march. +Down-hearted? No! They were always asking when they could get "a bit +of their own back." Their one desire was to turn and face their enemy. +This was a retreat, not a defeat. The men were ragged, bearded, +footsore, unkempt, but were unconquered and unconquerable. The spirit +of their country burned in them and blazed through their eyes, and +when the message of Sir John French came thanking them for their +magnificent courage and promising them a share in the rounding up, +they cheered until they could cheer no longer. + + * * * * * + +When Sir John French published his first list of names for honourable +mention, the names of seven chaplains were "mentioned in Despatches." +And among the seven the name of the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins was +mentioned twice. + +No Parade services--they were out of the question,--hardly any short +unofficial services such as we grew accustomed to during the South +African War. Just a hearty handshake, a "God bless you," a whispered +text, or a hearty word of cheer, but the ministry to the wounded +always, and wherever possible the burial of the dead. No more is +possible in such a retreat. But the Christian soldier is cheered by +the sight of his chaplain. His "494" is never forgotten, and as he +passes along the lines of the wounded they look up and call him +blessed. + +Thank God, the Cross is always where there is suffering and death, and +never is it needed more than on the stricken field, or in such a +retreat as "The Retreat from Mons." + + [Illustration: "IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY."] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AT THE FIGHTING BASE + + Commissioned Acting Chaplains--All Creeds Participate--Stories + of Christian Workers at the Fighting Base--Pluck, a Miracle + Worker--A Whole Regiment Praying--More Chaplains' Stories--The + French Mayor's Speech--Protestant Service in a Roman Catholic + Church--An Old-Fashioned "Revival"--The Cross upon the Field + of War--A Hospital Confirmation Scene--Y.M.C.A. at the + Fighting Base--The Story of the German Sniper. + + +Perhaps this is the best time to say a word about religious +ministrations in the Army. + +When a soldier enlists he is expected to "declare" his "religion." +Time was when only two forms of religion were recognised in the +Army--the Church of England and Roman Catholic. A recruit was asked, +"What are you? Church or Catholic?"--that was how it was shortly put. +But that day has gone by, and now all the chief religious +denominations are recognised, and the men--to the extent I have +already indicated--have the ministration of the chaplains of their own +churches. This some officers at first fail to recognise. + +The story goes that a captain, who had recently changed regiments and +had not as yet become acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of his new +command, was surprised at the small muster for Church of England +Parade. "You see," explained the sergeant-major, "we've sixteen Roman +Catholics, twelve Wesleyans, six Primitive Methodists, two Jews, and +four Peelin' Purtaties!" + +The Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian chaplains hold +commissions in the Army. The Wesleyans, although commissions have +repeatedly been offered, prefer to keep their ministers under their +own control. Their ministers become "Acting Chaplains," and, as I have +already indicated, during the present war for the first time, the +other Free Churches have been recognised in the same way. When, +however, war breaks out, all the chaplains, commissioned and acting, +are on the same footing, are attached to some unit, and are under its +commanding officer. They all wear uniform, and the only way to +distinguish the "Padre" from the ordinary officer is by the black +shoulder-knots and the cross on his hat. + +At the head of the Chaplaincy Department is Bishop Taylor-Smith, the +Chaplain-General. He is a powerful preacher, a good administrator, a +broad-minded man, and eminently fitted for his high position. But he +remains at home during this war, for the Chaplaincy Department has +become a big thing, and only very occasionally can he pay visits to +the front. + +The chaplain in charge of the Army work at the front is the Rev. Dr. +J.M. Simms (Presbyterian), one of the chaplains who also have the +distinction of being Hon. Chaplains to the King. It shows how catholic +the Army authorities are, and how little they allow their sympathies +to be with any one church, that the man in charge of the chaplains of +all the churches is a Presbyterian. He takes this position by virtue +of seniority, for Dr. Simms has seen long and varied service; but +never before has any other than an Anglican clergyman found himself in +command. + +The senior Church of England chaplain is the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, +who served with distinction throughout the South African War and was +among those shut up in Ladysmith. + +Chaplains have military status. The Chaplain-General ranks as +Major-General, Dr. Simms as Brigadier, and the others as Colonels, +Majors, or Captains. They do not use their title of military rank. + +As Bishop Taylor-Smith says: "There are no flouts or sneers against +the Sky Pilot in the Army of to-day. Quite the reverse; for does he +not bring them comfort and courage, and that quiet confidence which a +man of great moral might can implant in the most irreligious mind?... +Sometimes one hears grumbles at having to salute civilians 'dressed up +as officers,' but never a word against the Army chaplain--the Padre." + +In an interview reported in the _Daily Chronicle_, Bishop Taylor-Smith +goes on to say: "Chatting with a senior Army chaplain who had been at +the front from the beginning, I was not surprised to hear that he had +not once received a snub, for his story confirmed the remarks made to +me by Tommy Atkins himself. Down there in the bleak desolation of mud +and morass, with death hurtling through the grey sky, one is face to +face with the Unknown, and the man who in his native town never sets +foot in church, turns with gratitude to the chaplain to strengthen him +with the comfort of God.... All Protestant creeds are one in the +fighting line. If an Anglican minister is not at hand, a Presbyterian +speaks a few words, and all of the Protestant denominations work hand +and glove.... Only for Holy Communion in the field does he wear his +surplice, and usually he invites all, the unconfirmed, or even those +of other creeds, to participate, for any minute may mean death out +there." + +I can bear this out from personal knowledge. There is much less +distinction between the denominations in the Army at home than one +would expect, but in the "field" they rejoice in the grand old title +of Christian, and on occasion each does the other's work. + +Every day is a Sunday, so far as the chaplain is concerned. He takes a +service when and where he can. He cannot have too many, and the men +readily respond to his call. + +At the fighting base, however, his most important work lies in the +hospital. Here he is sorely needed. The men want him more than they +ever did in their lives. And it is his to hear their last words and to +tell them of the peace of God. + +We must remember that the fighting base is an ever-moving base, moved +according to the exigencies at the front, now forward, now back. It is +many miles behind the firing line, far from the sound though not the +sights of war. Here are Headquarters, where the brains of the Army do +their responsible work. To Headquarters comes information from every +available source. The telegraph and telephone instruments tick and +ring all day long. Motor cyclists bring their store of knowledge, and +aeroplanes, most important of all informants, dispense their news. + +Here, also, somewhere among the miles that measure the fighting base, +are the base hospitals, where the cases that cannot at once be sent to +the homeland are received and cared for; and here, also, are soldiers +on their way to the front, or those who--retired from the +trenches--are resting until their turn comes to go back. + +It will be seen, therefore, that the term fighting base is a very +elastic one. It stands for that wide area behind the advanced lines, +where all but the fighting work is done. + +Now, let us get among the Christian workers and see what they are +doing there. + +We are impressed with their magnificent opportunity. The men who have +been fighting know what it means. They have looked the king of terrors +in the face, and they feel the need of a Saviour as never before. The +men who, as yet, have not been to the front cannot escape an +indefinable dread, and they, too, are ready for the gospel message. +While the wounded--suffering, and maybe drawing near to death--eagerly +drink in the words of life. + +We will listen to some of the chaplains as they tell their own tale. + +We will begin with the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, of the United Free +Church of Scotland. Writing to the _Record_, the organ of that church, +he begins by emphasizing the splendid character of the men of the +Expeditionary Force. He says (November 3, 1914): + +"Of 200,000 men forming the Expeditionary Force only 366 are in +prison--one man out of every 546. That statement proves the clean +character of the force. Of these 366 men in prison we find that the +number penalised for yielding to the sins about which Lord Kitchener +warned the troops before they left for overseas is (according to the +official returns) one man in 5000. Only one man in 5000 is worthy of +contempt. The rest are in gaol for reasons which stir not wrath but +pity." + +This is a remarkable statement, and when we consider the strain that +these men have experienced, and the reasons for their failure as given +by Mr. Adams--breaking ranks to seize a bunch of fruit, falling asleep +on "sentry-go" and the rest,--the wonder is that there have not been +many more. We do not wonder that he adds: "British soldiers have a +good name and a good character in this country, and it is well that +this be placed to their credit by the people of the Christian Church." + +Like all the chaplains at the base, Mr. Adams finds his chief +opportunity in the hospitals. He says: + +"At the base there are nine hospitals, some in public buildings, some +in tents out on the plain. Of these nine hospitals, some are filled +with British wounded, others with British and French, and the fellow +soldiers of both--Turcos, Senegalese, Belgians, Indians. The +chaplain's work is principally there, going from ward to ward and tent +to tent, talking on all subjects from the war to the Word of God, +writing letters, or getting those angels of mercy, the nursing +sisters, to write for men too crippled to write. + +"As he goes on his way the Padre distributes out of his well-filled +haversack gifts which have come from kind-hearted people at home.... A +fig, a handful of raisins, a packet of 'Woodbines' (greatest of all +luxuries in the opinion of 'Tommies' and 'Jocks'), a box of matches, +an old illustrated paper, a little bottle of perfume, or a little bag +of perfume for the uneasy and restless. These are some of the contents +of the wonderful haversack, and words cannot express the value of the +good things. The men look on them as love-tokens from home. + +"These men deserve our best care. They are brave in suffering as they +have been in service. Their pluck is extraordinary, and the instances +I now put down in my note-book prove the assertion. + +"In one of the field hospitals there are two men in the same tent, and +occupying beds next to each other. One man has had his left leg +amputated above the knee, the other his right leg. Both are recovering +and are as happy as sand boys. 'Good job, sir,' says one, 'it isn't +the same leg with both of us. One pair of boots will do between us +when we are allowed to get up.' + +"In another tent lies a 'Jock' shot in the back in two places, and +with his left arm shattered by shrapnel. He, too, is mending and +developing an alarming appetite for theological argument. Pluck, the +doctor says, is a miracle-worker here. + +"In a third tent is a lad with paralysis, the result of a bullet wound +in the region of the spine. He believes he will recover and says he +must hurry up, as no other fellow in the regiment can valet the +Colonel as he can.... + +"As a rule the wounded are eager for the chaplain's visit. They want a +talk, and very often the talk turns steadily to the thing that counts. +Men are not ashamed to discuss religion, and get to the subject often +without much manoeuvring. That is not surprising. Very many have been +in the Valley of the Shadow, and they tell you that they found God +there. 'One' was with them--they cannot explain it, but they remember +it. And a soldier is a strong partisan. The hard fact is that God was +with them, and now they want to tell you what God is to them. + +"One lad (he is little more than a boy in years) said to me when he +was telling me all about the battle of the Aisne, where he was +wounded: + +"'I never knew before then what it was to pray. Of course, I had +learnt to say my prayers, but I never really prayed till that day at +the Aisne. We all went into the battle singing "You made me do it, I +didn't want to do it," but when we got in the trenches it was like +hell. You should have seen some men dropping on their knees and +praying. Why, the whole regiment seemed to be praying. I know I was +praying, and somehow I felt better, and I've prayed every night +running since.' + +"That plain tale is the parable of many an awakening. It is the +parable of the soldiers' need and vision and faith. They have seen +something, and that something which is responsible for the question +they so frequently ask, 'What is it like at home? Are the people at +home praying? Are they praying for us doing our bit out here, or are +they still going on the old way?'... + +"The other day I was acting chaplain at the funeral of a 'Jock,' aged +twenty-eight, who leaves a widow and three little children amongst +that great company at home weeping for their beloved dead. + +"The night before he died I said, 'Good-night, boy, I'll be in to see +you early to-morrow morning.' + +"The poor fellow knew he might not last till morning; and as I turned +away he tried to raise himself and salute, and then he said: + +"'Good-night, sir, and God bless you! and if I'm gone, sir, remember +I'm all right--all right. Send my love to Janet and the bairns, and +tell them I'll be waiting for them.' + +"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. These men are our heroes and God's +own children." + +Yes, that is the universal testimony--"brave in suffering as they have +been brave in service." Grand lads these, and we shall never forget +what they have done for us. + +My difficulty in this chapter is to select out of the mass of material +to hand stories which will best illustrate the work which is being +done. Much will necessarily have to be put upon one side. + +I will turn next to the Rev. Richard Hall. For many years he had been +at the head of the Welcome Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Chatham, and +in this position had done most effective service for the men. The +Chatham Wesleyan Central Hall is also his creation, and in it he had +led hundreds of sailors and soldiers to Christ. No truer friend of the +soldier and no more efficient worker is to be found with the men. + +He, too, tells us something of hospital work at the fighting base. I +quote from the _Methodist Times_. + +"One night," he says, "as I was going my rounds, my attention was +directed to a man who was in delirium. I knelt down to hear what he +was saying. His mind was dwelling on his boyish days. He was +repeating-- + + 'Hark, hark, hark, while infant voices sing + Loud hosannas to our King.' + +And then he uttered a name--it was the name of 'Peter Thompson.' This +man had evidently when a boy attended our East End Mission, and had +known Peter Thompson. I buried him in the little cemetery close by. + +"It was All Saints' Day, a great festival in France, the time when +friends visit the graves of their departed loved ones, and place +thereon flowers. It was a beautiful morning, scores of people were +there, and by invitation of the Mayor, as many officers from the +hospital as could be spared were present also. The funeral service was +combined with the celebration. I conducted the funeral first. At the +close the Mayor made the speech, a copy of which I enclose. + +"'Ladies and Gentlemen,--Often have I been proud to state that many of +you have considered it a duty and a patriotic devotion to accompany to +their last resting-place the glorious remains of our Allies who have +fallen on the field of honour, and to show your fraternal friendship +in bringing flowers, a spontaneous testimonial, but ephemeral, which +we will confirm later by a commemorative monument, and we shall put it +up together on this ground of supreme rest. + +"'In the name of the Municipal Council of Boisguillaume, ladies and +gentlemen, I thank you one and all. + +"'English officers and soldiers,--Be assured we shall never forget +here your brothers in arms. The people of Boisguillaume will make it +their duty to watch over these glorious remains you trust to their +care, and they will regard it as a perpetual honour. + +"'When later they bring the younger generation to bow to these graves, +they will ask them to remember for ever that the men who rest here +have shed their blood for France and England, in union of heart with +the civilised nations, in order to fight against the invasion of our +land by the barbarian hordes who are desirous of exterminating justice +and right, our genius and our civilisation. + +"'Glory to you, noble heroes, who for the sake of a sacred cause have +sworn to defend France unto death! Carry away with you into eternity +this confidence that you will live for ever in the memory of the +French, who have at present only one heart, one soul, whose gratitude +to you will never fade. + +"'Glory to England! + +"'Farewell.'" + +I have given the Mayor's speech in full, not because such a speech was +exceptional, but because it gathers up into itself the sentiments of +the French nation, and eloquently expresses the reverence felt for our +British dead. + +But not only do British soldiers know how to die, but German soldiers +also. They are our enemies, but it is a pleasure to record that many +of the captured German soldiers have their Bibles with them. Mr. Hall +tells of one who died suddenly. His open Bible was found on his bed; +and John iii. 16--"For God so loved the world "--were the words he had +been reading as he passed into the presence of his Saviour. + +Mr. Hall also tells of a graceful act of kindness on the part of the +Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese. In company with Father +Bradley and the Church of England chaplain, he waited upon the +Archbishop to ask permission to hold Protestant services in the small +but beautiful Roman Catholic church. The Archbishop received them most +kindly and readily gave consent. By the by, Mr. Hall pays a beautiful +tribute to that same Roman Catholic chaplain whose tent he +shared--Father Bradley. He says: "I never met a more gentle and +refined Christian character. His one thought was to serve others, and +he cared nothing for his own discomfort as long as he was helping +someone else." When they parted--for Father Bradley was the first to +go to the front--the Father's last words were, "Hall, don't forget to +pray for me, underneath and round about both of us are the Everlasting +Arms." + +Differing as we do so much from the Roman Catholic Church, it is a +pleasure to record this testimony. + +The services in the Roman Catholic church were conducted by the Church +of England chaplain and Mr. Hall. They were united services, for in +face of danger and death all are one in Christ Jesus. + +The services were fruitful in results as such services must always be. +Not only did large numbers attend, but doubtless the Great Day will +declare that many received the pardon of sin. + +"Padre, did you see me at the service last night?" asked one young +officer of Mr. Hall. + +"I did." + +"Well, do you know that is the first _voluntary_ service I ever +remember attending, and I have made up my mind that from to-day God +shall have the first place in my life?" A fortnight after he said, "I +thank God that I have been a new man since that day I spoke to you." + +That is it--"a new man." God is making "new men" by the hundred, if +not by the thousand, in France and Belgium, and the chaplains are +reverently looking on and praising Him. + +The Rev. W.H. Sarchet tells quite a different, but not less striking, +class of story. It is his privilege to record an old-fashioned +"Revival" at the fighting base. Mr. Sarchet has seen much work among +soldiers and sailors. For eight years he was Wesleyan chaplain at +Gibraltar; for another seven he was chaplain at Devonport; for the +last four he has served in the same capacity at Portsmouth, having +charge of the Duchess of Albany's Soldiers' and Sailors' Home there, +and the services in the Town Hall. + +In a letter to the Rev. John Bell, Mr. Sarchet tells the story of this +remarkable spiritual movement which has been taking place at the +General Hospital, with which he has been serving at the fighting base. +I give the story in his own words as printed in the weekly article by +the Rev. J.H. Bateson in the _Methodist Recorder_. Mr. Bateson is +Secretary of the Wesleyan Army and Navy Board and Ex-Secretary of the +British Army Temperance Association in India. His weekly article is +replete with first-hand information, and that and its corresponding +article in the _Methodist Times_ are a gold mine in which students of +the war may well dig. + +Mr. Sarchet, after referring to the wounded "fresh from the trenches +in all their grime and dirt, torn clothes, broken limbs, and ghastly +wounds," goes on to say: + +"In addition to this really distressing work, I am having some most +delightful camp work experiences. Last Sunday week at my second Parade +service--my first was at 8 A.M. three miles away--I discovered by the +very hearty responses in the prayers that there were some out-and-out +Christian men present. I asked them if they would like a voluntary +service at night. They said they would very much, so we fixed it up +for 6.30 P.M. We had a delightful service just at setting sun. I think +that 'Abide with me,' as that crowd of R.F.A. men, waiting to go up to +the fighting line, sang it, never sounded so beautiful. + +"At the close of the service, we had an after-meeting by moonlight, +and three sought and found Christ. I announced a meeting for Monday +night, and so we have gone on right through the week, and there have +been seekers every night. At the close of this meeting we enlarge the +ring in the centre, and then invite those who have decided to serve +Christ to come right out into the ring before their comrades. + +"It is beautiful clear moonlight, just like day, and out they come one +after another. One never-to-be-forgotten evening we had twenty out. +They kneel down and we pray with them, then close the meeting with +'God be with you till we meet again,' and prayer. Then we take the +names and talk with the soldiers individually. We have enrolled the +names of over eighty men who have come out in this way in the last ten +days. + +"The meetings are having this good effect--finding the Christian men +in the camps around. There are several camps and thousands of +men--reinforcements just waiting for orders to move forward. Night and +day men are coming and going. A Christian officer too heard us singing +and has come and joined us. He has been with us every night when not +on duty." + +Supplementing this story Mr. Sarchet tells of another series of +meetings still proceeding as he wrote. He says: + +"A large number of our mounted men have recently gone forward, so this +week we started in the infantry camp, which is about three miles away. +We had our first open-air service there on October 26. We were only +two when we started, but a great crowd before we finished, with eleven +men out in the ring seeking Christ. This is grand work. The weather +has turned very wintry and wet this week, but the Camp Commandant has +promised me a store tent for our meetings, so we shall go on." + +What wonderful scenes these are when you think of their setting and +the men who were the chief actors! As Mr. Bateson says: "In the Nile +Expedition, in the South African Campaign, in the frontier work in +India, there have been many soldiers who, here and there, have +surrendered their lives to Christ, but this 'Revival' in the British +Expeditionary Force in France is surely unique in the history of war." + +We picture the scene--not a Salvation Army ring in some country town +in England, but crowds of khaki clad soldiers, supposed to be +trifling, light-hearted, devil-may-care. But here they are out in the +open, in full view of hundreds of their comrades, surrounded by great +camps, humbly kneeling in penitence at the Throne of Grace, "owning +their weakness, their evil behaviour," and pleading "God be merciful +to me a sinner." So strangely, yet so powerfully, stands the Cross +upon the field of war. + +Another beautiful little picture is presented to us by Mr. Sarchet in +another letter--a gathering of twenty-six soldier lads on the +afternoon of the Lord's Day. + +"We had a talk about temptation, and then celebrated Holy Communion. +It was all out in the open in a little wooden dell. I had my portable +camp table. It was a very gracious and never-to-be-forgotten time, as +we knelt there on the grass, with a beautiful clear sky overhead. +There seemed absolutely nothing between us and God, and the presence +of the Risen Christ was a great reality. Before next Sunday some who +were there will be fighting in the trenches, but they will carry the +memory of this soul-hallowing time with them." + + [Illustration: BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH, CHAPLAIN-GENERAL. + Rev. E.L. Watson, Senior Baptist Chaplain at the Front. + Rev. O.S. Watkins, Senior Wesleyan Chaplain at the Front. + Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C., Presbyterian, Principal Chaplain + at the Front. + Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, Senior Church of England Chaplain at + the Front.] + +So out there in France our soldier lads "do this" in memory of Him +"until He come." + +Before I pass from the record of the directly spiritual work at the +fighting base, let me tell the story of a unique confirmation--a +confirmation without lawn sleeves. Bishop Taylor-Smith was the chief +actor in this strange scene. A Church of England chaplain represented +to him, during his visit to the front, that there were some men in +hospital, badly wounded, who desired confirmation. The Bishop gladly +consented to confirm them. They could not come to him, and so he went +to them. But it was not in his bishop's robes he went. He was on +military duty and he went in his military uniform as major-general. + +There was no attempt to get a congregation. The Bishop was only +attended by a chaplain and Scripture reader. He first went to a ward +where lay two lads side by side, each with his right leg amputated +above the knee. They were simple country lads and they were crippled +for life. Their hearts had been won for Christ, and they desired to +give their lives to Him. The Bishop spoke words of hope and cheer, and +laid his hands upon them. Then he went to another ward where lay a man +with a terrible shrapnel wound in his arm. Him also the Bishop +confirmed. In the next ward were two men--older men these--who had +known agonising pain. Their beds had been brought together, and upon +these also the Bishop laid confirming hands. Then he passed to the +church where the convalescents who desired confirmation could receive +his Church's rite. + +A simple record this, but I fancy we shall search history in vain for +any other story of a bishop in military uniform administering the rite +of confirmation to wounded soldiers. + + * * * * * + +A word about the Y.M.C.A. work at the fighting base. It is being +carried on there much as in England. Wherever possible Camp Homes are +being erected, and the work done in them not only keeps the men out of +temptation, but is the means in many cases of turning their steps +toward Christ and heaven. + +Mr. A.K. Yapp (the General Secretary) has recently paid a visit to +France and reports most cheerily of the work done there. They have +received ready help from both officers and men. In the erection of +Queen Mary's Hut, for instance, every consideration has been +exhibited. Materials have been carted free of charge, and other +important and valuable concessions made, which have proved of the +greatest service. + +The work by the Y.M.C.A. in the Indian hospitals is exceptionally +interesting. Those who are in charge can speak Hindustani, and are +able to render many kindnesses to these brave Eastern fighters. They +cannot, of course, undertake Christian teaching, but they are able to +show the Christian spirit, and the lesson will not be lost on the sick +and wounded Indians. + +The more we study the work of the Y.M.C.A. for our soldiers in this +war, with its branches now grown to nine hundred, the more we shall +agree with the statement of a British officer: "You Y.M.C.A. people +are marvellous." + +And the men--what of the men among whom these chaplains and "Y.M.C.A. +people" and others work? "The men," said General Buller in South +Africa, "are splendid." That is still the verdict--the universal +verdict--they are _splendid_. Everybody loves Thomas Atkins who knows +him; cheerful and kindly, ready to do anyone a good turn, heroic in +action, patient in suffering, tender and chivalrous to women, he has +set us all an example in this war. And he has done with the greatest +ease what some people in this country find it so difficult to +accomplish; he has shown us, as I have already indicated, how to fight +his enemy and to love him too. + +The Rev. Harold J. Chapman, M.A., vouches for the truth of this story +told him in artless fashion by the hero of it. A German sniper was in +a tree some distance from a small company of our men. He wounded one +of our lads, and the pal of the wounded lad, lying not far from him, +said, "I'll have to bring that fellow down, or he'll be hitting _me_ +next." So he took aim and fired, and the German sniper dropped from +the tree wounded. The ambulance that carried to the rear the wounded +British soldier took also the German sniper. + +After some days, to their astonishment they found themselves opposite +each other in the same compartment of the same train. + +"Well, what did you do?" said Mr. Chapman. "Did you hit him?" + +"Oh no! why should I hit him? I couldn't speak his 'lingo,' and he +couldn't speak mine, so I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. Then +I offered him a cigarette, and he offered me one of his, and we were +the best of pals all the journey." + +That is it, the man who had shot the British soldier, and the man who +had been shot by his pal, the best of friends! After all, why should +not nations emulate the example of their soldiers? + +Aye! They have seen suffering--these men--and they have risen superior +to it, and speedily they forget the suffering, but they never forget a +kindness shown. As Private Simmons of the 1st Cameronians says: "I +have seen hell, for I have seen war, and I have seen heaven, for I +have been in hospital." + +They are worth all that is being done for them--these splendid +fellows--and still they go on singing, the words that Mr. Robert +Harkness has recently written for them: + + Sometimes the clouds hang heavy and low, + Nor can we see each step as we go; + No silver lining the cloud doth bestow. + Are we down-hearted? No! + Bravely we march in the battle of life. + Fierce is the conflict, the turmoil, and strife; + Fraught with such peril, danger so rife, + Are we down-hearted? No! No! No! + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES + + Christian Work during the Fighting--A Monotony of Horrors--A + Brave "Bad Lad"--Strange Places for Worship--No Apples on his + Conscience--Transferred to Flanders--Strangest Spectacle of + the War--Lord Roberts in France--At Dead of Night--A Shell + Stops a Sermon--The University Student. + + +Sunday, September 6, 1914, will be a memorable date for British +soldiers, for it was the day on which the long and perilous retreat +from Mons came to an end, and they once more turned to meet their foe. +It was a day of great rejoicing. They were not privileged to join +together in the worship of God; instead there was constant marching. +But they were advancing now, not retreating, and there was a spring in +their tread, and a glad light in their eyes, which showed of what +stuff they were made, and pronounced them "ready, aye ready." + +As they marched steadily forward, they passed through village after +village devastated by the German troops. Stories of barbarism were +told them which made them clench their hands and set their teeth. Here +and there, however, it was different, and they passed through villages +on some of the doors of which was the notice, "Only defenceless women +and children are here. Do not molest them." It seemed as though when +the German troops had their commanding officer with them, and were +well under control, they regarded the rules of war; but that when they +were detached from the central command and could do more as they +liked, then all the savage in them was let loose. + +At last the Marne was reached and the battle begun. It is no part of +our purpose in this book to describe that and the following battles. +Our business is with the Christian work done in connexion with them, +and only so far as they help to illustrate the work done have we +anything at all to say about the conflicts. For five long days raged +the battle of the Marne, from September 6 to 10 inclusive. During it +deeds of heroism were performed by the hundred which will never be +recorded. + +While it continued but little of a specifically religious character +could be performed by the chaplains. But they were everywhere--with +their men in the front, with the ambulance and stretcher-bearers, +bending over the wounded with words of Christian hope, and when the +darkness fell, burying the dead. They had the perils of the battle, +but none of the excitement of participation. + +Take this as a tribute from the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins to the work +of the R.A.M.C. I quote from the _Methodist Recorder_. + +"Then the shrapnel swept the road; the bearers scattered in all +directions; for a moment I thought General Rolt and his staff were +wiped out, but all reached cover in safety. For myself, I leaned close +against the high bank, whilst in the bush just above my head rattled +the bullets like rain, and the leaves and twigs fell round me in a +shower, but the danger was not for long. + +"'Stretcher-bearers!' came the shout down the hill, and Major Richards +sprang to his feet and the first squad followed him. My task was for a +time to direct the bearers, and I was filled with admiration as the +men faced the hillside, and what waited for them in the woods above. + +"Remember these were not fighting men who carried arms, and they could +take no cover, for they had the stretcher to carry with its suffering +load. I never admired the Royal Army Medical Corps as I did that day +on the hills above Pisseloup and Montreuil. + +"'Next squad!' I would shout, and without the slightest hesitation or +sign of fear they would take their stretchers and climb the hill. Now +Major Richards was in the road dressing the wounds of those brought +in, and working with equal bravery and almost a surgeon's skill, good +Sergeant-Major Spowage laboured at his side. Later they were joined by +Lieutenant Tasker, R.A.M.C, and still the wounded streamed down the +hills above. + +"How those doctors and orderlies worked! That day at the cross-roads +near Pisseloup, I saw some of the best work done that has ever been +accomplished in the field, and none seemed to realise that they were +doing anything out of the ordinary." + +When night fell, Rev. D.P. Winnifrith and Rev. O.S. Watkins did work +similar to that which other chaplains were doing elsewhere on the +field. We have their record, but must wait for that of the others. +What a picture it is upon which we gaze! Aye, and not only at night, +but next day following the advancing British troops. + +Here and there is a wounded soldier who has lain for hours in the +rain. Their sufferings must have been horrible. And here and there, +nay, all around, the dead. They buried them in fields, in gardens, in +orchards and vineyards, sometimes singly, sometimes in twos and +threes--in one grave two officers and eighteen men. But we draw a +curtain over the scene. It will soon become a monotony of horrors. Let +us hasten on. + +The Marne won, the next line of battle was the Aisne. + +Here I pause to relate a little incident variously reported in the +papers. I give it as it came to me first, judging that the first +report is probably the most correct. It dates from some of the fierce +fighting near the banks of the Aisne. + +A village was temporarily evacuated by the British under the pressure +of German troops. In the hurried retreat six or eight British soldiers +were left behind. They took shelter in a cottage, knowing that the +Germans were close upon them. There was a hasty council of war. One of +them was the "bad lad" of the regiment--a drunken ne'er-do-well. He +had his own solution of the problem. + +Said he, "I have never been any good. I never shall be any good. Let +me go and I will try to save you lads. The Germans are upon us. I can +hear them in the street. I will rush out of the house and down the +street. They will see me and they will fire. They will never suppose +that one would run and not the others. They will not trouble to +search, and you will be saved." + +His comrades protested and said they would all die together. But there +was no time to argue. In a moment he was out of the house and down +the street. Shots rang out and the "bad lad" of the regiment fell, +pierced by many bullets. It was as he said. The Germans passed the +house, and for a moment the rest of that little company were saved. + +But the British had received reinforcements. They advanced to the +attack again and the village was cleared of Germans. Then the little +company came out of their hiding-place, reverently lifted the body of +the dead hero who had died for them, and carried it to the rear. They +dug a grave and buried him. Over the grave they placed a rough wooden +cross, and wrote upon it--"He saved others, himself he _would_ not +save." + +They hoped, they said, they were not guilty of blasphemy in altering +and using the historic words, and we, as we quote them, are quite +certain they were not. + +The battle of the Aisne was long drawn out, if that can be described +as a battle which consisted of many days of fierce fighting +culminating in long continued siege warfare in the trenches. During +its continuance there was the same individual ministry, the constant +hair-breadth escapes of chaplains and doctors--not always, however, +for both chaplains and doctors suffered--the same heroic endeavour to +ameliorate suffering and to point the dying to the Saviour. + +Here and there we get glimpses of brief services held behind the +firing line. A brigade at a time would be withdrawn from the trenches +and then was the chaplain's opportunity. We read of a Sunday spent +among these men who had just been facing death. An early communion, +the men kneeling on the straw of a dimly lit barn, a service in the +open-air among men of line regiments and of batteries, a united +service in the evening at which the Rev. D.P. Winnifrith read the +prayers, Colonel Crawford the lessons, and the Rev. O.S. Watkins gave +the address. + +We are told of hurriedly arranged services in the evenings--one in a +cart-shed lit by two hurricane lamps, in which Church of England and +Wesleyan chaplains took part, and Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, a +Wesleyan local preacher, gave the address. Another in a deep cutting, +safe from shell fire, while overhead the guns were booming, but clear +above the noise the music of the hymn--"Blessed assurance, Jesus is +mine." Another, which Lieutenant Grenfell reports, in a farmyard, amid +the neighing of horses and the constant tramp of men. + +Strange places these for the worship of God! But with a heart at rest, +even amid the strife of battle, the Christian turns to God, and there +is a deep longing in the hearts of men who cannot call themselves +Christians for the consolations of religion. + +Corporal Chappell, invalided home with a bullet in his leg, +illustrates this with some touching stories of the battle of the +Aisne. As they advanced to the front the road was for some distance +lined with orchards. The Colonel issued orders that no apples were to +be taken, for, said he, "It would be stealing." One man, however, +could not resist the temptation, and when for a few minutes they +rested, filled his pockets with apples. In a short time they were in +the thick of the battle and shells were falling fast and furious. Out +came the apples from the lad's pockets. He flung them as far from him +as he could. "There, I will not have you on my conscience, anyhow!" he +said. + +Another lad close to Chappell said to him: "Chappell, I have a sort of +feeling I shall not reach home again. I cannot help thinking of my +wife and children." + +"Have you thought of your own soul?" asked Chappell. + +"There is no time for that," was the reply. + +"Oh yes, there is a minute at any rate. Pray, lad, pray! Your wife and +children are in God's hands. Pray for pardon now." + +And so they two went forward praying. A few minutes and a shell almost +annihilated the company, and among the rest the lad who had just been +pleading "God be merciful to me a sinner" was killed. Thank God! no +one ever prays that prayer in vain. + +A few minutes afterwards Corporal Chappell was himself shot in the +leg. As best he could he proceeded to hop into safety. Two men of +another regiment saw him and carried him to the shelter of a cow-shed +and laid him there. It was only some time afterwards that he found +that one of the men who had helped to carry him was only less severely +wounded than himself. The cow-shed was filthy, the pain severe, he +wondered how long he was to lie there alone, and untended. + +"Then," said he, "I remembered that my Lord was born in a stable, and +I just lay still and went to sleep thinking of Him, and I slept on and +on until night fell, and the stretcher-bearers found me and carried me +to the rear." + +Thus these simple lads help their fellows, preach Christ even in the +midst of the battle, and when in sore need themselves, find in the +thought of their Saviour comfort and rest and hope. + +Then came threatenings in Flanders, and the daring plan of a German +advance on Calais. This necessitated the withdrawal of our troops from +the lines of the Aisne to the Yser and their replacement by French +troops on the Aisne. The transference of our troops was accomplished +with the greatest secrecy and skill. It is doubtful if the Germans +were acquainted with the transference until it was accomplished. It is +perhaps one of the greatest deeds of the war, and speaks of supreme +skill and daring on the part of our commander. + +The soldiers took it all in good part. "Over incredibly bad roads, +often up to the boot tops in mud, they marched with a swing that would +have done credit to a Royal Review on Laffan's Plain, and as they +marched they chanted their war-song, 'It's a long, long way to +Tipperary.' It seemed hardly possible that for three solid months they +had been fighting without a single day's rest. As they crossed the +Belgian frontier their spirits rose. 'This is better than the last +time we crossed it, isn't it, sir? Then we was on the run, having got +more than we wanted at Mons, but now the boot's on the other leg. Now +if we could only capture 'Kaiser Bill,' or even 'Old one o'clock' +(General von Kluck), we might get home for our Christmas dinners after +all.'" + +Then followed the battle of Ypres, the bloodiest battle of the winter +campaign, and one of the most critical engagements of the war. It was +now cold--bitterly cold. Rain and snow--snow and rain! The trenches +became almost uninhabitable. Frost-bite among the men became common. +Many were invalided to the base suffering from rheumatism. All that +could be done for the men was done. Warm goat-skin coats were served +out, and the men looked more like Teddy Bears than soldiers. Charcoal +braziers were sent to the trenches, and, most important of all, the +men were well fed. + +It was only a thin line to keep back the German hosts. How thin a line +no one yet is permitted to tell. But it accomplished its task, and by +November 20 reinforcements arrived and the situation for the British +was somewhat relieved. + +All through the series of battles the chaplains had been busy with +their grim work, caring for the wounded and burying the dead. + +"Bit of an attack on, sir," said the pioneer sergeant, "but they're +firing high, and all the bullets are going well overhead; they don't +matter. But there's a sniper who seems to have a line on that grave. +It's so dark that it's certain he can't see us, but he seems to have a +sort of instinct; as sure as we go near the place he begins firing. +There you are, sir; he's at it again. Lucky he ain't a good shot." + +But notwithstanding the sniper, the chaplain buried his dead, and then +tramped back in the darkness with shells falling all around. + +The battles now developed into a sort of siege, and for long drawn-out +months the British and German armies faced each other in the trenches. +By this time the Indian contingent had arrived and their chaplains +with them. + +Then we had the strangest spectacle of the war--Roman Catholics, +Protestants, Hindus, Mohammedans, in all speaking fifteen different +languages, but fighting side by side in a common cause. The fact that, +notwithstanding the proclamation by the Sultan of a Holy War, our +Indian Mohammedan soldiers stood firm by Old England, was a sign that +no longer could Constantinople be reckoned as the headquarters of +Mohammedanism. The Sheik-ul-Islam might sound forth his proclamation +in great state, but the princes and soldiers of India, Egypt, and the +Sudan heeded not. They knew that under the British flag they had +religious liberty, and they were loyal to the core. + +It was just before the battle of Ypres commenced that Lord Roberts +paid his visit to France. He was over eighty years of age, and it was +dangerous in the extreme for him to attempt such a journey at his time +of life. But he was most wishful to review his much-loved Indian +troops, and they in their turn were anxious to see their "Father," +whom they all revered. When the risks at his age were pointed out to +him, he replied, "We must do what we consider to be our duty; then we +are in God's hands." + +It was bitter weather, but he reviewed the Indian troops, caught cold, +and died on Saturday, November 14, 1914. + +He was the darling of the British Army. When the soldiers knew that +"Our Bobs" was coming to their relief in South Africa, their delight +was unbounded. They had absolute confidence in him; they would follow +him anywhere. And something more--they knew that when they read their +Bibles that was what Lord Roberts did--was there not a message from +him within the cover?--and when they knelt to pray they knew that that +also was what Lord Roberts did. His influence was widespread and was +all for good in the Army. + +In the eloquent tribute which Earl Curzon paid in the House of Lords +to the memory of Earl Roberts, he quoted a letter received from him +only a fortnight before. + +"We have had family prayers for fifty-five years. Our chief reason is +that they bring the household together in a way that nothing else can. +It ensures servants and others who may be in the house joining in +prayers which, for one reason or other, they may have omitted saying +by themselves. Since the war began we usually read a prayer like the +enclosed, and when anything important has occurred I tell those +present about it. In this way I have found that the servants are +taking a great interest in what is going on in France. We have never +given any order about prayers. Attendance is quite optional, but, as a +rule, all the servants, men and women, come when they hear the bell." + +"The man who penned these words," said Lord Curzon, "even to a friend, +was not only a great soldier, a patriot, and a statesman; he was also +a humble-minded and devout Christian, whose name deserves to live, and +will live for ever in the memory of the nation whom he served with +such surpassing fidelity to the last hour of a long and glorious +life." + +The Army bade farewell to the body of the great field-marshal at St. +Omer, then the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. The +route to the Mairie was lined by British and French troops. The +coffin, draped with the Union Jack, was placed upon the gun-carriage +by eight non-commissioned officers selected from regiments of which he +had been colonel. All the British and French courage was represented +in the procession. The Prince of Wales represented the King. The +Indian chiefs who honoured and loved him were there. + +At the service in the Mairie which followed, the Rev. F.I. Anderson, +assisted by the Rev. C. Marshall and the Rev. A. Helps, officiated. +The service, as was fitting, was very simple. The music was led by a +choir of soldiers, accompanied by a harmonium, and the hymns sung were +"Now the labourer's task is o'er," and "O God, our help in ages past." + +At the conclusion of the service, British bugles sounded the "Last +Post." Then the body was reverently borne down the steps and placed in +the motor ambulance which was to convey it to Boulogne. As this was +done the guard of honour once more sprang to the present, French +trumpeters blew a fanfare, and the guns of Lord Roberts' old regiment +thundered a salute. + +Thus the British Army said farewell to its old chief, and will +remember him for ever as a great soldier and a great Christian. + +In the fighting round Ypres fell that distinguished British officer, +General Hamilton. The record of his funeral will show a great contrast +to that of Lord Roberts, but it gives us a weird and pathetic picture +of the circumstances under which our chaplains do their work. + +While standing on a hillock near the village of La Couteau in the +midst of his staff, the commander of our Third Division was struck by +a fragment of shrapnel and killed. They buried him "at dead of night," +and the whole scene recalls the famous lines on the burial of Sir John +Moore. + +It was a sad and silent party of distinguished French and British +officers which followed the coffin up the winding path to the little +churchyard, where the grave had been hastily dug, near the +shell-battered church. The only light was that of the electric flash +lamp used by the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson (the senior Church of England +chaplain) to enable him to read the burial service. + + [Illustration: BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT. + _Drawn by D. Macpherson._] + +He had scarcely begun to speak its solemn words when the Germans +opened a perfect hurricane of fire. But the chaplain never altered the +measured dignity of his intonation, though shells were bursting all +around and the enemy's bullets were pattering against what remained of +the church walls. + +This weird service over, the officers present had to hurry away to +their respective duties with the rattle of German musketry in their +ears. As General Smith-Dorrien also left, he said to Mr. Macpherson: +"A true soldier's funeral, Padre. We couldn't fire a volley, but the +enemy have given him the last salute for us." + +Aye! a true soldier's funeral, and the one which he would perhaps have +preferred to any other. + +Bishop Taylor-Smith, who tells the story of the funeral, also says +that the very next day the same chaplain (Mr. Macpherson) had gathered +the men of a battery into a musty old barn for a short service, when, +in the midst of the service, the roof of the barn was lifted right off +by a shell which, however, failed to explode. The service came to a +summary conclusion, not because of fear, but because the battery must +stop that sort of thing, and gallop away into action. + +Further stories by Bishop Taylor-Smith of the period to which this +chapter relates show under what weird circumstances the sacrament of +the Lord's Supper is sometimes administered. + +A jute factory near Armentières was being heavily shelled, but down in +the cellar, while the shelling was proceeding, the chaplain calmly +distributed the elements to one hundred and twenty-eight officers and +men of the Monmouth regiment. The only light was that supplied by the +chaplain's flash lamp. The battalion went into action next day, and +several of those who had taken part in the Holy Communion were killed. + +On another occasion a celebration was taking place in a house at +Houplines when shells demolished the houses on either side, and no +sooner was the service over than a shell struck that self-same house. +Close by was the crackling of rifle fire, for a shed in which the +ammunition of the West Yorks was stored had been fired by a German +shell. + +In the same district an ordinary service--lasting about twenty-five +minutes--was held at the O.C.'s request in a barn round which shells +were dropping every moment. And yet so powerful was the singing of the +men that it almost drowned the din of the bombardment. The chaplain, +as he stood there conducting the service, thought how fearful it would +be if a big shell dropped into the midst of that company of praying +men. + +After this who will call parsons cowards? I do not wonder that already +one of them, the Rev. P.W. Guinness (Church of England), has won the +D.S.O., and that Mr. Macpherson was among those "mentioned in +despatches." I shall tell the story of Mr. Guinness' brave deed in +another chapter. + +One more funeral and this chapter shall draw to a close. The scene is +too beautiful to leave out, even if it does mean bringing three +funerals into one chapter. It dates from the battle of the Marne, and +the story is narrated by our old friend the Rev. O.S. Watkins. + +No men are braver, and very few render more important service, than +the motor cycle scouts. They are, many of them, students from Oxford +and Cambridge. Their intelligence, knowledge of languages, and +general resource are a great asset to the British Army. Their work, +however, is perilous in the extreme. One of these had lost his way and +had actually ridden through two villages occupied by Germans when, at +Douai, a bullet found its way to his heart. + +When the Germans retired from the village, the villagers carried him +tenderly into a cottage, straightened the fine young limbs, and +covered him with a clean white sheet. They placed a bunch of newly +gathered flowers upon his heart. He was carried to his last long rest +by the old men of the village--the young men had all gone to the +war--and as they passed through the village, the women came from the +houses and laid flowers upon the bier. + +Slowly they climbed the hill, with many a halt to rest the ancient +bearers, while ahead boomed the heavy guns, and at their feet they +could see the infantry advancing to action. At last the hill-top was +reached, crowned by the little church, with "God's acre" all around. +They laid him in the hastily dug grave, the peasants, with uncovered +heads, listening reverently to the reading of the burial service in a +language they could not understand. Before the service was finished +shrapnel shells were bursting over the hilltop, and the peasants +quietly moved to the partial shelter of the wall, still with uncovered +heads. + +When the final "Amen" was said, the chaplain stood for a moment gazing +down into the grave and thinking of all the brilliant possibilities +wrapped up in that splendid young fellow "gone to his death," when one +of the old men, forgetting his fear of the guns, came forward to the +graveside, and cast earth with unconscious dignity upon the body lying +there. "You are a brave man," he said, "and our friend. You have +given your life for our country. We thank you. May you sleep well in +the earth of beautiful France!" And the old men under the shelter of +the wall added "Amen." + +Thus they go, the grand old field-marshal 'neath the weight of years, +the brilliant general in the full tide of useful service, and the +young man, his life-work scarce begun! Thus they go and the flower of +our nation's manhood with them. If that were the end, if death ended +all, Britain could hardly lift up her head again. But we cheer +ourselves as we remember that what we call the end is only the +beginning. Goethe draws a picture in _Faust_ of his hero gazing at the +setting sun. As he watches it slowly setting in the west, he longs to +follow it in its course-- + + To drink its everlasting light, + The day before him and behind the night. + +But they may and do. There is always-- + + The day before _them_ and behind the night. + +"There is no night there." And so we comfort ourselves with the +thought that service broken short off here may be continued yonder, +that the old will grow young again, that the o'erthrown fighter will +rise conqueror, and life--eternal life--will crown all. + + The best is yet to be. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES + + The Original Thomas Atkins--No Infidels in the Trenches--In + the Trenches at Night--A Salvation Army Story, and Others--Man + Who was Digging a Trench--They have "Kept Smiling "--What + Christ is to the Soldier--What a Picture!--Every Place the + "House of the Lord"--The Soldier Spirit--The Gilts from + Home--Courage has never Failed--And the Christian Soldier? + + +"I tell you what it is, sir, God is jolly near you in the trenches." +So spoke Thomas Atkins to a Church of England chaplain. It was just +like him to speak thus. A vigorous utterance suits him. + +But how did he come by the name Thomas Atkins? The story goes that it +dates from the Peninsular War. The Duke of Wellington was directing +some operations in the field. An aide-de-camp rode up to him with the +outline of a new attestation form, or something of that kind sent out +by the War Office of those days. + +It was advisable to fill up the top line in order that those who +filled up the following lines might have an example of how it should +be done. The question was, Whose name should be put in there? The +aide-de-camp thought the Duke would mention the first name that came +into his mind, but not so the Duke. He looked at it a moment, and +said, "I must think. Come back to me in an hour." + +During that hour he turned over in his mind the deeds of bravery he +had seen performed by private soldiers. He thought of the brave deeds +of soldiers in the Peninsular Campaign. And then his mind went back to +India, and at last he said to himself, "Yes, that was the bravest deed +I ever saw performed by a private soldier." And when his aide-de-camp +came back he said, "Put down Thomas Atkins." And "Thomas Atkins" it +has been from that day to this. So the title enshrines the memory of a +brave man, and I wonder if he, too, felt God "jolly near" him in the +trenches. + +"Jolly near!" It is a thought-provoking phrase. "Near!" Ah! yes, we +know that, and if we can look up amidst the bursting shell and see, +not the angry, but the smiling face of God, then the word "jolly," if +not as we should put it, is at any rate expressive. + +The "Eye-witness" with the British Army tells us something of what it +is like in the trenches. + +"After a short outburst of fire lasting perhaps for only three or four +minutes the hostile trenches are obscured by a pall of smoke, in the +midst of which can be seen the flashes of the shrapnel bursts and the +miniature volcanoes of earth where the high explosive common shells +burst in the soft clay soil. Then, if an infantry attack is to be +launched, the cannonade suddenly ceases. There is a moment of +suspense, and a swarm of khaki figures springs from our trenches and +rushes across the fire-swept zone, possibly 100 yards in breadth. +Instantly there breaks out the rattle of machine guns and musketry. +There is some hesitation as the stormers reach the entanglements, and +then, if the assault succeeds, they disappear into the enemy's +trenches, leaving a few or many scattered bodies lying in the track +of their advance. Save at such moments as these there is often no +movement whatever in the battle zone, for not a man, horse, or gun is +to be seen, and there are periods of absolute stillness when, except +for the sight of the deserted and ruined hamlets, the scene is one of +peace and agricultural prosperity." + +Yes, it is very quiet in the trenches. Not a head must appear over the +top or death is the result. Quiet, yes; up to the knees, or sometimes +up to the waist, in water, eating there, sleeping there, often dying +there. We read of some trenches where the water was so deep that the +wounded men were drowned. There was no place to put them, and they +just fell into the water, and there they died. + +Quiet, until the artillery has done its preparatory work, and then +charge, charge, charge! + +I do not wonder that a wounded soldier said to the Rev. T.J. Thorpe: +"My mates used to tell me in barracks that they were infidels--they +did not believe in God--but after their experiences in the trenches +they have lost their infidelity. They pray now. _There are no infidels +in the trenches._" + +Said another soldier, "We leapt from our trenches singing a rowdy +song, but in a minute I was praying as I never prayed before. My mates +were praying. We were all praying, and I have been praying ever +since." + +I do not wonder that "there are no infidels in the trenches." + +The Rev. Cuthbert J. Maclean (Church of England chaplain), writing +from France on November 3, 1914, tells us that he had been in the +trenches continually under fire for three weeks, and had not even had +a rough wash or taken off his boots. He has had several wonderful +escapes from death, even being hit in the neck without, however, +sustaining any injury. + +"Four days ago," he says, "I spent some hours sitting in my +'funk-hole' in a trench, and then I left for a little exercise. About +twenty minutes after I had moved out, a huge shell burst in the exact +spot where I had been sitting for hours, and blew up the trench for +some twenty yards." + +It will be seen from this that the trenches are not always waist-deep +or even knee-deep in water. It depends upon the weather. At first +elaborate precautions were taken to make the trenches as comfortable +as possible. They were deep and comparatively wide. All sorts of +necessaries and, occasionally, luxuries were kept there. They were +drawing-room and dining-room and kitchen. + +But when the long continued rains came they were almost uninhabitable. +Men stood in liquid mud, sometimes covered with frost. They stood day +after day and suffered sorely. Many of them had to be invalided to the +rear with rheumatism, and will never recover from the effect of those +terrible days. + +An elaborate system of network communication trenches was formed, +communicating with the rear, but in the worst of the weather, the +communication trenches became worse than the fire trenches, and in +some cases the water in them was up to the necks of the men. + +It was only when night fell that communication with the fire trenches +was possible. Then it was that rations were conveyed to the men at the +front--only then was it possible--and even in the dark it was a +difficult and dangerous task. No light must be shown; to strike a +match might be death. Says the non-commissioned officer to his men +engaged in this hazardous task: "Whenever a searchlight is turned on +you, or the country is lit up by a flare or a star shell, stand +perfectly still. It's movement wot gives the show away. Keep still, +an' they'll think you're a bush, or a tree, or what not. But as sure +as yer move, you're a deader." + +Under these circumstances, Christian work in the trenches would seem +impossible, but the apparently impossible has been accomplished. The +chaplains are from time to time with their men in the trenches. The +experience of Mr. McLean has already been quoted, and many another +might be added. + +Christian men are there also in ever-increasing numbers, and these are +themselves unofficial chaplains. We hear of at least one Methodist +class meeting regularly held in the trenches, and there is many a +prayer meeting there. Yes, and many a man has found his Saviour there, +for the Lord Jesus is very near those who seek Him in the trenches. + +Here is a sacred little letter scribbled in the trenches by a man who +there gave himself to Christ: + +"To my darling wife and children. Daddy fully surrendered to Jesus +20.11.14 at Ypres. Sudden death--sudden glory. Safe in the arms of +Jesus." + +A soldier, who has recently returned home for a brief rest after many +weeks in the firing line and in the trenches, says that he is quite an +altered man as the result of the war. As a boy he was never taught to +pray; but in the trenches he began to pray, and prayed regularly. +Hundreds of men, he says, are doing the same thing day by day. He also +says that the men at the front expect and reckon upon the prayers of +the people at home on their behalf. + +And now a Salvation Army story. One day a man came into a Salvation +Army hall in the East End of London, and when the officers were +speaking to him they found that he had never been to a Salvation Army +service before. They asked him what brought him there. + +"In the trenches," he replied, "I made up my mind that the very first +chance I had I'd come. You see, I was fighting next to a Salvationist. +One morning he was hit and fell fatally wounded. I knelt beside him in +the trench and asked if I could do anything for him. + +"'Yes,' he said. 'In my pocket there is the address of my father and +mother; if you live to get home, tell them how I died, and tell them +that religion was good for me away from home in the trenches, and +death has no terror for me.' + +"I said, 'Yes, I'll tell them.' + +"Then he opened his eyes and pulled me down. 'Supposing a shot came +for you next,' he said, 'how would it be for you?' And although he +only lived five minutes longer, he talked to me all that five minutes +about my soul, trying to get me converted. + +"Then he closed his eyes and died." + +Yet another Salvation Army story. It is told in the _War Cry_ by +"Leaguer" John Coombs of the 1st Gloucester Regiment: + +"The battle of ---- was in progress, and our trenches were being raked +by the enemy's fire. We were expecting any moment to be told that the +German guns would have to be silenced, and presently along the line +came the order 'Charge!' We scrambled into the open and rushed +forward, met by a perfect hail of bullets. Many of our men bit the +dust, but we who remained came to grips with the enemy. I cannot write +of what happened then. The killing of men is a ghastly business! + +"On the way back to the trenches I saw a poor German soldier trying to +get to his water-bottle. He was in a fearful condition. I knelt down +by his side. Finding his own water-bottle was empty, I gave him water +from mine. Somewhat revived, he opened his eyes and saw my Salvation +Army Leaguer's button. + +"His drawn face lit up with a smile, and he whispered in broken +English: 'Salvation Army? I also am a Salvation Soldier.' Then he felt +for his Army badge. It was still pinned to his coat, though +bespattered with blood. + +"I think we both shed a few tears, and then I picked up his poor, +broken body, and with as much tenderness as possible, for the terrible +hail of death was beginning again, I carried him to the ambulance. But +he was beyond human aid. When I placed him on the waggon he gave a +gentle tug at my coat; thinking he wanted to say something, I bent low +and listened, and he whispered: 'Jesus, safe with Jesus!'" + +Sergeant-Major J. Moore, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, tells us +that he had often spoken to one non-commissioned officer on the claims +of Christ. Three days ago, he says, he was walking from his company +officer's trench to another part of the company, when a bullet struck +through his greatcoat at the right arm, passed through his right +service dress pocket, then over his heart, and out through his left +pocket. He was not touched himself, but as he dropped into the trench +a little bit stunned, and saw how near he had been to death, he then +and there lifted up his heart to the Lord, thanked Him, and gave his +life to Him. + +Sergeant-Major Moore tells another story of a lad brought up in a +Sunday-school. He had had the best mother in the world, he said, but +she was dead. He was sure she had gone to heaven. "Four days ago," +says the sergeant-major, "his home-call came. Inside his war pay-book +was found an envelope from his wife, and he had written the following +while in the trenches: + + Jesus! the name that charms _my_ fears, + That bids _my_ sorrows cease; + 'Tis music in the sinner's ears, + 'Tis life, and health, and peace. + + He breaks the power of cancelled sin, + He sets the prisoners free; + His blood can make the foulest clean, + His blood _avails_ for _me_. + +That was the last he was known to write." + +Sunday-school teachers may take heart of cheer. The work that they +were tempted to think was thrown away is taking root and bearing fruit +in the trenches. + +Another sergeant-major writes: + +"We are not able to meet so well, owing to the scattered condition of +the battalions. But we have managed, when things are a bit quiet, to +steal from the trenches this week, and hold prayer, praise, and +testimony meetings, and it would have done your heart good to hear the +dear brothers testify to the saving and keeping power of our adorable +Saviour, and every one felt drawn nearer to each other, and to God." + +What does a charge from the trenches feel like to a Christian "Tommy" +who is taking part in it? Listen to this: + +"We were in the trenches the whole time. Sometimes we had burning sun, +at others pouring rain, and at nights heavy dews soaked you. At the +end the order came to fix bayonets for a charge; then I just put my +hand over my eyes--so--and asked God to help me to do my duty like a +man. We rose up and ran forward a little way, and then fell flat while +the bullets and shrapnel flew over us like hail; then on again. We +hadn't advanced very far before their artillery was cutting us up +badly. Our adjutant and the two mates either side of me were shot +dead. Then I was hit in the leg. It made me go right silly like, and I +didn't know where I was for a bit. When I came to my mates had gone, +so I crawled away as far as I could. I didn't want them Germans to get +at me, sir. + +"Thank you, sir; I'm just fine now. Doctor says I'm doing marvellous. +It's through living a straight life, 'e says. There's nothing like +keepin' respectable. As you say, sir, the Lord heard my prayer, and He +must have spared me for a purpose. I hope to be back again soon, and +give 'em some more socks." + +And now it is time that we retired from the trenches and saw these men +when they come out. We will not retire far, but just far enough to the +rear to see the men as they retire, and watch others who are just +going in. + +Here is one who has got a trench to dig, and it strikes me as a very +quaint ending to a quaint letter. He has told us in the letter of a +comrade of his who, when wounded in the foot by a shrapnel shell, +exclaimed, "Never mind; thank God, I still have one left." And he +concludes by saying, "I could still go on relating my experiences, but +I am just about to dig another trench, so I will close now with 1 +Peter i. 5, 'Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto +salvation.'" + +Evidently he was thinking of divine things all the time, and as he dug +his trench he might truly sing-- + + My hands are but engaged below, + My heart is still with Thee. + +See them as they come out of the trenches! Some of them during the +terrible weather about Christmas time had literally to be dragged out +by their comrades, for they stuck fast in the mud. + +Talk about arctic or antarctic regions! In those regions explorers can +at any rate move forward or move back, but to the men in the trenches +during the worst of the weather there has been no possibility of +movement. They could not even drag one leg out and put it down again. +Many of them beat their feet with their muskets, or anything that came +to hand, to keep _some_ life in them. + +But their relief time has come. Look at them, caked with mud, unshaved +and haggard. A few days in the trenches makes old men of them. March! +How can they march? They just shuffle along as best they may, comrade +helping comrade. + +But actually baths have been provided; and while a good hot bath is +being enjoyed, their clothes are cleaned and sterilised, and then a +hot meal and a good sleep, and you would hardly believe these were the +same men. But they have never been down-hearted--not they. They have +"kept smiling," as they are so fond of saying. + + [Illustration: COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN. + When "Tommy" asked what he could do for his late antagonist, + the latter replied, "Nothing, unless you would be so good as to + hold my hand until all is over." + _Drawn by F. Matania._] + +What stories they have of their experiences. Here is one who writes to +the Rev. J.H. Bateson: + +"I want you to praise and thank God with me for sparing my life last +Thursday, when I had a narrow escape from death. The enemy started to +shell our trenches at 3 P.M. and continued until dark. One shell burst +just outside the trench which I occupied with my section, blowing the +trench right in and burying me in earth and mud. I was fast +suffocating when God heard my prayer, and sent a corporal and private +of my company who dug me out alive. Four of my section were buried up +to the hips, but, praise God, they also were got out safely. Further +along a shell burst right in the trench, blowing two men out of the +trench, who were killed on the spot; a third was buried alive; a +fourth was stunned and wandered out in front of the trench, and was +shot through the head by the enemy and killed. We have had twenty-five +days in the firing line out of the thirty days of November." + +This soldier goes on to say that, when at last relieved from the +trenches, he had held services in barns with some of his comrades, and +had even been called upon to bury the dead. He closes his letter with +the verse: + + All the way my Saviour leads me; + What have I to ask beside? + Can I doubt His tender mercy, + Who through life has been my Guide? + Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, + Here by faith in Him to dwell! + For I _know_, whate'er befall me, + Jesus doeth all things well. + +Mr. Bateson sends to the _Methodist Times_ a letter which he received +from a Christian sergeant at the front in January 1915. I quote it in +full because it describes in such vivid detail the experiences of a +Christian soldier in the trenches and during the charge. Only by +listening to the men themselves can we fully realise what Christ is to +the soldier, and how gloriously he is sustained in the most trying +times. + +"We are having some good times in serving the Master, both in the +trenches and during rest periods in billets. It matters not where we +are--we can still laugh and sing the praises of Him Who died that we +might live. During the retirement, at the commencement of the +campaign, when fatigued to the utmost, when drowsing or at least +stumbling along as best I could, halts were given, and officers, +non-commissioned officers and men simply fell down exhausted, you +could notice here and there some kneeling in prayer. I have done the +same, and after a few minutes in silent prayer, thanking our beloved +Saviour for preserving us, I have gone off sound asleep, and have +awakened and gone on again. Then with fresh vigour and a determined +effort have managed to pass up and down the ranks under my command, to +speak a few encouraging words and turn their thoughts heavenwards. At +rest intervals I have managed to get one or two together for a +Christian song and prayer, thank God for keeping us so well, and ask +for strength to endure it all. + +"Now, again, we are in the trenches. It is Sunday morning, my thoughts +are of all in the Homeland, and more so about Him Who died for us, and +as I think of it all out comes my Bible, and those who are near join +in listening to a passage of Scripture; then a few words of prayer, +then a chorus or two that we all know. We sing as heartily as if we +were at home in our churches. Then over comes 'Jack Johnson.' For a +time all is silent, excepting that lips are moving in fervent +prayer--not through fear, but with thankfulness and praise. Glory! +Glory! + +"Another time we are in a different part of the country, and called +upon to go into the attack. As we go, not seeing any danger, suddenly +over us bursts a shrapnel and shells of the 'Jack Johnson' type, +ploughing up the ground, and comrades fall. Some are killed outright; +others are severely wounded. I rush here and there to assist with a +handshake or a 'God bless you.' I pass on to lead those left, and then +right into the thickest of the fray with heavy rifle and machine-gun +fire. But nothing daunts the British soldier, and on we press until at +last the enemy turns and runs in fear. Then we thank God for all His +goodness in protecting and sparing us, and on we go, administering to +the wounded and those whose life is fast ebbing away, and in a few +words get the assurance that they hear the Saviour's welcome voice. I +have felt Him so near at such times as these. Tears of joy and +gladness--maybe of sorrow--well from the eyes. Jehovah is present, and +after the busy day is done and the shades of night are falling, I +again pursue my duties, collecting here and there a few men to +establish a firing line and join up the gap between our regiment and +those on the right. We start to work to dig ourselves in. When all is +complete, we kneel reverently with a heart full of praise and thanks +for being enabled to accomplish a little more for King and country, +and, above all, to do something for others by grace and strength from +on high. + +"One day we had just finished trenching in a wood; it was Sunday +afternoon. All was complete. I had been reading to four others in my +'dug-out,' and prayed. We were holding a short service. I had just +finished speaking, and we were heartily singing that beautiful hymn, +'All hail the power of Jesu's Name,' and had got through the third +verse, when we were suddenly called to man our rifles, as the sentry +had seen the enemy approaching and given us the warning. Over us +scream harmlessly the big shells; some fall in front, some behind. +Over comes the shrapnel and bursts over us; then the spurt of +rifle-fire begins. But the beauty of it is we are not troubled with +fear at all--who could be in the presence of the Master?--but go on +singing the chorus 'Crown Him' right on to the finish, although the +enemy is only 150 or 200 yards away." + +"The beauty of it is we are not troubled with fear at all--who could +be in the presence of the Master?" That sentence seems to sum up the +situation. Christ is there and He is all-sufficient. Strong in His +strength the Christian soldier goes anywhere and faces anything. How +grandly old "Diadem" would sound as these Christian soldiers sang it +in the battle charge--"And crown Him, crown Him Lord of all." There +was nothing in the situation incongruous to them. They did not think +of the Germans--only of their Lord and Saviour. And so they went right +on. Some of them were sure to fall, but they did not think of that. +The fact of Christ dominated them. Every other idea was "a grand +impertinence." He was with them here, and He would be with +them--yonder. + +Sergeant-Major Moore gives us a picture of the King's Own Yorkshire +Light Infantry. Writing to Mr. Bateson on December 17, he says: + +"Last Tuesday, that is a week ago, they went into the trenches when +it was pouring with rain. They were wet through to the skin, and then +had to enter trenches where the water was in the majority of cases up +to the knee, and in some as high as the waist. On being relieved some +had to be lifted up with drag ropes, and then they had to be helped to +walk. Others, after taking their boots off, were unable to put them on +again, and I saw several who could not walk at all. + +"I was able to have a few quiet talks with some of the young men and +older ones, who during the past month have surrendered to the claims +of Jesus. Their bright faces told very plainly that they have found +the pearl of great price, and can say, 'What a friend I have in +Jesus.'" + +What a picture!--weary and worn, but not sad. Having to be dragged out +of the trenches, unable to walk, and yet with "bright faces." It +reminds us of what the Rev. R. Winboult Harding says of a wounded man +in hospital at Cambridge: "He is of the Coldstreams and the Glory +Room. He has ten shrapnel wounds in his legs, but he has heaven in his +face." + +Now was the time for services. And if no chaplain were available, the +men held meetings themselves. + +Writes one, a corporal, to his chaplain: "I thank you for your letter, +also for the books for the little services which I hold amongst my +comrades when out of the trenches, and in billets, which is not often +the case, I am sorry to say. However, if our meetings are not +frequent, I praise God my prayers for my comrades are being daily +offered for them, in and out of the trenches, and on the march. What a +privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Now it is Sunday +night, the 20th, and I have just held a nice service among my +comrades, who greatly enjoyed the singing and also the address. We +came out of the trenches last night, and go in again on Monday, so far +as we know." + +After one such little service as these a corporal said to his lads +before they lay down to sleep: "If any of you want to lead a Christian +life, do so; I will see that no one interferes with you." Next day +that corporal was killed. + +And now was the opportunity of the chaplains. In the trenches they +could only set an example of patient courage to the men and cheer them +with words of faith and hope and love. But now they could get among +them, hold services for them, and this they did incessantly. Chaplains +of all denominations were thus engaged. We read of many united +services,--a Church of England chaplain reading the prayers, the +colonel of the regiment the lessons, and the Wesleyan chaplain giving +the address, or vice versa. As the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) +says: "In the rush of work a chaplain has little time to inquire _re_ +denomination; he gives his help where most needed; he comes as a +brother man and affords God's own consolation." The Psalmist said, "I +will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." To him all life was +sacred, every place the House of the Lord. It is the same at the front +to-day, every place sacred--trenches, farmyards, cellars, aye, even +pig-sties--the House of the Lord. + +Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, describes one such service where Mr. +Watkins preached his sermon from the door of a pig-sty, while a number +of young porkers slept within. The men illuminated the scene with the +light from an acetylene operating lamp, and so were able to have a +good sing. Those were tender moments. The pigs were forgotten, +everything was forgotten but the presence of God, and, wearied but +not discouraged, they were able to say, "Surely goodness and mercy +shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house +of the Lord for ever." + +Here, too, was the opportunity of showing kindness to one's enemy, +which Tommy is always ready to show. Many a trembling German fallen +into the hands of the British, terrified because of the frightful +stories he has been told of British cruelty to prisoners, has been +cheered by the kindly words and acts of British soldiers. + +A young officer writing to the _Times_ says: "We are out to kill, and +kill we do at any and every opportunity. But when all is done and the +battle over, the splendid universal soldier spirit comes over all the +men.... Just to give you some idea of what I mean, the other night +four German snipers were shot on our wire. The next night our men went +out and brought one in who was near and get-at-able, and buried him. +They did it with just the same reverence and sadness as they do to our +own dear fellows. I went to look at the grave the next morning, and +one of the most uncouth-looking men in my company had placed a cross +on the head of the grave, and had written on it: + + Here lies a German, + We don't know his name; + He died bravely fighting + For his fatherland. + +"And under that 'Got mitt uns' (_sic_), that being the highest effort +of all the men at German. Not bad for a blood-thirsty Briton, eh? +Really that shows the spirit." + +It does, and a noble spirit too. + + God bless you, Thomas Atkins; here's your country's love to you. + +Now was the opportunity also for the chaplains to dispense the gifts +from home to the war-worn men. How delighted the men were with them, +and how every gift was regarded as the gift of love! Even war has its +bright side, and surely one of the brightest spots on the bright side +of war has been the spontaneous offering of kindly hearts at home to +our soldiers abroad. In almost every home in the land skilled and +unskilled fingers have been at work. Knitting had almost become a lost +art, but now every school-girl knits, and knits not for herself but +for the soldiers. + +And the men who could not knit found the money, and sent their own +special gifts. How they rolled in! What delightful work they gave the +chaplains and those associated with them! Cigars, tobacco, cigarettes, +candles, matches, soap, socks, mittens, body belts, gloves--and so we +might go on quoting almost every article the soldier needs. "You see," +said one Tommy, "I've lost all my shirts but one--the one I'm +wearing--and that's borrowed. Thanks very much, that's just what I +wanted." + +And the Indians, too, how they appreciated their gifts! One of them +wrote this characteristic little letter to his chaplain--the Rev. A.E. +Knott--who had come with them from India. + +"Honourable and most gracious Captain Sahib, Padre Sahib,--We are all +delighted with the things you have sent us. Sir, may God bless you +that you have remembered us. It is very kind of you, and we are very +pleased, and for the ladies, our gratitude, who like mothers have +regarded us. May no sorrow befall them. From many men, many, many +thanks and salaams; also from the writer many salaams." + +So hearts were gladdened, and bodies made warm, and our soldiers +thanked God and took courage when they realised that they were not +forgotten by "the old folks at home." + +And now it is time to sum up this chapter. What is the general +impression that it leaves? + +The whole scene is weird in the extreme. Darkness hangs over the +trenches. The work is done for the most part at night. When those of +us at home are sleeping, our brothers and sons at the front are +charging with the bayonet through the deep darkness. Others are +quietly moving backwards and forwards--backward with the wounded, +forward with food and reinforcements. Snow and rain and frost! +Shrapnel, and rifle fire, and "Jack Johnsons"! Day after day, week +after week, even month after month! The monotony of the day must be +fearful, the horrors of the night recall the descriptions of the +_Inferno_. I do not wonder that, in some cases, nerves have given way, +and men have had to be carried to the rear suffering from complete +nervous collapse. + +But courage has never failed, though nerves have become unstrung. +There used to be a story told in Aldershot of an officer who was about +to take part in his first battle. His legs were trembling so that he +could hardly sit his horse. He looked down at his shaking legs and +said, "You're shaking, are you? and you would shake more if you knew +where _I_ was going to take you to-day, so let us get on." That is the +highest courage, which realises and fears and yet goes. + +This courage our soldiers in the trenches have possessed in the +highest degree. The charge brought against them is that they have +exposed themselves to the fire of the enemy. I do not wonder. They +intend to "get on," however much they fear. + +And through it all, as Tommy would say, they have "kept smiling." Wet +through to the skin, or nipped by frost; sleepless for days together, +only getting provisions replenished by night, comrades falling by +their side! But they have "kept smiling." + +And what about the _Christian_ soldier? He has had all these +qualities--for to none of his comrades is he inferior in courage. But +he has had another--an added quality. Something--_Someone_--who has +given him peace in the midst of privation and danger; Someone who has +enabled him to exult in the battle. He has had a light in the darkness +possessed by none else. + +As I have written this chapter the words of Isaiah have been +continually in my mind,--"But there shall be no gloom to her that was +in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of +Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time hath he made +it glorious.... The people that walked in darkness have seen a great +light, they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them +hath the light shined." + +Our soldiers have been called to walk in darkness but they have seen a +great Light. They, too, have _dwelt_ in the land of the shadow of +death, and upon _them_ also hath the Light shined. And so there is no +"gloom" for them. It may be night all around, but the sun shines upon +_them_, and it is always day. + +The problem of death has been greatly puzzling us at home--the death +of thousands of our best young manhood. Goethe says, "The spectacle +of nature is always new, for she is always renewing the spectators. +Life is her most exquisite invention; and death is her expert +contrivance to get plenty of life." We probe into his meaning, and +during these months begin to understand. + + [Illustration: _From the drawing by A. Michael._ + A "PADRE" HOLDING A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD.] + +But the Christian soldier has no difficulty. Death is to him but an +incident. Here and yonder he is in the presence of his King. He +advances to his death singing "Crown Him," and then wakes up +astonished to receive his own crown of life. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT + + The Royal Christmas Message--A Christmas Communion--Services + Held Anywhere--Carol Singing--The Soldiers' Christmas + Day--Christmas in the Trenches--The Unofficial Trace--They did + not want to Fight--Strangest Story of All--The Strangest + Service. + + +Christmas 1914 will ever be remembered in this country. The message of +peace and goodwill spoken from our pulpits, and yet half the world at +war! Christmas carols, Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, and yet +our sons out there in the trenches, and our fleet keeping constant +watch at sea! + +It was indeed a strange Christmas, and yet we could not forgo it, for +the Christmas message was needed more than ever before, and the poor +and needy and the little children must not be forgotten. + +For weeks before Christmas we had been considering what we could do +for our sailors and soldiers on Christmas Day. Our King and Queen had +been busy sending out Christmas cards to their troops, bearing a +Christmas greeting, and the message, reproduced in facsimile from the +King's handwriting, "May God protect you, and bring you home safe." + +All sorts of organisations had arranged for presents--they were sent +from the ends of the earth. The newspapers made appeals to their +readers, and arranged for the despatch of Christmas hampers and +parcels. Nearly every church remembered its own men at the front, and +sent kindly greetings and appropriate gifts. We were all thinking of +those who were fighting our battles, and we strove to give them a bit +of Christmas in the midst of the war. Not that we took any credit to +ourselves for this--it was the very least that we could do. They were +_of_ us, and they had gone out _from_ us. They were our very own, our +best and noblest, and they were doing all that men could do. They were +laying down their lives for their country--and for us, that we in +peace and plenty might quietly spend our Christmas as of yore, "none +daring to make us afraid." + +And they? What of them? Well, our presents reached them. Not a ship +bearing our gifts was lost. They had our presents on Christmas Day. In +the trenches, in the rear of the firing line, in hospital and in camp +there was the Christmas distribution, and the men looked up and +thanked God that they were not forgotten on Christmas Day. + +My purpose in this chapter is to tell how that strange Christmas at +the front was spent. + +Let us first hear our chaplains' stories, and then listen to the men. + +Bishop Gwynne of Khartoum is again serving as a Church of England +chaplain with our troops. He shall tell, first of all, how he spent +his Christmas. + +"When I woke early on Christmas Day," says he, "the tiny window in my +small room at the farm-house was frosted over, and the rattle of the +ammunition waggon on the road sounded like trolleys over an iron way. + +"Our first Communion was in the mayor's office (the church was denied +us), and was packed to the doors with generals, colonels, and +'Tommies.' We sang 'While shepherds watched their flocks by night.' +The celebration of Holy Communion within the booming of the guns, +where bodies were being broken and blood shed, brought vividly, as +nowhere else on earth, the message and meaning of the sympathy of God +in the sufferings of men, and each one was thrilled with the reality +of it all, as men of all ranks partook of the Holy Sacrament, and +thoughts turned homeward to those who thought and prayed at the same +service, convinced of the reality of the Communion of Saints. + +"My next service was under the shelter of a haystack along the side of +a road, where a congregation of gunners in a semicircle sang the +Christmas hymns with real feeling in the keen frosty air. It was too +cold to keep them long, but I gave them the Christmas message, and +wished them every Christmas blessing. + +"A couple of miles further on, I found a congregation of about two +hundred and fifty men assembled in the small theatre of a country +town. With deep reverence and great heartiness they followed the +service. These men were under orders for the trenches, and every word +in every prayer seemed so suitable--'Defend us thy humble servants in +all assaults of our enemies, that we surely trusting in Thy defence +may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus +Christ our Lord.' + +"As soon as my first lot finished, another lot of two hundred and +fifty filled the room for another service. What struck me most was +that, though the surroundings were strange, the men showed no more +signs of emotion than if they were keeping Christmas at home. The +sounds of artillery every now and then accompanied our prayers, but we +all felt we were in our right place. + +"I am convinced they envied not the man who sat down in comfort to his +Christmas dinner at home; they had no wish to change places with those +who, in luxury and ease, chose the easiest part in this time of war. +In a few hours they would be in the forefront nearest their country's +foe, and that was the place of honour this Christmas Day. Their hearts +were warmed as I told them how many were thinking of them and praying +for them to-day, but they needed no pity. They were where they would +be,--where the bravest and best always want to be,--fronting the enemy +who threatened their hearth and home. + +"When the last lot went, I prepared for the Holy Communion on the +theatre stage, and nearly a hundred came back to receive the Blessed +Sacrament--officers, non-commissioned officers, and men kneeling on +the muddy floor, remembering, worshipping, receiving into their hearts +by faith, the vital power to fight, and, if need be, to suffer and die +for the righteous cause. The Cross of Christ seemed to be so real, and +its meaning so clear, to men who are really living away from the +world's conventionalities, and up against death and the other life. + +"On the way back to my billet I found my unit on the road, having +orders to move off, and I had to march along with them until dark, +when we were all crowded into a farm with outbuildings large enough +for our men. We had our goose and plum-pudding at nine P.M., and after +a chat round a wood fire, lay down to rest at midnight." + +I have ventured to quote Bishop Gwynne's letter _in extenso_ from the +_Guardian_, as it tells us so delightfully how one chaplain spent his +Christmas Day, and how worthily he earned his Christmas dinner. What +an insight it gives us also of the power of religion in our British +Expeditionary Force! + +The Rev. E.R. Day, M.A. one of the senior Church of England chaplains, +has a similar story to tell. He says that on Christmas Day there were +no fewer than seven hundred communicants from one regiment and four +hundred from another, and the service was held in a ploughed field +with a packing-case for the Lord's Table. He adds that during the war +he has conducted these Communion services in the back room of a +public-house, in a stable, in a loft, in a lean-to shed, and in the +open air--anywhere where room could be found. + +Another Church of England chaplain, writing to the _Church Times_, +describes an attempt he had made to hold "Early Communion" at 6.30 on +Christmas morning. He had done his best, with the assistance of the +Army Service Corps, to provide all the accessories of a High Church +celebration, candles, &c., but that was a failure--no one came. We are +not surprised, for Thomas Atkins, as a rule, does not care for these +accessories. He succeeded better, later in the morning, on the +straw-littered floor of a soldier's billet. As he quaintly says, "It +seemed fitting that as He first came among the straw, He should come +to His soldiers to-day as they knelt on the straw." + +The Rev. J.D. Coutts, Wesleyan Chaplain with the First Division, +describes another service. He says: + +"I preached a Christmas sermon, and the men sang as only men can sing +when they are having a good time. We went through the whole service in +the small red book, the men reciting the responses with enthusiasm. +After the service we held a Communion Service. We took Communion in +the Town Hall of an old French town, and it will remain in my memory +for a long, long time. Two planks on trestles formed our communion +table.... An access of solemnity came upon us, and we knew ourselves +to be standing in the presence of God. Seldom has it been given me to +take part in such a service. + +"This morning in going out to visit the regiment at dressing stations, +I met a regiment returning from the trenches. There were not a hundred +and fifty of them. The rest were put out of action in taking some +trenches; they won their trenches, but were enfiladed. I thought of +our Communion Service, for not one of the men whom I knew did I see." + +I might go on recording many of these Communion services, but these +will serve as specimens of similar services held throughout the +Expeditionary Force. We at home and they abroad were one in this act +of commemoration and communion. We at home thought of them and they of +us, and said "Amen" to the prayer contained in the communion hymn, +part of which I copy from the United Free Church of Scotland _Record_. + + Here with hearts that would be calm + In the lifting of the psalm. + Hearts that would in quiet prayer + Cast on Thee their load of care,-- + All our loved ones o'er the sea + We remember, Lord, to Thee. + + In the trenches, on the field, + Lord, be Thou their Strength and Shield-- + And for them the Wine outpour, + Give them Bread from out Thy store-- + Let us feel while here we pray, + They are one with us to-day. + +The Rev. Owen S. Watkins gives us another picture of Christmas at the +front. The 14th Brigade had gone into the trenches, so those who were +left sat disconsolately round the fire on Christmas Eve, and one of +the number said, "Well, one thing's certain, we shan't hear any carol +singers this year," but the words had hardly been spoken, when there +came the sound of singing,--"Hark, the herald angels sing," "While +shepherds watched their flocks by night," and so on through all the +old familiar carols. Some of the musical members of the Ambulance had +formed a carol party and proceeded to serenade the General and the +others who were in the village. It made them all realise that +Christmas was indeed here. Mr. Watkins then proceeds to describe +Christmas Day: + +"Christmas Day dawned bright and frosty, truly seasonable weather, and +welcomed by the troops as far better than the pouring rain. For the +chaplains it was a busy day. In the course of the morning Mr. +Winnifrith held two celebrations of Holy Communion, conducted two +Parade Services in the Brigade, and performed the last sad rites for +three men who had been killed during the night. My work was found in +the 13th Brigade, who were resting in the billets we had just vacated, +and a good deal of my morning was spent in the effort to keep my horse +on his feet, for the roads were like glass, and my journey occupied +twice as long as I had anticipated. I had arranged for the service to +be held in the village school, but the congregation was far too large +for that, and when I arrived I found they had decided to hold the +service in the school-yard, which was packed as close as men could +stand with a congregation which swayed and made a noise like thunder +as they stamped their feet on the stones to keep them warm. + +"On my arrival the stamping ceased, and we at once began the +service--Scottish Borderers and Yorkshire Light Infantry most of them +were--and in spite of the bitter cold, both officers and men joined in +the singing with a zest and heartiness which was most inspiring. My +address was of necessity brief, but throughout the service there was +that influence which it is the preacher's joy to feel. + +"In the afternoon I held a service in the schoolroom of the village +where our ambulance was billeted. It was attended by men of all +denominations who had been unable to attend any of Mr. Winnifrith's +services, and was chiefly composed of our own men and gunners +belonging to some heavy batteries in the neighbourhood, some of whom +had walked a couple of miles to attend the service. Once again I +realised the joy of leading God's people in worship, and felt that, +however unusual the surroundings, the true spirit of Christmas was +resting upon us. + +"In the evening the men feasted, had a singsong, and generally made +merry, whilst in the officers' mess we also tried to celebrate +Christmas in the old-fashioned way, but soon settled down to the +fireside quietly to talk of other days and other scenes, and to think +of those who missed us at this festive season." + +We have seen how the chaplains spent their Christmas Day. How did the +Christian men spend theirs? Perhaps one picture will suffice. Our old +friend Sergeant-Major Moore shall draw it for us. On Christmas Eve he +was occupied nearly all day giving out Christmas presents to the men. +His regiment had come out of the trenches on the 23rd, and the men +were, many of them, in a terrible condition. They had been standing in +the water for days and numbers were frost-bitten. But how they +appreciated their gifts! It was indeed good to see a cart-load of +gifts, all of them sent direct from the homeland to this one Christian +sergeant-major for distribution. Christmas Eve was spent in a barn, +and as the sergeant-major spoke to the men, at least one soldier gave +himself to Christ. + +Christmas morning broke fresh and clear, and the staff-sergeant had a +splendid menu for the day, provided so far as extras were concerned by +friends from the homeland. Breakfast--Tea, sugar, and milk (the last a +great luxury), bread, English butter, ham, tinned sausages, and cake. +Dinner--Roast-beef, potatoes and cabbage, plum-pudding. Tea--Tea, +sugar, _milk_, bread and butter, ham, honey, sardines, shortbread, +Christmas cake, and chocolates afterwards. + +Not a bad menu that for men fresh from the trenches! Let it not be +supposed, however, that all fared so well. The Rev. A.D. Brown, +chaplain with the Indian Cavalry Division, mournfully records: "We +spent Christmas Day on the trek. My Christmas dinner consisted of +bully beef and bread and butter." + +But these men of the King's Own Yorkshire L.I. fared well, and the +sergeant-major finishes his characteristic letter by saying: "After +tea I had still a few parcels of comforts, chocolates, &c., which you +so kindly sent me, and with a few tracts and Christmas letters, I +visited the barns to find out those lonely ones who had not received a +letter or parcel from the homeland, and before I left for my billet +again I had the joy of knowing that, as far as I knew, every lad of +the battalion had received a parcel of cheer, and many were the +thanks, and 'God bless you, sir,' that night. Yesterday being Sunday +we had three services in barns and a few hymns and prayers in a +fourth, there not being time for more. It would cheer many a mother to +hear her boy out here singing the old gospel hymn she taught him in +his childhood days. Again, on the part of the men, thanking you for +your splendid gift. Good-day! 494!" + + [Illustration: IN THE TRENCHES.] + +It is now time we got nearer the firing line and asked how our soldier +lads in the trenches spent their Christmas. It is a strange sight +which meets our gaze. I confess that when I first read the stories of +that Christmas truce I thought that the reporters were romancing. But +there was no romancing after all. Truth is stranger than fiction, and +this was truth. + +The French do not seem to have observed Christmas Day as did the +British. The French _Eye-witness_ records: "On Christmas Day the +Germans left their trenches shouting 'a two days' truce.' Their ruse +did not succeed. All were shot down." It is evident, however, that on +some parts of the field there was fraternisation between even the +French and the Germans. + +The British soldiers took the law into their own hands, and +unofficially themselves proclaimed a truce. In some cases the +initiative lay with the Germans, and in others with the British; but +in nearly every case, all along the line, the informal truce was +accepted, and British and Germans fraternised. The Angels' Song was +heard again, this time over the blood-stained trenches, and the +bursting of the shrapnel ceased, the whizz of the bullets was heard no +more, and, instead, the sound of Christmas carols dominated the firing +zone. + +The period of this truce varied in different parts of the firing line. +One officer states: "The Germans looked upon Christmas Day as a +holiday, and never fired a shot, except a few shells in the early +morning to wish us a happy Christmas, after which there was perfect +peace, and we could hear the Germans singing in their trenches. Later +on in the afternoon my attention was called to a large group of men +standing up half-way between our trenches and the enemy's, on the +right of my trench. So I went out with my sergeant-major to +investigate, and actually found a large party of Germans and our +people hobnobbing together, although an armistice was strictly against +our regulations. The men had taken it upon themselves. I went forward +and asked in German what it was all about and if they had an officer +there, and I was taken up to their officer, who offered me a cigar. I +talked for a short time and then both sides returned to the trenches. +It was the strangest sight I have ever seen. The officer and I saluted +each other gravely, shook hands, and then went back to shoot at each +other. He gave me two cigars, one of which I smoked, and the other I +sent home as a souvenir." + +Corporal T.B. Watson, Royal Scots (Territorials), says: "We were all +standing in the open for about two hours waving to each other and +shouting and not one shot was fired from either side. This took place +in the forenoon. After dinner we were firing and dodging as hard as +ever: one could hardly believe that such a thing had taken place." + +Private J. Higham, of the Stalybridge Territorials, tells of a truce +that lasted throughout Christmas Day. + +"On Christmas Day the Germans never fired a shot, and we were walking +about the trenches. In the afternoon about three o'clock the ----, who +were on our right, started whistling and shouting to the Germans whose +trenches were only four hundred yards away. They asked them to come +down.... After about ten minutes two Germans ventured out, and the +---- went to meet them. When they met they shook hands with each +other, and then other Germans came, and so we went up to them.... I +was a bit timid at first, but me and a lad called Starling went up and +I shook hands with about sixteen Germans. They gave us cigars and +cigarettes and toffee, and they told us they didn't want to fight but +they had to.... We were with them about an hour, and everybody was +bursting laughing at this incident, and the officers couldn't make +head or tail of it. The Germans then went back to their trenches, and +we went back to ours, and there was not a single shot fired that day." + +"Elsewhere," says a subaltern writing to the Press Association, "I +hear our fellows played the Germans at football on Christmas Day. Our +own pet enemies remarked that they would like a game, but as the +ground in our part is all root crops, and much cut up by ditches, and +as, moreover, we had not got a football, we had to call it off." + +One incident recorded by the _Manchester Guardian_ from the letter of +an officer is surely the strangest of all--the story of a friendly +haircut. + +"At eleven P.M.," says the officer, "on December 24, there was +absolute peace, bar a little sniping and a few rounds from a machine +gun, and then no more. 'The King,' was sung, then you heard 'To-morrow +is Christmas; if you don't fight, we won't,' and the answer came back +'All right!' One officer met a Bavarian, smoked a cigarette, and had a +talk with him about half-way between the lines. Then a few men +fraternised in the same way, and really to-day peace has existed. Men +have been talking together, and they had a football match with a bully +beef tin, and one man went over and cut a German's hair." + +I might multiply these extracts indefinitely, but sufficient has been +said to show the spirit in which our lads and the Germans spent +Christmas Day. I do not wonder that one soldier, after saying that +some German officers took the photographs of our men between the +trenches, adds, "I would not have missed the experience of yesterday +for the most gorgeous Christmas dinner in England." + +If the strangest incident of that strange Christmas Day was the +cutting of a German soldier's hair by one of our lads, surely the +strangest service was that conducted by the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, +Chaplain of the United Free Church of Scotland, of whom I have already +had occasion to write. + +I piece the story together from various reports that have been sent to +Scotland, and then add Mr. Adams' own brief comments. He is attached +to the Gordon Highlanders, and on Christmas morning visited the +trenches to wish his men a happy Christmas. The Gordons had recently +relieved the Scottish Borderers, and there were several dead bodies of +the Borderers lying midway between the British and German trenches, +the result of the last charge. Only about a hundred yards separated +the trenches. + +On Christmas morning some of the Germans astonished the Gordons by +appearing on the top of their trenches, but the Gordons did not fire +on them, and instead an officer went out to suggest that, as they had +a "Padre" with them, and there were also several German dead, they +should have a truce for a burial service. It was arranged, and the +Germans lined up on one side of the chaplain and the Gordons on the +other. The service began with the hymn "The Lord is my Shepherd," and +then the "Padre" prayed. After the burial of the dead, of whom there +were about a hundred, Mr. Adams gave an address, which was interpreted +sentence by sentence by an interpreter sent forward by a German +officer. + +The service over, the German officer shook hands with Mr. Adams and +offered him a cigar. Mr. Adams begged leave not to smoke it, but to +keep it as a souvenir of that unique occasion. The officer consented, +but said he should like some little memento in return. Hardly knowing +what to give, Mr. Adams took off his cap and gave the officer the +Soldier's Prayer he had carried in its lining since the war began. The +German officer read it, put it in the lining of his helmet, saying, "I +value this because I believe what it says, and when the war is over I +shall take it out and give it as a keepsake to my youngest child." + +Then the men gathered together, exchanged keepsakes, and spent their +Christmas in perfect unity. Not a shot was fired that day, nor on the +next. It seemed as though each side was reluctant to fire again, after +the sacred service of Christmas morning. + +During a brief visit home Mr. Adams occupied the pulpit of his own +church--the West U.F. Church, Aberdeen. In the course of a sermon full +of interest he referred to his strange service on the battle-field. +The Aberdeen _Daily Journal_ thus reports what he said: + +"There had been some weird stories told about Christmas Day. He was +not going to deny these stories. He was not even going to deny the +cigar incident, but was going to show the cigar. Christmas Day made +him understand something of the size of God. The day ended for him +with the vision of a great German regiment standing behind their +commanding officer bareheaded, and not so far distant as one gallery +from the other of that church, British officers with their soldiers +bareheaded, and between them a man reading the Twenty-third Psalm. In +the name of the One Christ, these two foes, the most awful the world +had ever seen, held Christmas. It was the fear of God--the need of +God--that did it all." + +I have told the story in the simplest language, without any attempt to +give it colouring, because it seems to me it speaks for itself. It +tells that deep down beneath the uniform, beneath all that makes man +true Briton or true German, there is the bond of brotherhood. They +were Scotchmen, these Gordons, and I wonder if they thought of the +lines of their Scottish poet: + + Man to man the warld o'er, + Shall brithers be for a' that. + +Is it not a grim tragedy that men who can thus fraternise on Christmas +Day should a few hours after be sending each other to their death? We +look forward to the day, and pray God it may not be far distant, when +war shall cease. + +Here at home and there on the battle-field, Christian men unite in the +prayer: + + Not on this land alone, + But be God's mercies known + From shore to shore: + And may the nations see + That men should brothers be, + And form one family + The wide world o'er. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CHRISTIAN HEROISM + + A Picture in "Punch"--Tommy's Deep-rooted Religion--Courage of + Chaplains--A Shell in His Back--Stories of Christian + Soldiers--First Clergyman Soldier to Die--Driver Osborne--A + Church Parade of Four--"Tell My Wife I am Ready "--Duty + overcomes Fear. + + +There was a time when men thought that the reckless devil-may-care man +made the finest soldier; that the hard drinker, the hard swearer, the +riotous liver came out best in a fight. Wellington wrote of his +"collection of ruffians" in the Peninsula: "It is impossible to +describe to you the irregularities and excesses committed by the +troops. We are an excellent army on parade, an excellent one to fight, +but we are worse than an enemy in the country." How greatly times have +changed since then! + +Sir George White once said that recklessness and lawlessness will +carry men a certain distance, but when men are half fed, when nights +are wet and cold, and when nerves are broken down by shot and shell, +then the lawless man disappears. It is when he is called upon to take +the place of a comrade shot on a lonely picket that the man who has +disciplined himself proves the true soldier. + +General Nogi, who commanded the Japanese forces at Port Arthur, held +the same view. His words may well be borne in mind at this time: + +"Only he who has conquered himself in time of peace can aspire to be a +fighting man under the Sun flag. The brilliant and faithful deeds of +the soldier on the battle-field are nothing but the flowering and +fruition of the work and training of his daily life in time of peace. +A man whose life is in disorder in time of peace would have a rather +difficult task if he tried to perform with correctness and success the +duties of a true soldier on the field of battle." + +If we carry these statements on to their issue, then surely the +Christian soldier should fight best of all. He has not only the +discipline and training of the Army, but moral discipline and training +as well. And he has something more--the spiritual fact which dominates +his being and transfigures and transforms him. To him death is not +death, he lives and will live, and in the worst of all fiery furnaces +there is always with him "the form of the fourth, like unto the Son of +God." + +Such men as these are unconquerable. They remind us of _Punch's_ +famous cartoon, "Unconquerable"; for _Punch_ is not only a humorist, +he is a preacher too. + +_The Kaiser_: "So you see--you've lost everything." + +_The King of the Belgians_: "Not my soul!" + +The Kaiser has gained his victory and sheathed his sword. Belgium is +his; there is nothing in that country left for him to conquer. A +ruined building is behind him, on his left is the broken wheel of a +gun-carriage. In the distance is a Belgian family--an aged man, a +woman, a child. The woman's husband is not there--most likely he is +dead. + +The King of the Belgians has lost his helmet. His uniform is war-worn, +his hair untidy. His scabbard is empty, but he has not parted with his +sword. He still grasps it in his strong right hand. + +"You have lost everything," says the Kaiser--"Liège, Namur, Brussels, +Antwerp." "No, not everything. Not my soul." + +But the King of the Belgians was not alone in the claim which _Punch_ +puts into his life. Every Christian man fighting for his country, and +many another, wounded, frost-bitten, dying, can answer "Not my soul." +You cannot take that from him, it is his own sacred possession, and +the consciousness that he possesses it still nerves him to do and +dare. + +As the Rev. E.R. Day, Church of England chaplain at the front, says: +"There were men to whom we might almost kneel down in reverence. The +bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience of our men at the front are +such that French people could not understand it." + +It is not necessary to claim that these qualities are the sole +possession of the Christian man. It is, indeed, far otherwise. But the +Christian graces produce them best of all. Mr. Day is right when he +says, "Though apparently careless and light-hearted, one realised that +there was a deep-rooted religion in our soldiers, and that it was +indeed a fool's game to judge a man by his outward appearance." It is +largely because of that "deep-rooted religion" that the qualities of +"bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience" are produced. + +We must remember that our Army at the front is made up in no small +degree of men from homes in which God is honoured, many of them old +Sunday-school boys. They have been trained in religion, they have been +taught to pray. Some have forgotten much that they were taught, but +they have not forgotten the old hymns and prayers, and in their time +of need that "deep-rooted" religious instinct has asserted itself. As +one of them said to me, "I grew too old for Sunday-school, and I +wandered far away from God. For years I never prayed; but in the +battle of the Marne I began to pray again, and I have kept on praying. +I tell you what it is, sir, most men out there are praying now." Yes, +there is felt the need for God and so there is prayer. My point is +that, all things being equal, the man who prays is the best soldier, +because he possesses spiritual power as well as material. + + [Illustration: _Central News Photo._ + THE BISHOP OF LONDON AT THE FRONT AT EASTER. + Addressing men of the Army Service Corps from a transport cart] + +I purpose therefore telling in this chapter of the heroism of the men +who pray, while at the same time I do not overlook the heroism of the +Army as a whole. My purpose will be answered if I convince my readers +that, instead of religion impairing the courage of our soldiers, it is +increased and intensified thereby. + +May I first speak of the courage of our chaplains? Not every one +expects a "parson" to be brave. The pulpit has been spoken of by the +ill-informed as "The Coward's Castle," but hundreds of these parsons +have been transferred to the forefront of the fight. As I write this, +many of them are already fighting in the ranks, and many more will +soon be there. + +But the chaplain is not a fighting man. Not a shot does he fire, not a +bayonet thrust does he give. He sees the shot and shell bursting round +him, but he has not the stimulus of the fight. How have they borne +themselves--these men who have been transferred from the pulpit to the +battle-field? Two hundred of them are there. Has there been one +lacking in courage? I doubt it. The stories I have already told are +stories of conspicuous bravery. Let me add one or two more. + +I have already mentioned the name of the Rev. Percy Wyndham Guinness, +Church of England chaplain, 3rd Cavalry Brigade. He has been appointed +by the King a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, in +recognition of his services with the Expeditionary Force. The official +statement is: "On the 5th November at Kruistraat when Major Dixon, +16th Lancers, was mortally wounded, he went on his own initiative into +the trenches under heavy fire and brought him to the ambulance, and on +the afternoon of the same day, being the only individual with a horse +in the shelled area, took a message under heavy fire from the 4th +Hussars to the headquarters of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade." + +That is the bare official statement, but it is enough. We may read +between the lines bravery pre-eminent, and right worthily does he wear +the D.S.O. + +"T.P.'s" _Great Deeds of the Great War_ tells another story. "Some of +the ministers at the front are doing great deeds of sacrifice. As I +was coming away from the hospital, I met one of them accompanied by a +corporal. The minister stopped and inquired from me the way to the +hospital. Naturally enough, I asked the corporal what was the matter +with him. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, the minister +turned round,--and I don't think I could describe the admiration I had +for that man. He had walked about a mile and a half with a great lump +of shell in his back, the size of a man's hand." That was endurance if +you like, and it was the endurance of a Padre. + +I cannot better sum up the heroism of the chaplains at the front than +in the words of Field-Marshal Sir John French in his despatch +published on February 17, 1915. "In a quiet and unostentatious manner +the chaplains of all denominations have worked with devotion and +energy in their respective spheres. The number with the forces in the +field at the commencement of the war was comparatively small, but +towards the end of last year, the Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C, +principal chaplain, assisted by his secretary, the Rev. W. Drury, +reorganised the branch, and placed the spiritual welfare of the +soldiers on a more satisfactory footing. It is hoped that a further +increase of personnel may be found possible. I cannot speak too highly +of the devoted manner in which all chaplains, whether with troops in +the trenches, or in attendance on the sick and wounded in casualty +clearing stations and hospitals on the line of communications, have +worked throughout the campaign." + +The day after this statement was published came the despatches +mentioning the names of those noted for distinguished conduct in the +field, and in this--the second list--we find the names of no fewer +than sixteen chaplains, while the Hon. and Rev. Maurice Peel (brother +of Lord Peel) has received the new Military Cross. + +The stories, however, that I most want to tell are the stories of the +soldiers, officers and men. They were all alike, but my stories are +confined to the definitely Christian soldiers. Their spirit is +indicated in the following letter from Captain Norman Leslie of the +Rifle Brigade, who has since died for his country. + +"Try not to worry too much about the war, anyway. Units, individuals +cannot count. Remember we are writing a new page of history. Future +generations cannot be allowed to read the decline of the British +Empire and attribute it to us. We live our little lives and die. To +some are given chances of proving themselves men and to others no +chance comes. Whatever our individual faults, virtues, or qualities +may be it matters not, but when we are up against big things let us +forget individuals, and let us act as one great British unit, united +and fearless. It is better far to go out with honour than survive with +shame." + +That is the true spirit of the Christian soldier--"Better far to go +out with honour than survive with shame." + +But again I am oppressed with a superabundance of riches. The stories +of Christian heroism which could be told would fill this book. The +Church's Roll of Honour lengthens rapidly. I choose at random. + +There is, for example, Captain James Fergus Mackain, 34th Sikh +Pioneers, a zealous member of the Church of England Men's Society, and +before the war Honorary Secretary of its Union in the diocese of +Lahore. "Always bright and hopeful, brave and zealous, ever ready to +help anyone in any way he could, and yet so humble and retiring that +it was always his beautiful Christian character rather than himself +that seemed to stand forward. The quality of his handshake won all +hearts, and even now one seems to feel his vigorous grasp so +characteristic of his thoroughness. A great gentle plaything with the +children, a pacifying, controlling influence with boys and lads, a +quiet sure leadership with men, is it any wonder that such a man was +loved and honoured?" He, too, laid down his life for his country. + +There was Lieutenant David Scott Dodgson, R.G.A., who was killed in +action ten days before his thirtieth birthday. Since his death his +promotion to a captaincy had been gazetted. He was laying out a +telephone cable for the battery--a particularly dangerous and +important piece of work--and while doing so was shot. His father +served through the Indian Mutiny and saved the life of Havelock at +Lucknow. Like father, like son. + +There was Second Lieutenant H. Arnold Hosegood, 5th Royal Fusiliers, +who was killed in action near Ypres on February 24. A fine upstanding +man, six feet three inches in height, a daring rider, a good shot. +"Generous, chivalrous, and modest, he had a great gift of +friendliness." Before the war he was for a time Superintendent of the +Westbury Park Wesleyan Sunday-school, Bristol, and Secretary of the +Trinity Guild. He was only twenty-three years of age. + +There was Private Paul Holman of the H.A.C. He was killed while on +sentry duty on February 17. A comrade writes: "His first thought was +evidently that he must warn the guard; this he did, becoming +unconscious immediately afterwards." His colonel says of him: "He was +a splendid type of young Englishman and a fine soldier, greatly +beloved by us all--officers and men." He had just begun to practise as +a barrister before the war broke out. + +There were Second Lieutenant J.C. Baptist Crozier, Royal Munster +Fusiliers, nephew of the Archbishop of Armagh, and Captain L.A.F. +Cane, East Lancashire Regiment, who died leading his men to capture a +trench, and Lieutenant Compton, Royal Scots Greys, son of the late +Lord Alwyne Compton, and scores of other officers, of whom we may say +as was said of those of old, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, +wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of +lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from +weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight +armies of aliens." + +We expect, however, that officers will set an example of bravery to +their men, and though we mourn the large percentage of officers who +have fallen in the field, we would not have it otherwise. It is the +tradition of the Army, and a noble tradition too. + +Perhaps this is the place to record the death of the first +clergyman-soldier who has been killed in this war. The combination of +minister of the Gospel and soldier of the line is so remarkable that +the death of the first of these marks an epoch in the Church's +history. + +Captain Lionel Fairfax Studd, of the Rangers, 12th County of London +Regiment, died of wounds received in action on February 14, 1915. He +was the son of Mr. J.E.K. Studd, of the Polytechnic, and nephew of Mr. +C.T. Studd. He had been ordained by the Bishop of London to a curacy +at St. James, Holloway, at Trinity, 1914. But, on the outbreak of war, +he felt it to be his duty, after very grave reflection, to take his +place with his old regiment. Devoted to Christ, he was devoted also to +his country. + +The deeds, however, upon which I wish to dwell in this chapter are the +deeds of Christian non-commissioned officers and men. I must choose +with care, and the stories I tell will, I hope, show different phases +of Christian courage. + +Let me first tell how Driver F.A. Osborne won the French V.C. For +years Driver Osborne has been associated with the Wesley Hall +Brotherhood, Leicester, and although now on the field still counts +himself a member. + +I quote from the _Methodist Times_. + +"The story has been slowly imparted to us. In September the gloom of +the long and terrible retreat from Mons was lifted by the announcement +of the capture of ten German guns by the English. Then fugitive +paragraphs made reference to three men who had fought alone, wounded, +but undaunted. Only now can the whole story be pieced together, and it +is a veritable romance--tragic, heroic, glorious. + +"It was on September 1, 1914, in a village near Compiègne, that the L +Battery of six guns limbered up on reveille at 2.30, waiting for a +missing order to retire. The French cavalry they were supporting +retired unnoticed in the mist, and at 4.25, as the light grew, the +Germans were perceived, but were thought to be the French. At 4.57 +their battery of eleven guns and two maxims opened fire. The first +shell killed Driver Osborne's horse, and in three minutes the gun +teams were destroyed, only six horses being left. + +"Men fell in droves, but Captain Bradbury and the men available strove +to unlimber the guns, and in five minutes three were ready for action. +One was instantly disabled by a German shell, and Driver Osborne was +thrice wounded. A shrapnel bullet deeply grazed his cheek, another +caught his shoulder, a third grazed his ribs and inflicted a nasty +chest wound. The second gun was shattered in ten minutes, and then for +another hour and a quarter one gun fought the German battery. It was +an inferno. The screaming dying horses, the shattered groaning men, +the shells in hundreds digging holes of four to five feet deep, and +shrapnel bullets by thousands searching the ground made it a Gehenna. + +"Men fell fast. The officers were killed or wounded, but the one gun +fought on. Driver Osborne, thrice wounded, fetched the ammunition +from fifty yards away amidst showers of shrapnel. One shell dropped +within six feet, but did not burst; another hit a gun muzzle, but the +fragments missed him. He was running behind a shattered gun for +ammunition when a shell hit the wheel, and the concussion of the +broken wheel knocked his knee up, and he could go no more. An officer +started for ammunition instead and was instantly killed. + +"Osborne holds Captain Bradbury in high honour. 'He was a hero and a +gentleman.' His courage, promptitude, and resource inspired his men. +One by one the German guns were hit, shattered, silenced, and their +gunners fell, under the terrible accuracy of that one British gun. Ten +guns ceased fire, and the Germans fled from the other. The Middlesex +Regiment of infantry arrived at this point and found three men +wounded, covered with blood from horses and men, but working their one +gun with their ebbing strength. + +"Dashing forward, they captured the German guns, brought out the +English battery and rescued the wounded men. The three men, with their +fallen comrades, had saved the battery, destroyed the German attack, +saved the village beyond, and secured the English rear." + +For this splendid service Driver Osborne was rewarded with the +Médaille Militaire for distinguished conduct. This is the French V.C. +It is equivalent to the Legion of Honour in France, and carries with +it a pension of a hundred francs a year. + +Driver Osborne was also recommended for the British V.C., but it does +not yet appear to have been given. + +The first Wesleyan soldier in this war to receive the V.C. was +Bandsman Thomas Edward Rendle, 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. +The reward was, according to the official notification, conferred-- + +"For conspicuous bravery on November 20, near Wulverghem, when he +attended to the wounded under very heavy shell and rifle fire, and +rescued men from the trenches in which they had been buried by the +blowing in of the parapets by the fire of the enemy's howitzers." + +Still another story of Christian heroism, the hero of this being a +member of the Salvation Army. I quote from the _War Cry_ of October +17, 1914. + +"Jumping into a carriage of an already moving train the other day +(writes a _War Cry_ representative) I was seized by a soldier in +war-stained khaki, who gave me a tight hand-grip and said, 'Good luck +to you! God bless you and your people!' + +"'I'm afraid I don't know you,' I replied. + +"'Perhaps not,' he responded, 'but I know some of your people, and the +one I met in the firing line was one of the pluckiest fellows I know +of. We had been lying in the trenches firing for all we were worth. On +my right, shoulder to shoulder, were two Salvationists. I remembered +them as having held a meeting with some of us chaps about a week +before. As we lay there with the bullets whistling round us these two +were the coolest of the whole cool lot! + +"'After we had been fighting some time we had orders to fall back, and +as we were getting away from the trenches one of the Salvationists was +hit and fell. His chum didn't miss him until we had gone several +hundred yards, and then he says, "Where's ----?" calling him by name. +"I must go back and fetch him!" and off he hurried, braving the hail +of shot and shell. I admired his bravery so much that I offered to go +with him, but he said, "No, the Lord will protect me; I'll manage it!" + +"'So I threw myself on the ground and waited. I saw him creep along +for some yards, then run to cover; creep along, and take shelter +again; and, finally, having found his chum, he picked him up and made +a dash for safety. + +"'How the bullets fell around him! Into the shelter of some trees he +went; out again and in once more; and when he did get into the last +piece of clearing I couldn't wait any longer, so rushed forward to +help him. + +"'Then I got hit, and was, of course, bowled over. But your man +quickly came to me. + +"'What do you think the brave fellow did? He just put his other arm +round me and carried us both off! Darkness was fast coming on, and +presently he laid us down and bound the wounds, which he bandaged up +with strips which he tore from his shirt. I shall never forget that +terrible night! + +"'The three of us struggled on, we two getting weaker and weaker, +until just as dawn was breaking we all collapsed. + +"'How far we had gone I don't know, for the next I remember was that I +was in a field hospital. I could find no trace of my brave rescuer nor +his chum, and have heard nothing of them since. But he's a brave boy, +and if ever I chance to meet him again I'll ask his name, and the _War +Cry_ shall know it as soon as word can reach you.'" + +The next story is one altogether different. I quote it from the United +Free Church of Scotland _Record_. It speaks for itself. + +"It was a Sunday morning in Belgium. There had been a sharp +engagement, and the British troops holding a village had been +hurriedly forced by great masses of the enemy to retire. In the +confusion three Scottish privates and a corporal had been cut off in +the streets and had backed into the first open door they came to. The +occupants had fled, and they made their way up a long staircase, +intending to find the roof and watch events from there. But it ended +in an empty loft, where there was only a skylight beyond their reach. + +"'Better lie low for a while,' suggested the corporal as they stood +listening to the terrible sounds outside. The Germans were evidently +burning, looting, and killing. Now and again they heard screams and +the discharge of rifles: sometimes an explosion would shake the +building, showing that houses were being blown up; while the smell of +burning wood penetrated to their retreat. This went on for hours. The +soldiers knew they would be discovered sooner or later, and expected +no mercy, as the enemy would be sure to invent some excuse for putting +them to death. + +"Suddenly the corporal said: 'Lads, it's time for church parade: let's +hae a wee bit service here; it may be oor last.' The soldiers looked a +little astonished, but they piled their rifles in a corner and came +and stood at attention. The corporal took out a small Testament from +his breast pocket and turned over the pages. + +"'Canna we sing something first? Try ye're hand at the 23rd Psalm. +Quiet noo--very quiet.' + + "Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, + Yet will I fear none ill: + For thou art with me; and thy rod + And staff me comfort still." + +"There wasn't much melody about the tune, but the words came from the +heart. + +"Then the corporal began: + +"'Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the +soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body +in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them +shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs +of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value +than many sparrows.' + +"As he read there were loud shouts below: doors banged, and glass was +smashed. But he went on: + +"'He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life +for my sake shall find it.' + +"He ended, and his grave face took on a wry smile. + +"'I'm no' a gude hand at this job,' he said, 'but we maun finish it +off. Let us pray.' + +"He stood, with the book in his hand, and the others knelt and bowed +their heads. His memory went back to the days of family worship in his +father's cottage, and he tried to remember the phrases he had heard. A +little haltingly, but very simply, he committed their way to God and +asked for strength to meet their coming fate like men. + +"While he prayed a heavy hand thrust open the door and they heard an +exultant exclamation and then a gasp of surprise. Not a man moved, and +the corporal went calmly on. After a pause he began, with great +reverence, to repeat the Lord's Prayer. + +"That a German officer or private was standing there they realised: +they did not see, but they felt, what was taking place. They heard the +click of his heels, and they knew that he also was standing at +attention. For a moment the suspense lasted, and then came the soft +closing of the door and his footsteps dying away. + +"The tumult in the house gradually ceased, and soon afterwards the +storm of war retreated like the ebb of the tide, and quiet fell upon +the village and remained upon it. At dusk the four men ventured forth, +and by making a wide detour worked round the flank of the enemy and +reached the British outposts in safety." + +One other story will suffice. Sergeant William Taylor of the 1st Royal +Berkshire Regiment died of wounds in the Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, +on Thursday, December 10. A beautiful character, a devoted Christian +soldier, he was promoted on the field from the rank of lance-corporal +to sergeant for conspicuous bravery. On one occasion he stood over a +fallen comrade with bullets whizzing all around, until eventually the +comrade was carried to a place of safety. On another occasion Sergeant +Taylor volunteered with others to attack a position held by a strong +force of the enemy. The Berkshires lost heavily until reinforced, and +then the position was carried. He was the ideal soldier--the +"righteous man" who is "brave as a lion." + +The late Rev. T.J. Thorpe, who cared for him while he was in hospital +at Woolwich, says: "The Lord Jesus was very precious to him amidst the +agony of his last days, and he died more than conqueror." This grand +Christian hero was only twenty-four years old. + +Before I close this chapter, let me give extracts from two letters +sent home by two Baptist chaplains and published in the _Baptist Times +and Freeman_. + +The Rev. T.N. Tattersall writes: + +"I have made inquiries as to how the men behave in the trenches. What +effect has the imminence of death upon the character of the men? Some +use language more forcible than polite. Some find the Black Marias and +shells a source of entertainment. Some turn their feelings into the +songs of Zion. Many vows to God are made on the field of battle, and a +Christian soldier has a great opportunity of which he is not slow to +make use. In a chat with one such, Private J. Downs, of the Welsh +Regiment, a good Baptist, whom I found in hospital recovering from a +wound, he told me how he lost his chum. They were sharing a dug-out +together, and had agreed, should either fall, to write home the +terrible news. His friend said, 'You will tell my wife I am ready, +that to God I have given my trust.' Just before he fell he sang 'Jesus +is tenderly calling thee home.' Little did he realise how near was his +own call. A bullet struck him in the head. Last Thursday the letter +was written." + +The second is from the Rev. E.L. Watson, and forcibly depicts to us +the highest form of courage--courage that triumphs in spite of fear +and triumphs through Christ. Such courage is the possession of every +Christian soldier. + +"At another farm-house in absolute darkness and silence we reached our +second dressing station. The regimental medical officer was absent, +but the sergeant in charge was ready to deliver over his charge. I +stepped into what appeared to be a large living room covered with +straw, upon which some fifteen men were lying in absolute silence. No +groans, no word of complaint escaped the lips of a single man, no +asking for drink, nor claiming first assistance. I felt my way over +several, and was able to whisper a word of cheer here and there. One +badly wounded man guided my hand to that of a lad near by with the +words, 'Speak a word to that lad, chaplain, he must need his mother.' +Out of that darkness one by one they were carefully lifted on to +stretchers and put into the ambulances. + +"One incident impressed me very much that night in that chamber of +agony. Just as the last man was being carried out I heard a sob near +by me, and putting out my hand touched a stretcher-bearer who had +become jumpy. Poor boy, and no wonder. Only seventeen years of age, +and away from home for the first time. Empty stomach and soaked +clothes, bringing in and remaining with the wounded till relieved, +with death outside at every step. This first night of his experience +with war was trying his strength and testing his nerve. I took his +hand, and whispered a message, and I heard him go out with his little +company again towards the trenches over a fire-swept area. + +"Men claim that heroism always comes to the front in a crisis, and so +it does, but I have learned too that the heroic soul is not always the +fearless one. In the case of this lad the sense of duty overcame his +sense of fear, and away he went to face death, brave and heroic, in +spite of a trembling heart and unsteady hand." + +Yet one more picture of heroism, and it is, indeed, a strange one. +There is a touch of unconscious humour in it, but for all that it is +grandly heroic. + +Six Royal Field Artillery men, soldiers of the King and of the +Salvation Army too, have been holding daily prayer meetings just +behind the guns, and have succeeded in capturing several of their +comrades as "trophies." There was no "penitent rail" to which to +invite them, and so, notwithstanding the cold, they piled their +overcoats together, and kneeling at this improvised "rail" their +comrades gave themselves to Christ. + +What a picture it presents of absolute devotion and of the highest +Christian courage! The guns hardly cool from their deadly fire, soon +to belch out death again, the men in the depth of winter caring naught +for the cold or for the enemy's shot and shell, using their brief +interval to lead their comrades to Christ. Pray on, Salvation Army +lads! You will fight all the better for your country because of your +fight for the King of Kings, and if death stares you in the face you +will know that you have spent your last moments in pointing your +comrades to the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world. + + [Illustration: A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS WORK. + The Red-Cross Motor Field Kitchen, under the direction of Miss + Jessica Borthwick, dispenses hot soup to the wounded on the + battlefield. + _Drawn by S. Begg._] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS + + Regimental Aid Posts--What Night Fighting is Like--The Young + Doctor--Making the Grave Bigger--Field Dressing + Stations--Where Caution is Required--Where Pluck is + Shown--When Does the Doctor Sleep?--Nothing but Tragedy--Those + Grand Tommies--Winning a V.C. Clasp--A Dreadful Scene--A + Kitchener's Train--Devoted Nurses--The Healthiest + War--Preventive Measures--Hospital Ships. + + +So complete is the organisation of the Red Cross at the front that it +is possible to indicate its work in four terms--Regimental Aid Posts, +Field Dressing Stations, Clearing Hospitals, Base Hospitals. Add to +these the Home Hospitals, to which the men are finally transferred, +and you have the work of the Army Medical Organisation at a glance. + +During this war the cryptic letters R.A.M.C. and M.S.C. have +interpreted themselves into actual glorious service which the British +public will ever delight to honour, and it will be borne in mind that +most of the Christian ministers who have enlisted during this war, +have enlisted into this branch of the service. They bear no arms, but +theirs is the highest of all service, that of ministering to the +wounded and dying. Such work as this requires heroism of the highest +order. + +Let us glance at each branch of the work, that the service of the Red +Cross may live before us. + +1. _Regimental Aid Posts._--Just a little behind the firing line, as +near to it as possible, often exposed to shell and rifle fire, is the +Regimental Aid Post. It may be in a cottage, possibly in a cow-shed, +perhaps only under the partial shelter of a hill, with a doctor and a +few men of the R.A.M.C. in charge. To it are brought as quickly as +possible the men wounded in the firing line. During recent months, +however, it has been impossible to bring the wounded even this short +distance during the day. It has only been at night that the men in the +trenches could remove their wounded hither, or the stretcher-bearers +could go out to seek for them. The fire has been so terrible that no +one could venture into the open. The men have had to lie where they +fell, often in agony, waiting until they could be carried to the aid +post to receive first aid from the doctor waiting for them. But the +doctor does not always wait; he goes where he is needed most, right +into the trenches, risking his life at every step, and there ministers +to those who cannot wait to be brought to him. + +The Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) vividly describes one such +outpost as I have indicated. + +"In the vicinity of the trenches star bombs were constantly being +thrown up, causing whole lines of trenches to be under the weird +flare. German search-lights swept the whole of the surrounding +country, bringing to light every movement of the troops not under +cover. + +"For one brief moment the shaft of light rested on me as I stood +watching the scene of battle. The experience is equal to an unexpected +cold douche. Night fighting under modern science is, I should +imagine, hell let loose, and the surprise to me is that so many should +survive the inferno. + +"From 8 P.M. to 8 A.M. the rush was terrific. In one of the field +hospitals no less than seventy odd wounded were treated, about twenty +of these requiring chloroform. + +"Be it remembered that each case is hastily but carefully dressed by +the regimental doctor at the Regimental Aid Post before coming in to +the field hospital for more thorough treatment, then one realises the +enormous amount of work that often falls to the men occupying these +positions of grave risk and tough work. + +"These gentlemen are night and day at the call of the man in the +trenches, and gladly make any and every sacrifice to render needed +medical and surgical assistance. Each trip they make to the line of +fire means that they carry their lives in their hands; for there is +more danger getting into the trenches than actually exists in the +trenches, because most of the fire passes over our trenches and sweeps +the approaches night and day. + +"Some few days ago, I had occasion to spend some time with a young +regimental doctor in his lonely outpost. We were drawn together by +common interests and promised ourselves a smoke night together. The +first case that met my gaze in the field hospital was my friend the +young regimental doctor, fatally wounded whilst going in the rush of +work to render help to the wounded. + +"Perfectly conscious, he said as he took my hand, 'You see, Padre, +they have claimed me at last. I always felt it would come.' + +"Calmly he dictated a brief message to his young wife and child, then +bravely waited for the end. He knew exactly the nature of his wound +and was quite prepared for the surrender of his soul to God. He +accepted his end as nobly as he had striven to do his God-inspired +work. The real tragedy of this is in the house yonder in England made +desolate by this cruel war." + +So does the Regimental Aid Post doctor give his life for his country. + +The Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins (Wesleyan) gives us another picture of a +Regimental Aid Post. + +"Near the trenches in a deserted farm by the roadside is the +Regimental Aid Post which last I visited. Two regimental doctors have +made it their headquarters--Captain Brown and Lieutenant Eccles--and +thither are gathered the sick and wounded belonging to the Manchester +Regiment and the East Surreys. I had been sent for to bury the dead. +As usual on such occasions, I went out with the bearers and ambulance +waggons after dark, and when I arrived I found three men waiting +burial. Two as they stood side by side had been killed by the same +bullet, the other had been shot whilst issuing rations to his comrades +in the trenches. + +"'You've timed your visit well, Padre,' said Captain Brown. 'There's +been a bit of an attack on. Enemy evidently got the wind up badly, and +have been loosing off wildly in the air. Bullets have been falling +around the house like hail; half an hour ago you couldn't have got to +us. One comfort is that if the bullets were falling here, they must +have been going high over the heads of our fellows.' + +"'Yes, we're ready for you as soon as ever the waggons are loaded, but +Eccles has a man of the East Surreys; perhaps the grave had better be +made bigger, and then you can make one job of it.' + +"A few minutes later we were passing through the farm-yard at the back +of the house, mud over our boot tops, into a field, in the corner of +which a little cemetery had sprung up. 'Twenty officers and men, most +of them Manchesters,' Brown said in an undertone. 'Winnifrith buried +three here last night, and two the night before. No, you need not be +afraid to use a light to-night. The weather is too thick for it to be +seen by the enemy, and in any case they're busy, for our fellows are +attacking. Listen.' Again the angry voice of the machine-gun, the +noise of rifle fire, so heavy that it sounded like the bubbling of +water boiling in some gigantic cauldron." + +2. We pass now to the _Field Dressing Stations_. It appears to be only +when the fighting is severe that these are needed in addition to the +Regimental Aid Posts. Sometimes the wounded are taken direct to the +clearing hospital from the Regimental Aid Posts; but when the wounded +crowd in upon the latter, they can only receive rough first aid +treatment there, and are passed back as quickly as possible to the +Dressing Station. + +This is carefully explained in a letter by Staff-Sergeant Barlow, +R.A.M.C., to the Vicar of Prestwich. "Perhaps it would be well to +explain where our work as a field ambulance comes in. We are not in +the sense of the word a hospital. In the first place a regiment is in +the trenches, and in close proximity to the trenches, the regimental +bearers carry their wounded to some place of cover or comparative +safety, such as a barn or farm-house, or in the case of a town being +shelled, cellars are used. These are called Regimental Aid Posts. + +"As a Field Ambulance we follow from one to two miles in the rear of +the firing line and form dressing stations, using schools or barns for +the purpose. Our ambulance waggons and stretcher-bearers go out under +cover of darkness to collect from the Aid Posts the wounded soldiers, +the waggons halting perhaps half a mile away, while the bearers cross +fields and roads to the Aid Posts where the wounded soldiers are. + +"This is very dangerous and requires much caution; lights are +prohibited, as even the flare of a cigarette becomes a good mark for +the enemy's snipers, of whom they appear to have many. + +"Each regiment forms its own Aid Post. One ambulance unit attends a +brigade. After the wounded are brought to the dressing station, the +wounds are redressed, and the soldiers are as soon as possible +despatched to the clearing hospitals at the base." + +Staff-Sergeant Barlow proceeds to describe his first impressions of +this awful work: + +"What were my first impressions? you may ask. They were such as I can +never forget. We were halted near a farm-house, the tenants of which +had cleared out, leaving fowls and pigs unattended. The pigs could not +have been fed for several days, as they were shrieking for food; we +called it crying. The pigs were fed with food from the lofts. Dinner +was served to the men (army biscuits and jam), in the midst of which +an order came for an ambulance waggon for a wounded man. + +"We were all astir, and it was the first casualty we had had to deal +with. The waggon went out, and later several stretcher squads and +other waggons. The remainder had to fall back about half a mile to a +small village to prepare a school and church for the receipt of the +wounded. + +"My first thoughts were: What is it like; shall I be able to stand the +sight of it? In the evening our waggons began to return, bringing many +wounded. The medical officers rolled their sleeves up and set to work. +My duty fell to assisting by taking off the dressings from the wounds, +the first one being that of a soldier with part of his elbow blown +away. It looked awful, but I got over it very well. Why? Because we +had not time to think of it. There were others to attend to, most +patiently waiting--and I think it is in such circumstances as these +that one can see the true pluck and courage of the British +soldier,--with here and there one pleading for attention. + +"Everyone worked hard; the hours passed as minutes, and when all were +attended and we looked in solemn silence around, I turned to a comrade +and asked the time. He answered it was after 4 A.M. I thought it was +midnight. We had dealt with 134 wounded, among whom were several +Germans. Under a shed in the school-yard lay five men who had died +after being brought in; they were reverently buried in the local +cemetery. Since this we have had worse and much of a similar nature, +but they have become a conglomeration of events. It is the first night +with the wounded that lives, and through it all a voice within me +continually saying: 'And this is war.'" + +3. Away behind the firing line, in some quiet spot unreached by shell +or rifle fire, is the _Clearing Hospital_. To this spot come the +ambulance waggons bearing their ghastly freight of broken bodies +gathered from Regimental Aid Posts and Dressing Stations. + +The doctors are busily at work. Night is their busiest time. We wonder +when the doctor at the front sleeps. We wonder with how little sleep +it is possible to support life. These men seem tireless. Hour after +hour through the night they toil on, probing here, amputating there. + +This is where we see in all its horror the meaning of that new word +"frightfulness." I cannot describe the scenes that may be witnessed. I +have before me, as I write, copies of _Guy's Hospital Gazette_ from +the beginning of the war, kindly supplied me by the Editor. It is +necessary that descriptions of the horrors should be written for +professional eyes, but I will not harrow the feelings of my readers. I +turn away from their perusal echoing the words of Staff-Sergeant +Barlow--"And this is war." + + [Illustration: A RESCUE PARTY. + Systematic search is made for the wounded, who often crawl away + in the hope of reaching their own lines. + _Drawn by Sydney Adamson._] + +I will rather let the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) describe to +us, as he saw it, the work at such a Clearing Hospital. + +"In the same ward were many wounded upon the floor stretchers, lying +still in their soaked and muddy clothes just as they had fallen, with +bloody bandages showing up in dreadful contrast against their poor +soiled bodies. Some delirious, others lying in profound silence, but +noble fortitude. In a ward like this one sees nothing but tragedy. + +"In the receiving room the R.A.M.C. officers were working at highest +pressure to save life and limb, by steady hand and cheery manner +imparting confidence and hope to every patient in turn. + +"I could not help expressing admiration for the way in which each +piece of work was carried out, but the officer commanding simply +said, 'You know, Padre, we cannot sacrifice enough for the man who is +standing up to this hail of hell for us.' + +"I was surprised to see such a large percentage of officers among the +wounded. No wonder our men are proud of their leaders; where risks +must be taken, the officer claims this as his privilege and thus shows +the way in every undertaking. One brave major leading his men into the +German trenches, when hit, simply shouted "Go on!" as he fell wounded +in the head. He is being buried to-day, as every brave soldier +desires, in his uniform and blanket." + +It will be perhaps as well to look at a similar scene through a +doctor's eyes, and I therefore quote a letter from a medical officer +at a receiving base in France published in the _Scotsman_. + +"We get the wounded here at practically first-hand. They are brought +in with all possible speed, dealt with at once, and sent out to other +hospitals as soon as we can send them, to make room for the others who +may (and who invariably do) come. They're wonderful chaps, those +Tommies. Great stuff; too good to lose! They are brought to us at all +hours. Exhausted, covered with mud, hastily but well bandaged on +common-sense principles; and aye the quiet, plucky grin, or the +patient, enduring set of the jaw. + +"'What price this little lot, doctor? '--and the querist indicates +where the bullet entered his thigh. 'And me futball leg, too!' growled +another one, brought in dripping one night. 'And who will do the +schorin' fur the ould tame now? All the same, sir, I schored ag'in' +the man that did this, or wan av his side.' Man, they're wonderful! +They tell us, under the nervous stress in which we usually find them, +some things that have made me wish to lay my eye to the sights of a +rifle, despite my bay windows. They tell them in such a +matter-of-course fashion, too, that they simply sink in. + +"'When did you get this?' I asked a man wounded in both thighs. + +"'Yesterday morning, at eight, sir; chargin'. Dropped between their +trenches an' ours. Half a dozen of others there too, all wounded, lay +there all day. Those snipers poured lead into anything that showed +signs of life. Chap next to me was badly hit, and inclined to move. I +warned him twice to lie flat an' not squirm, as the Germans were +watchin' for every move, an' would plug him, wounded or not. He stuck +it steady for four hours. Then he tried to roll over, an' showed a +shoulder. Got it. Soon's the snipers couldn't see me after dark, I +started to drag myself back, an' met some of the boys out to look for +us. It was more than seven to one against us that day.' And so it goes +on. + +"It's a great experience this. As a surgeon, I know its value. But I +wish it was over. It's awful. The stream of wounded seems unceasing, +and sometimes I ask myself, when I've time to realise it at all, how +long I will be able to meet this strain. We must do our work, however, +and I'm proud to do it for those grand men the Tommies." + +It is, of course, difficult to single out for mention the names of +doctors who are doing this heroic work at Regimental Aid Posts and +Dressing Stations. Where all are heroic particular mention would be +invidious. There is, however, one outstanding name--Lieutenant Arthur +Martin Leake, R.A.M.C. I mention him because he has been the +recipient of a unique distinction. He served through the South African +War and there won the V.C. for conspicuous bravery. Having won the +V.C. it could not be given to him again, and so a clasp has been added +to the Cross. + +The brief official record is as follows: + +"Lieutenant Arthur Martin Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was +awarded the Victoria Cross on May 13, 1902, is granted a clasp for +conspicuous bravery in the present campaign. + +"For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty throughout the +campaign, especially during the period October 29 to November 8, 1914, +near Zonnebeke, in rescuing while exposed to constant fire a large +number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy's trenches." + +So far as I know this honour is unique. Probably Lieutenant Leake +would say that he is no braver than scores of other doctors who are +nobly doing their work at the front, but he has had his opportunity +and he has used it, and by so doing has brought honour upon the whole +medical profession. Great is the man who fearlessly "takes occasion by +the hand" in the cause of humanity. + +When all that can be done for the men at the clearing hospitals is +accomplished, they are despatched to the rear. Those who, in the +opinion of the medical staff, can bear the journey to this country are +despatched thither direct via hospital train and hospital ship. The +majority, however, are taken to the base hospitals, where they lie +until they are well enough to be sent home, or death eases them of +their pain. + +In the early days of the war this transit to the base was difficult in +the extreme, and the wounded arrived there in a shocking condition. +It is as well, perhaps, that we should know what really happened, so I +copy a paragraph from _Guy's Hospital Gazette_ of November 7, 1914. It +is from a letter signed "G.H.F.G." + +"The train has just arrived and even now some few wounded are being +removed from the waggons, the gravest of all being given treatment in +an improvised hospital by the sidings, others less serious, though bad +enough in all conscience, are carried on stretchers to the central +goods shed, where the commandant, aided by a large staff of excitable, +bearded assistants, directs to what hospital they are to be sent. + +"For some minutes we watch the unloading of these waggons. Preceded by +orderlies the officer passes from door to door, entering some, and +questioning briefly the men lying full length or sitting in what +comfort they can upon the straw-covered boards. As the panel slides +back a fetid odour of pus reaches the nostrils; startled by the +unexpected brightness a couple of horses tethered at one end of the +truck stamp and whinney. Carrying an acetylene flare, which makes +weird effects of chiaroscuro on the bare walls and floor, an orderly +comes in and collects the histories of the men. One man, wounded in +the head, persists in taking him for a German, the others laugh and +point to their foreheads. A little further on, in second and +third-class carriages, men with arms in slings, and less serious body +wounds, crowd in the corridors and clamour for food and drink." + +What wonder after this that we are told that most of the wounds +received in those early days were septic on their arrival at the base +hospital? + +How different it all is at the present time! Now well-appointed +hospital trains move backwards and forwards from the clearing +hospitals to the base. For the first time we enter the nurse's sphere. +Everything changes when the nurse appears upon the scene. She loves +order. Cleanliness is her life. She is trained in all the little arts +of nursing which bring comfort and peace. She can do what no man can +do. The doctor is splendid at his own special work, the +stretcher-bearer, the ambulance man, and the hospital orderly at his. +But it remains for women to do what man can never do, and with her +light touch, and tender sympathy, to soothe and comfort and bless. + + When pain and anguish wring the brow + A ministering angel thou. + +The hospital trains are called "Kitchener's trains"--another tribute +to the great man who, from his room at the War Office, seems to +overlook everything and forget nothing. + +Miss Beardshaw, writing to her old hospital--Guy's--gives a +description of one of these hospital trains well worth reproduction +here. + +"Ours is known as the 'Khaki Train '--a Kitchener's Train; it is half +Great Eastern and half L.N.W. There are 220 beds, stretcher ones, two +layers. In between each carriage is a little department, a place for +plates, mugs, dressings, &c. The officers' and sisters' part is at one +end with their kitchen. Dispensary in the middle. Patients' kitchen +and orderlies' quarters at the other end. There are three medical +officers, one army sister in charge of wards A and B and the general +run of all our work. I have C, D, and E wards, and Miss Wilson has F, +G, H; a 'London' nurse has the three others. The army sister is an +old Guy's, so I think we shall be very happy together. There are +forty-five orderlies. The paint of the train white, bed frames dark +red, curtains green, and blankets dark brown, so the general effect is +very pretty. It is kept most beautifully clean, and the orderlies are +very proud of their train--the best on the line, they say. We go up +and down to the clearing station, so I am greatly looking forward to +seeing Sisters Kiddle and Ames. I do hope they will not be moved +before we get there. We often take convalescent patients about, often +to Havre. Have been between Havre and Rouen twice these last few +days." + +What a picture this gives us of organisation at its best! "Beautifully +clean!" Surely this is just what is needed, and we cannot wonder that +over sixty per cent. of the wounded are able ere long to return to the +firing line. + +4. And then after the journey in the hospital train _de luxe_, there +is the _Base Hospital_, with everything in perfect order, and all that +can be done for the wounded men. I have written about the work in the +base hospitals in the chapter on "Work at the Fighting Base." It is +not necessary, therefore, that I should linger here. I will, however, +add a tribute which the Rev. R. Hall (Wesleyan) pays to the nursing +sisters. Says Mr. Hall: + +"I must say a word about the nursing sisters. No braver and truer +women ever lived, kind and gentle and brave in the face of disease and +death. By day and night they watch and care for our comrades; many a +lad's dying hours are made more comfortable by the gentle touch and +loving word of these devoted women. + +"I heard one day that in another hospital seven miles away one of our +own men was dying. I went over and found that he was isolated; he was +dying of an infectious disease. He was in great agony. A sister stood +beside him, and was trying to comfort him and ease his pain, at the +same time the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. + +"I have been profoundly impressed by the work of this branch of the +Service. We forget sometimes that it is easier to face the shell and +the bullet in the excitement of battle than it is to watch hour by +hour and tend to those who are suffering from some deadly infectious +disease, or from some ghastly wound received in battle." + +Mr. Hall's tribute is surely well earned. In this war woman has been +as brave as man or braver. She has given of her best and dearest, she +has worked and prayed and endured. And away out there among our +wounded and dying, far from the excitement of battle, by day and by +night she has given herself--all she is and all she has--to the +service of her country. And in doing so she has earned the undying +gratitude of those to whom she has ministered, and of the land she +loves so well. + + * * * * * + +I turn now to consider another branch of Red Cross work at the +front--the treatment and prevention of disease. + +This has been the "healthiest" war ever undertaken by the British +Army. The great problem of all armies is how to keep out infectious +disease, and never before has the problem been solved. If still not +completely solved, it is certainly in the fair way to solution. + +In the campaigns of the forty years previous to this war the +proportion of sick to wounded was twenty-five to one, and of deaths +through disease to death by shot, shell, or bayonet, five to one. In +the South African War the proportion of sick to wounded was over four +to one. We all remember the terrible share that enteric had in the +wastage of that campaign. How the soldiers dreaded it. "Better," they +used to say, "three wounds then one enteric." + +Now enteric has almost entirely disappeared. Speaking in February 1915 +the Under Secretary of State for War said that so far during the +campaign there had been only six hundred and twenty-five cases in the +British Expeditionary Force and of these only forty-nine had died--a +percentage of deaths less than half as great as that among the victims +of typhoid in the forces still in this country. + +Of typhus and cholera there had not been a single case. Strange to +say, one hundred and seventy-five of the men had had measles, and +among these there had been two deaths. One hundred and ninety-six men +had had scarlet-fever and there had been four deaths. How far the +healthiness of the climate affects these figures it is difficult to +say, but it must be remembered that it has been a terribly wet winter. + +How far inoculation against typhoid has prevented the disease is also +an interesting question. The doctors have a note of victory in all +their statements on this subject, and the figures seem to justify +their satisfaction. + +Certainly preventive measures have counted for much. Early in the war +the medical officers of the various ambulances acted, so far as time +permitted, as sanitary officers, and in later days a well-organised +Sanitary Section has accomplished great things. The cleansing of +camps, the appointments of sanitary offices, the provision of baths, +and, generally, every possible attention to hygiene, have kept our men +exceptionally free from sickness, and no praise can be too high for +the men who have accomplished so much for the British soldier. + + [Illustration: ON THE MARNE. + The pet dog of a French regiment finds wounded soldiers and + brings the stretcher-bearers to them. This dog has learnt to + dig himself a hole when firing is going on. + _Drawn by E. Matania._] + +On the other hand, of frost-bite there have been over nine thousand +cases. It is questionable, however, if the vast majority of these +cases are really cases of frost-bite. Medical opinion inclines to the +view that most of these are a new disease known as trench foot, caused +by standing in the trenches with putties too tight and boots too +small. + +_Guy's Hospital Gazette_ publishes some remarkable figures. "On one +occasion a rifle brigade after marching fifteen miles went at once +into the trenches, and within forty-eight hours, over four hundred +were incapacitated through the foot trouble described in this report. +One hundred and eighty men of the Cameron Highlanders were in the +trenches without being relieved for eight days and only three suffered +from slight frost-bite. None of them wore anything upon their legs and +feet, except boots, which may explain the sparsity of cases." + +If this be so, then frost-bite of this description is also largely +preventable, and the recommendation of the doctors as to large, easy +fitting, and water-tight boots, less tightly bound putties, &c., will +prevent most of this trouble in future. + +On the whole, the country can congratulate itself very heartily on the +noble and successful work of the various Red Cross departments. The +doctors who have sacrificed their lives will not be forgotten, and +will be regarded as heroic as any officers who have led a charge from +the trenches. The nurses have earned a debt of gratitude we can never +repay. Nursing efficiency has gone far since "Our Lady of the Lamp" +moved with such tender dignity up and down the wards in the hospital +at Scutari. We would pay our tribute of admiration to the work of our +nurses in this war, and say, "Many daughters have done virtuously, but +thou--thou modern lady of the lamp--excellest them all." + +I must not close this chapter without a word about the well-appointed +hospital ships which ply backwards and forwards between the French and +British coasts, each with its doctors, nurses, and chaplains on board, +bearing a freight of suffering humanity, such as our coasts have never +seen before. Everything in order, everything in the way of comfort and +ease provided. It was a dastardly act to aim a German torpedo against +the _Asturias_. Fortunately the attempt failed, but what profit would +it have been if this life-giving ship had been sunk? Enough surely has +been done to take life. The object of such ships as these--ships which +cannot be mistaken for any others--is to woo back to life, until their +suffering humanity can be tenderly placed in the care of loving hands +and hearts at home. Here we are waiting for them, and here we have a +right to expect them, that, nursed back to health in the hospitals of +our land, they may, by and by, greet wife, and mother, and child, and +sweetheart in their own homes once more. + +But oh the cruel work of war! The legacy of broken bodies and broken +hearts! We look on, and look up to the City of God even now coming +down from God out of heaven. _Sursum corda!_ The hour of redemption +draweth nigh. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WITH THE GRAND FLEET + + Always "Ready, Aye Ready"--The Deciding Factor--One Hundred + and Fifty Chaplains--On the "Bulwark"--"The Church Pennant" + Postponed--Sunday on a Battleship--The Sailor and the Thought + of Death--Stories from the Fleet--From a Torpedo-boat--The + Shore Chaplain's Opportunity--Christian Bravery--"Save + Yourself; I'll let go." + + +Everybody is asking, Where is the Grand Fleet? And that is just what +the Germans would like to know. It has a marvellous facility for +appearing and disappearing. Occasionally we receive letters bearing +the address, "In the North Sea or elsewhere," and sometimes we think +it is more elsewhere than there. No postmark gives its location away, +no newspaper paragraph lets us into the secret. And then suddenly it +appears: + + Out of the everywhere into the here, + +and the Germans find to their dismay a part of it off the Dogger Bank, +and the sleepy Turk wakes up to find another part in the Dardanelles. + +It is like one of the mysterious powers of nature--unseen, but ever +exercising a powerful influence. Its existence is always felt--felt by +our foes with ever-increasing pressure, and felt by us with influences +always beneficial. + +It sleeps not and rests not. It is always "ready, aye ready." From +Admiral Sir John Jellicoe to the grimiest stoker, it is one in purpose +and in action. And because it is _there_, we sleep well in our beds at +night, and there are few of us, as we lie down to rest, but breathe a +prayer for those who seem never to rest-- + + "God bless our sons upon the sea." + +We have always been proud of our fleet, but never so proud as to-day. +It expresses the genius of our nation. Our way has always been "in +great waters." We talk of ourselves as "safe circled by the silver +sea," but the sea would not save us without our fleet. + +When the war broke out, we found ourselves asking, "How will it be +with us now?" With forty million mouths to feed and only six weeks' +supply of food in the country, how will it be with us now? + +Our fleet has solved that problem, and food has poured into the +country in plenty and everyone has been fed. It has been in every sea, +chasing our enemies off the ocean, protecting trade routes, convoying +troop-ships, and at the same time bottling up our enemies in their +harbours. + +Never was such a herculean task undertaken and never so well +performed. Battleships and cruisers, torpedo boats, and submarines, +all in their turn have done their work, and done it well. They are +waiting they tell us for "the day" of which the enemy boasted so much, +and when the day dawns they will be there. + +We realise that our fleet will be the deciding fact in this war. Our +soldiers have done splendidly and will continue so to do, but without +our ships they would be helpless, and if once we lose command of the +sea, the glory of our country will pass away. But we have no doubts +and no fears. They are _there_--and _here_--_everywhere_. + +The nation's gratitude has been shown in many ways during the war. +Busy hands have worked for it, and numberless prayers have risen to +God's throne on its behalf. As an instance of what has been done, I +quote the figures of "comforts" sent from _one_ girls' school to _one_ +ship--the _Ajax_. The school is the Girls' Grammar School, Bury, whose +headmistress is Miss J.P. Kitchener (a relative of Lord Kitchener). +Wristlets, 137; mufflers, 118; body bands, 120; socks and stockings, +35; sea boot stockings, 16; mittens, 142; jersey, 1; books and +magazines, 500. Of course all the articles, except the books, have +been made by the girls. In addition to these they have sent 1673 +articles to the soldiers. I wonder if this is a record for such an +institution? This, however, is only a specimen of what has been done. + +Somewhere with that mysterious fleet are a hundred and fifty +chaplains. No Free Church chaplains are afloat. It would be difficult +to carry more than one chaplain on a ship, and, of course, many of the +ships of war carry no chaplain at all. Where there is no chaplain the +commanding officer conducts the ship's service. Nonconformists at sea +have to lose for the time the ministry of their several churches, but +when in port landing parties redress this inequality. Some ships, +especially those belonging to Devonport, have a strong Nonconformist +element in their crews. + +The naval chaplain as a rule is an entirely different type of man from +his brother in the Army. He is monarch of all he surveys. He has to +face no competition in his work. He partakes of the freedom of the +sea. For the most part he is a right down good fellow, but, so far as +I can judge, he has not the type of spirituality of which we see so +much in the Army. He is all sorts of things rolled into +one--sea-lawyer, letter-writer, story-teller, lecturer, schoolmaster, +game-director, and a host of other things beside. He must be +absolutely sincere if he is to be any good at all, for he never gets +away from the busy life of the ship, and he of all men "cannot be +hid." Often he is the friend and counsellor of the men, sharing their +joys and sorrows. He is the go-between for officers and men, and if he +be efficient--and an inefficient man could hardly remain long on +board--he makes himself indispensable. + +Of course he shares all the dangers of the ship, and to-day if a ship +be beaten it is also sunk. Never were the dangers of the sea so great. +Dangers _on_ the sea, _under_ the sea, _over_ the sea, crowd around. +He never knows when or how suddenly the end may come, and it behoves +him to be ready, and brave. We are told that, when the three cruisers +were torpedoed in the North Sea, the Rev. E.G. Uphill Robson, chaplain +of the _Aboukir_, went down cheering the men he loved so well. The +Rev. A.H.J. Pitts, the chaplain of the _Good Hope_, died bravely with +Sir Christopher Cradock. A petty officer who knew him in another ship +says, "With him compulsory church was quite unnecessary. Nobody in the +ship would be absent from the service if he could possibly manage to +get there." + +One of the most terrible catastrophes of the war was the blowing up of +the _Bulwark_ in Sheerness Harbour. The Rev. G.H. Hewetson, the +chaplain, was on board and perished with the rest. He had only been +married a few months. + +"Only the other week," wrote a correspondent of the _Church Family +Newspaper_, "I met a stoker, who told me he, Mr. Hewetson, held +meetings for men every evening in his cabin, and he was constantly at +their elbow when spells from duty would permit, guiding them in 'the +things that matter.' It was also my privilege to know him as chaplain +to the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth, during his stay of nearly +three years, which terminated with his taking up duties on the +_Bulwark_ at the outbreak of war. He was a man of God, also a +sportsman of the highest tone, being an expert fencer, a runner-up in +the Army and Navy championships at Olympia two seasons ago. He was a +man of some literary ability, for which the Chaplain of the Fleet made +him editor of the _Church Pennant_, _i.e._ the Church magazine of the +Navy. Mr. Hewetson was an earnest believer in individual methods, and +invariably worked sixteen hours a day, visiting all recruits, +detention quarters, sick bay, and held no fewer than five services on +Sundays." + +I suppose we include our chaplains when we pray for those who "go down +to the sea in ships"; but surely these men who are there, not to +fight, but to preach and pray, claim a special interest in our +prayers. + +Prayers are read every morning on every large war-ship, and this is, +of course, the chaplain's duty, if one is carried in the ship. The +life and work of the day depends very largely on how this is done. + +On Sunday there is a sermon--just a quiet, homely talk from heart to +heart, and in these days we may well believe that men are thrilled by +the message as never before. Of course, during the winter storms +morning prayers on deck or Sunday parades are impossible, for many a +great green sea will break over the decks even of a super-Dreadnought. +At these times service is held below and men attend in relays. On some +of the super-Dreadnoughts there are little churches. The _Queen Mary_, +for instance, has one. + +I have asked a few representative chaplains to tell me something of +the spiritual work on board their ships. + +The Rev. C.W. Lydall, chaplain of the _Lion_, which took part in the +North Sea battle, says: "I can only tell you that in this ship our +religious motto has been 'business as usual.' I mean the war routine +has interfered as little as possible with our services, which have +been attended well. There has been a decided increase in the number of +communicants, and in many small ways the men have shown a fuller +consciousness of their dependence upon God." + +The Rev. Arthur C. Moreton, chaplain of the _Invincible_, which was +engaged in the battle off the Falkland Islands, writes: "The usual +services are held when practicable, and on Sunday and Wednesday nights +I have a prayer meeting with Bible-reading in my cabin." + +The Rev. M.T. Hainsselin, chaplain of the _Ajax_, writes: "The war has +made little or no difference to my routine of church work on this +ship. The only service I have added has been a second celebration of +Holy Communion in addition to the usual 7.40 A.M. one, to enable men +to come who could not be present earlier; and the opportunity has been +much valued. The other services of Morning and Evening Prayer are +continued as usual. + +"As you probably know, sailors do not as a general rule care much +about the Parade Service at 10.30 A.M., but I think I may truly say +that since the outbreak of the war they have come far more to realise +it as an act of worship due from them, and it has become a deep +reality instead of--as it was to many--a formality. + +"In the men's letters which I have had to censor, I have noticed a +very strong current of devout religious sentiment, hitherto +unsuspected, which encouraged me to think that one's ordinary teaching +is not so much wasted effort, as one is sometimes faithless enough to +think it is." + +How heavy the veil of secrecy hanging over the fleet really is, will +be seen from the fact that only one copy of the _Church Pennant_, +which lost its editor in the _Bulwark_, was issued between the +outbreak of war and Easter, and that in February last. The _Church +Pennant_ is the organ of the Naval Church Society, and records the +Christian work on board H.M. ships. Several reports of Christian work +are given in this solitary issue, but the names of the ships are only +indicated by initials. + +One report states that the place ordinarily used for celebrations and +evening service had to be given up to the doctors, but that Holy +Communion has been celebrated in the chaplain's cabin every Sunday. On +Christmas Day there were two communions and the number of communicants +was thirty-four. "The men in general are pleased to read religious +papers, and readily accept prayer cards." + +Another report says: "On board this ship we were able, in spite of now +and then roughish weather, to keep up our regular daily prayers and +Sunday services. On Sundays we had stand-up church and two hymns from +the hymn cards, and all the responses of Matins with one lesson and +one of the Canticles sung. We had the harmonium to sing to. These +services were brief, but very heartily joined in. After stand-up +Matins we were able always to have our celebration in the captain's +cabin--there being no other place in the ship available. The +attendance was very good and showed that the old prejudice against +coming so far aft is at any rate moribund. Sometimes the weather made +it a little difficult both for the priest and worshippers, but we soon +got used to the necessary balancing.... Everyone throughout the ship +was merry and bright; we only regretted not having a chance of meeting +an opposite number of the enemy." + +A third report is as follows: + +"First of all, nightly Evensong has been held by the chaplain ever +since the war broke out. On account of the smallness of our numbers, +we meet in the chaplain's cabin, and there the service is performed. +Every Sunday morning, at 7 o'clock, we have a celebration of the Holy +Communion; and on the second Sunday in the month this service is +repeated after morning service. Our flotilla forms rather a large +parish for the chaplain, and to supply its wants we have a service +specially arranged whenever it is convenient. After our usual 7 A.M. +service, we sometimes proceed on board another ship, and have a +celebration, to which all communicants from the other vessels in our +company are invited by signal. + +"The place allotted to us in each instance is the captain's forecabin, +which in this ship is as suitable a place as service conditions will +allow. On Sunday evenings we have Evensong at 8.30, followed by +hymn-singing, and occasionally we get a good attendance. But this, +like other services, suffers for want of good space, which is not +always easy to find on board ship.... + +"Conditions on board ship render any efforts with regard to church +work very difficult, and this is most marked during these trying +times. No doubt many more would join in our united devotions did their +duty allow. But we may well be content to go ahead and do the best we +can, even if it should be rather disheartening at times. And it will +be acknowledged that there has been at least some effort made to +continue our duty towards the Church of which we are so proud to +consider ourselves loyal members. Our daily evening service closes +with a prayer, in which all are remembered, and this is a means by +which all may help. We feel and know that those who are on shore are +doing the same, and praying for guidance and protection for us from +Him Who is above all this turmoil and strife, and Who alone is able to +preserve us from peril." + +Here is yet one more report: + +"Owing to the outbreak of the war the Temperance and Bible classes in +this ship have been discontinued, but the Daily Prayer Meeting has +been kept going in almost unbroken line. + +"The voluntary services on Sunday evenings have been well attended, +also the weekly celebration of the Holy Communion is very +encouraging." + +Putting the chaplains' letters and these various reports to the +_Church Pennant_ together, it is evident that the "business" of the +Church has been, so far as possible, carried on "as usual," and that +from a Church of England point of view it has been satisfactory. + +It does not, however, satisfy us. We want to get into the men's hearts +and minds and find out what they are feeling and thinking in these +strenuous times. Does the thought of death affect them? Have the +things of eternity become more real? Are they conscious of sin within, +and of their need of a Saviour? Light-hearted and merry as ever, have +they the joy of the Lord? + +All around them are terrible armaments. We are told that the 15-inch +guns of the new _Queen Elizabeth_ can send a shell weighing a ton for +a distance of more than twenty miles. The destruction which can be +wrought by one of these shells can be imagined when we read of the +havoc wrought by one such shell in one of the great forts of Antwerp. +It was not, of course, from a man-of-war, but its destructive force +would be the same. Says Sir Cecil Hertslet, our late Consul-General at +Antwerp: + +"Another of these great shells, weighing nearly a ton, fired from a +distance of about ten miles, rising three miles into the air, fell +upon the cupola of another of the great outer forts of Antwerp. It +went through the concrete roof of the fort, passed through the great +hall where the garrison of the fort was assembled; it went down to the +floor and lower still, and at last exploded, and with the explosion +swept away everything--forts, guns, garrison, disappearing." + +Are they conscious that they have such terrible engines of destruction +on board which on occasion they will use? Does the thought of it ever +appal them? Do they think that all around them are mines strewing the +North Sea, and that submarines are lurking here and there waiting to +launch the terrible torpedo? Do these thoughts ever come to a Jack +Tar, and how do they affect him? + + [Illustration: _Photo Credit, Southsea._ + A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP. + The church is "rigged" on the leeward side of a pair of 13.5 + guns. A most impressive service.] + +To the real Christian death has, of course, no terror. He swings +himself into his hammock at night, knowing that to him sudden death +will be sudden glory. But to the ordinary man-of-war's man has there +come an accession of seriousness, such as has come to the men in the +sister service? + +We can as yet only answer this question in part, and must wait for a +full answer until the veil of secrecy is lifted. + +And in order to get as full an answer as is possible we must turn to +the men themselves, and as we do so, we offer for all of them the +beautiful prayer which the Archbishop of Canterbury has put into our +lips: + +"O Thou that slumberest not nor sleepest, protect, we pray Thee, our +sailors from the hidden perils of the sea, from the snares and +assaults of the enemy. Steady and support those upon whom the burdens +of responsibility lie heavily, and grant that in dangers often, in +watchings often, in weariness often, they may serve Thee with a quiet +mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." + +We must remember that just as every regiment in our Army is to-day +leavened by Christian men, so is practically every ship in our fleet. +The work of our sailors' homes has been successfully done,--such +Homes, for instance, as those of Miss Agnes Weston, and the Homes of +the Wesleyan Church at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Devonport. + +The previous work of the Sunday-schools and of the Salvation Army has +also told, and the men have, many of them, become out-and-out +Christians. + +_They_ have no difficulty in speaking: + + What they have felt and seen + With confidence they tell. + +And theirs is indeed a fascinating story. They have a way of making +their presence felt. They cannot keep to themselves the love that has +been shed abroad in their hearts, and so they gather their comrades +round them, and have "good times" together, while God's blessing rests +upon their work. Sometimes they meet in the chaplain's cabin, +sometimes elsewhere, but night by night they meet, and in their own +way worship God. + +Let us listen to a few of their stories. They are most of them +Methodists or Salvationists, so we will turn to the Rev. J.H. +Bateson's reports in the _Methodist Recorder_ or _Methodist Times_, +and to the _War Cry_. + +Mr. Bateson says: + +"It is little that we know of our battleships in the North Sea. We +know that they are there, because the havoc of war is kept away from +our island home. The men, all Nelson's men, are doing their duty. A +letter from one of them will be read with interest: + +"'I must tell you we had a grand meeting last Sunday. We had thirty +present. More would have been there only we were rolling and pitching +heavily in a full gale, which lasted five days--the worst I have +experienced for many a year. Can you just try to picture us trying to +keep our feet and clutching at the piano (oh yes, we have one on +board), occasionally. We started off with, "All hail the power of +Jesu's Name," had prayer from our Blue Books, reading from Isaiah +xlii. 1-7, and a talk on the same, then "Rock of Ages," prayers, +"Nearer, my God, to Thee," Benediction, and Doxology. You should have +heard us sing! I'm afraid some of the home praise and prayer meetings +would be envious! This was our first attempt. I expect ere long we +shall have to have the meeting on the upper deck, for the numbers +will be too many for our enclosed reading-room. However, we intend to +keep the flag flying. 'Tis little we feel able to do, but we will do +our little best. It may, and should, have good results.'" + +Here is the account of another service sent home by an engine-room +artificer on one of H.M. battleships. + +"It is Sunday evening, the time about 7.30, when upwards of seventy +men may be seen sitting about the deck, under the fo'castle of one of +His Majesty's cruisers. Outside all is dark, one watch of men are +standing by the guns, trying to penetrate the darkness, in case of the +approach of the enemy. A watch of stokers and engineers is below, +humping the ship along. Another is resting, waiting for the time for +their next trick to come round. What do we see in the gathering of men +under the fo'castle? They have Sankey's hymn-books, kindly presented +by Miss Weston. In one corner is an harmonium, assisted by a couple of +violins. These supply the music. Presently a voice cries out, 'What +hymn will you have, men?' and the chorus of replies makes it difficult +to select one. This goes on for a while. Then all heads are bowed +whilst prayer is made. Our quartette party renders a few pieces, after +which ---- gives the address, and right fine it is. He has some +splendid topics, and, being a worthy Methodist local preacher, he is +listened to with rapt attention. Another suitable hymn, and the +benediction brings the service to a close. The roughness and +simplicity of the service would cause some people surprise. Yet the +shots get home. To hear the men sing is a treat not easily forgotten. +The writer was much impressed by the singing of the hymn, 'Some one +will enter the pearly gates by and by,' one side taking the question +and the other the answer. Once during the week about eight gather in a +cabin for Bible study and to talk of the things of God." + +What a picture these letters present of Christian life upon a +battleship! We could multiply them indefinitely, but must condense +instead. + +One young Christian sailor on a battleship tells of a Bible-class and +prayer-meeting, held every Thursday, conducted by a naval lieutenant. +Another tells of a Methodist class meeting on board conducted _twice_ +weekly. A third sends home the minutes of a meeting held by several of +the men, at which it was resolved to hold a meeting every evening to +be devoted to Bible study, except on Saturdays, when the hour would be +spent in prayer. The Bible study, it was resolved, should begin with +the Epistle to the Romans. We wonder if these sailor lads found any +difficulty in that difficult Epistle. It was further resolved that +every Sunday evening a Gospel meeting should be held, and that every +Christian brother should be expected to take part. And, finally, the +men's correspondent asks that Christian people at home will pray that +he and his comrades may witness a good confession, and that they may +tell forth "God's wonderful story of Christ's redeeming love." + +A naval officer who is a Wesleyan local preacher says: "We are still +going on well--class meetings in the cabin and meetings on the Sunday +night. Wouldn't it be fine to have all the Service local preachers you +could get for a service in the Central Hall after the war and the +platform full of Methodist sailors and soldiers?" + +Here is a touching little letter from a torpedo boat. It is full of a +simple trust in Christ, and pulsates with sweetest fellowship in Him. + +"The winter has been rather a trying one for us in this tiny little +craft, but really I never knew the companionship of a present Saviour +so thoroughly as I have since hostilities began. It would seem almost +as if I were His only care, and that He made me a special study. The +wonder of it all is the more marked when I remember how poor has been +my service to Him, compared with all the great benefits with which He +daily loads me. In answering my prayers, in subduing the storms just +when they were at their worst, in giving me a thorough victory over my +usual weakness, and in a thousand other ways He makes me to lie down +in green pastures, satisfied and at rest, contrary to all the seeming +laws of warfare. These things I tell you, not from any conventional +compulsion, but because they really are so, and because I should be +thrice unworthy of His name if I forebore to tell out what great +things He has done." + +I will quote one or two sentences, this time with reference to +Salvation Army work. A lance-corporal on board the _Centurion_ writes: + +"The chaps on board H.M.S. _Centurion_ expect much from us +Salvationists these youthful days. There are five of us on this ship, +and we are not only engaged in cheering up each other, but we are +distributing as much cheer as possible. Our ship is called the +'Hallelujah Ship.'" + +Another writes from the same ship: "We have had some glorious +soul-saving times." + +A Salvation Army sailor has been given permission by the commander to +conduct meetings on the upper deck of the _Majestic_. He tells us that +he is the only Salvationist on board that ship, but that there are +fifty Christian men there, and that others are giving themselves to +Christ. + +We hear of stokers coming up from the stoke-hole grimed with dirt, so +anxious to attend the services that they do not stop to wash, lest +they should miss the precious hour; of men praying in public who have +never prayed before; of heartfelt addresses delivered by men who had +no idea they could speak in public for their Master. + +There is no need, however, to multiply instances. We may take it for +granted that, in most ships, there is a little band of out-and-out +Christian men eagerly longing for spiritual fellowship, and finding it +in services to which they invite their fellows, and in which they have +the joy of leading many of their comrades to Christ. + +When a ship comes into port for a few hours there is the opportunity +for the shore chaplain. He holds services on board, distributes +"comforts," leaves behind him books and magazines, cheers the +Christian workers, and in his quiet way works wonders. And when the +men are permitted to come on shore what a welcome they receive at the +various Sailors' Homes, and hearts are gladdened and resolutions +strengthened, for the return to sea. The work at sea must be trying in +the extreme--the constant watchfulness, the eager waiting for the +enemy who never comes, the patrolling in the midst of winter tempests, +enough to try the nerves of the strongest--but all the time the +certainty that the old-time message will receive fresh illustration +each day--"England expects that every man will do his duty." + +The wooden walls have passed away, and steel walls have taken their +place, but the men are brave as of old--only better far and nobler. No +longer the scum of our seaport towns, pressed into the service against +their will, but men who are there because they choose and dare, and +who are willing any day to die for their native land. + +Christian bravery, too, is as much in evidence on sea as on land. Take +this little story as an evidence of that fact. It is full of the joy +of glad surrender for another. + +"A sailor who had just got converted at the Sheerness Hall, when he +rose from his knees at the mercy-seat, with the joy of salvation in +his face, said, 'I am glad to be saved. I was on the ---- (one of the +cruisers torpedoed) when she sank. I and another member of the crew, a +Salvationist, had been swimming about in the water for two hours or +more, and were almost exhausted, when just as we were about to give up +we saw a spar, made for it, and took hold. But, alas! it was not big +enough to keep us both afloat. We looked at each other. For a time, +one took hold while the other swam, and then we changed over. + +"'We kept this up for a bit, but it was evident we were getting +weaker. Neither of us spoke for a while, and then presently the +Salvationist said, "Mate, death means life to me; you are not +converted, you hold on to the spar and save yourself; I'll let go. +Good-bye!" + +"'And he let go and went down!'" + +When we have Christian men like that on our men-of-war, we need not +fear for our country, nor for the Kingdom of Christ. And so not only +now, but when the war is over let us pray: + + "O! hear us when we cry to Thee + For those in peril on the sea." + +I close this chapter with one more quotation. It is from the +_Methodist Recorder_. It may be a comfort to some who lost dear ones +in the _Hawke_, or in some of the other ships which have met a similar +fate. + +"On the Sunday before the _Hawke_ met her doom, one of our chaplains +conducted Divine service on the cruiser. As soon as he went on board +he was taken to the cabin of one of the warrant officers--a local +preacher--who is one of the few survivors of the disaster. About +thirty men gathered together. A few hymns were sung from the little +blue books, which have quite captured the sailors' hearts. The +chaplain read the latter part of Romans viii.--that great message of +inseparable love and glowing assurance. He then spoke from the words, +'All things work together for good to them that love God.' The men +listened most earnestly to the message. One of them asked that the +hymn--which has such sad but heroic associations,--'Nearer, my God, to +Thee' might be sung. The little service closed with prayer by the +warrant officer. As the chaplain shook hands with each man, one and +another said, 'Thank you, sir.' Arrangements were made to have another +service when the _Hawke_ next came into port. But that will never be. +To those whose hearts ache for the brave dead of the _Hawke_, there is +no sweeter message than that which was given to the men on their last +Sunday morning, 'All things work together for good to them that love +God.'" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK + + Church of England Army Chaplains' Work at the + Front--Permanently Commissioned Chaplains--Hospital + Ministrations--Six Parade Services on one Day--Holy Communion + in Strange Places--Services under Shell Fire--Tonic Effect of + Difficulties--The Work of the Free Churches--The Salvation + Army and the War--One Hundred and Thirty Best Rooms--A + General's Testimony--He Plunged down on his Knees--In + Belgium--At Hadleigh--Send them to the Salvation Army--S.A. + Patrols. + + +Readers of this book will be glad to have first-hand reports of +Christian work among our soldiers. I have therefore asked +representatives of the different churches and religious organisations +to give their own statements of the work attempted and accomplished. I +do not purpose, therefore, in this chapter doing more than presenting +to my readers the statements received, merely introducing them with a +few explanatory words. + +The first is the Church of England report. It is written by the Rev. +J.G. Tuckey, one of the senior Church of England chaplains at the +front, and has been prepared for me at the request of the Rev. E.G.F. +Macpherson, the senior Church of England chaplain. Mr. Tuckey has had +long experience of army work. He served through the South African War +with distinction, and has served throughout the present war. Few know +the British soldiers better than he. + +I preface his report with a brief extract from a letter received from +the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson and dated March 8, 1915. He says: "We are +kept very busy. In addition to my work in Boulogne, I have to keep in +touch with Church of England chaplains at the front, and on the lines +of communications. I went up to Ypres the other day, they were +shelling the place, and I nearly got a shell in my car. + +"The Church of England has a large number of chaplains at the front, +and they are doing splendid work for God. Their number, though, makes +it difficult for me to keep in touch with them all." + +But now for Mr. Tuckey's report. + +"You ask me about the Church of England work. Where am I to begin? How +tackle it? It is so vast. As to number of chaplains, all details can +be seen by reference to the _Army List_. It will be noticed that the +very vast majority of permanently commissioned chaplains belong to the +Church of England. The Presbyterians are now the only other body which +has permanent commissions. The Roman Catholics do not now allow their +men to accept them. They are only appointed temporarily for five +years, and even if re-appointed can never rise above the rank of +captain. This, of course, makes no difference to the Roman Catholic +chaplains appointed before the new regulations, but they will +gradually die out. As no doubt you know, the Wesleyans were offered +four commissions and refused. But though we have such a relatively +large number of chaplains to the forces, the work is so great that it +has to be supplemented by a very considerable and increasing body of +acting chaplains. + +"Permanently commissioned chaplains are divided into four classes, +the chaplains therein ranking as colonels, lieutenant-colonels, +majors, and captains respectively. + +"Now as to the distribution of Church of England chaplains on active +service. They may be roughly divided into two classes: + +"(1) Those with hospitals at the Base or on lines of +communication--these hospitals being of three kinds, namely, general +hospitals, the largest which are not moved; stationary hospitals, +which are supposed to be mobile; and casualty clearing stations for +receiving the sick and wounded from the front and forwarding them to +stationary or general hospitals, whence they can, if necessary, be +conveyed to England in hospital ships. + +"(2) Those with Field Ambulances. By this term we should understand +Field hospitals which receive the sick and wounded from their advanced +dressing stations, which in their turn receive them from the First-Aid +Posts just behind the firing line. + +"To these two classes have recently been added another, namely, Senior +Chaplains of Army Corps, whose duty it is to advise and direct +chaplains of the divisions composing the corps in their work. For +instance, I am now senior chaplain of the Third Army Corps. + +"I have now been in each one of these three classes, for I came out +with number four general hospital, though I was with them subsequently +for only a very short time. + +"The work of class (1) consists principally of ministering to the sick +and wounded, holding services when possible, especially on Sundays, +and giving the patients and staff frequent opportunities of the Holy +Communion and other ministrations. It may often happen that chaplains +of this class may find troops near to them, who are away from their +own chaplain. It will then be their duty to minister to them so far as +they possibly can. They, of course, also have to conduct many +funerals. + +"As to the chaplains of class (2), the Field Ambulance will be the +centre from which the chaplain should work in his brigade, and such +divisional troops (R.A., R.E., &c.) as are included in the brigade +area. + +"I was for some time with the Eleventh Field Ambulance in the Fourth +Division, and as I was the senior chaplain in that division, the +general asked me to take over the arrangement of things. My plan was +that each chaplain in his area should endeavour to hold five or six +large central parade and other services on Sundays, with perhaps +celebrations of the Holy Communion after two of the ordinary services. + +"Then, chaplains give special attention to particular units on +weekdays. Here all days are alike and so are all times. So I would +arrange with the commanding officer, and would set out on horseback +carrying the requisites for the Holy Communion, for I always, when +possible, had a celebration after the ordinary service. My servant +would ride behind me with the service books. In this way it was +possible to cover the ground in the division fairly well, and to see +that each unit had its due. + +"The ordinary services were taken usually in the open air, though +sometimes some large building, a barn, schoolroom, or shed was +available. Whenever it was practicable I had the Holy Communion +indoors, and for this service I invariably put on my surplice. I have +had to celebrate in many strange places--in lofts, kitchens of +farm-houses, engine sheds, stables, and even in a slaughter-house. But +there has been a devotion and a spiritual uplifting in these most +unwonted surroundings which have been good to see, and officers and +men have come to the Holy Communion in large numbers with a reverence +and an evident longing for communion with God which one does not +always see, even in the most splendid churches at home. + +"When my stay in the Fourth Division was drawing to a close, Mr. Hall, +whom you probably know, the Wesleyan chaplain at Chatham, was posted +to the Eleventh Field Ambulance, and came to live with me at my +billet. He and I did a great deal of work together, and he would tell +you about it, for he is at home now. I shall never forget how we went +together one night to a certain battalion which was going into the +trenches the following day. We first had the ordinary evening service +in an underground place, and afterwards there was the Holy Communion, +to which came 122 officers and men. The room in which we were gathered +was very dim, and we felt very deeply the immense solemnity of the +hour. + +"It was all very wonderful and very beautiful. During the actual +administration, the commanding officer walked behind me with a +lantern, up and down the rows of kneeling men, so as to make sure that +all were cared for. + +"We did not reach our billet until after eleven o'clock that night. +The next day some of those who had made their communion on the +previous night were killed in action. + +"Very often our service had to be conducted under shell fire. I recall +one amongst many instances. I was taking a service one weekday +morning for a battery in the garden of a house at Houplines. A great +number of shells went over us while the service was proceeding. +Afterwards we had the Holy Communion in the house. During the service +the houses on either side of ours were struck, and, finally, at the +close there was a deafening crash and we found that the house in which +we were had been hit, though not much damage was done. + +"These circumstances of difficulty and danger seem to bring out the +very best that is in men, and I have been immensely impressed by the +craving for spiritual help shown by both officers and men, and their +gratitude for anything I could do for them, as well as by the humble +reverence and real devotion of all ranks. + +"There are, of course, many other sides of a chaplain's work: the +ministrations to the wounded and dying in the hospitals, and advanced +dressing stations of the Field Ambulance, the burial of the +dead--often at night and in strange weird circumstances--the visiting +of men in the trenches when feasible, the writing of letters to +relatives, the censoring of letters, and a number of other duties. + +"It is often in a strange sort of place that one witnesses a poor +fellow's last dying testimony, in some cellar possibly, where a +wounded man has had to be conveyed so as to be safe from shell fire. + +"In times of comparative quiet, and when troops are resting, I +consider it most important that chaplains should try to organise some +directly spiritual work, and also recreation daily during the trying +hours after dark, until men have to be in their billets. For instance, +in this place we have a room and a hall; in the room we have a +Bible-class each evening, while in the hall there are papers and +games, coffee can be procured, and there is an impromptu concert every +evening. We have a stage with footlights, and a serviceable piano. On +Sunday evenings there is a well-attended voluntary service there. Both +places are well warmed and well lighted, with plenty of seats and +chairs. This is most important. + +"One great difficulty under which the Church of England has to labour +in this country is that, with very few exceptions, the Roman Catholic +ecclesiastical authorities will not allow us to use their churches. +This is, I think, to be deplored, and I cannot understand how people +can worship comfortably in their churches, while they know that +fellow-Christians are obliged to hold their service in the open air, +in cold discomfort, or in some quite unsuitable and mean building. + +"Possibly, however, it is for our good that we should have these +difficulties. These difficulties and trials are perhaps a tonic for +our spiritual life. And after all we learn what every campaign has to +teach us, and what I was first taught in South Africa, that often the +truest worship can be offered in most uncongenial surroundings; and I +have been myself strengthened and helped, and I have marked the +reverence and devotion of officers and men at some service beneath the +sombre skies of Flanders, or it may be in some comfortless or even +squalid building. + +"Out here one realises more what things really matter, and how to +distinguish the essential from the unessential. One has so much to be +thankful for and so much to help, strengthen, and inspire." + +Hitherto I have given Mr. Tuckey's statement in his own words. Nearly +all the rest does not concern the public, but ere he closes he +acknowledges gratefully the kindness of the Archbishop of Rouen in +allowing him the use of two churches or chapels, and speaks most +appreciatively of the hospitality of some of the _curés_. We may hope +and pray that he may be long spared to do such glorious work as his +statement indicates. + +Our next report is from the pen of the Rev. E.L. Watson. + +Mr. Watson is the senior chaplain at the front representing the United +Army and Navy Board. This Board, recently formed, comprises the +Baptist and Congregational Unions, and the Conferences of the +Primitive Methodist and United Methodist denominations. Until the +outbreak of the war, Mr. Watson was minister of the Baptist Church at +West End, Hammersmith. His report has been written at the request of +the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland. I omit from it a few sentences covering +ground already dealt with. + +"The task that Great Britain has in hand is of such magnitude that the +demand for fighting men is without parallel. Proud we are of the fact +that every individual man now in the greatest army that Great Britain +has ever raised is serving of his own free choice, and happy indeed to +be of service to his King and country in the hour of need. + +"This great body of men is necessarily composed of many types, drawn +as it is from all quarters of the British Empire, and representing +every political opinion and all religious denominations, but +co-operating in perfect unity. + + [Illustration: A FIGHT IN THE AIR. + _Drawn by Christopher Clark._] + +"Every provision has been made for the material comfort of the men, +especially those in the firing line. Transport arrangements are in +themselves a marvel, every modern appliance being requisitioned for +the purpose. Letters and parcels can be received and posted every day +if necessary. In like manner, also, is fresh food supplied, thus +saving any unnecessary privation. + +"Equipment is also as perfect as British science and common sense can +make it. In these and many particulars the British Army has the +reputation of being one of the best fed and equipped armies in the +field, whilst the spirit of the men is recognised as second to none. + +"Not only has the War Office spared neither expense nor pains to place +everything that is essential within the reach of the average soldier, +but it has also recognised the necessity of keeping the men in touch +with those spiritual influences that count for most in the British +soldier. + +"To meet this spiritual need a new army of chaplains, in addition to +those already in the regular list, has been appointed and sent forth +with befitting rank to minister to their respective denominations. The +field is a wide one and unreservedly open to the individual chaplain +simply to care for his men as he may see best. Where desired and +possible every facility is given to the men to attend the means of +grace. It is also placed on record in the King's Regulations that, +without distinction, every assistance is to be given to the chaplains +in the performance of their duties. + +"Regimental work where possible is always a satisfactory task, for the +fortunate chaplain is then always identified with the men of his +regiment, thus getting to know each individual as in a regular +congregation. + +"Brigade work is more difficult because of the number of regiments and +width of operations, but even in this the work is within the reach of +the brigade chaplain. The most difficult and almost impossible task +falls to the lot of a Nonconformist chaplain who has charge of the +whole of a division. Besides the three brigades there are the masses +of men in the divisional troops. Under some circumstances the division +may have an area of some three miles of front and reaching back some +ten miles to the rear. + +"To cover this ground and get into touch with my men scattered +throughout the whole of the division and keep in touch with them is my +task. The demands are so great upon time and capacity that I simply +have to shoulder as much of the work as strength allows and pray God +that my very best may count for most. + +"For instance, there are three large and active field ambulances +operating in the division, where it will be remembered that most of +the collecting of the wounded is done under cover of darkness. +Consequently the dressing and operations are carried out immediately +upon their arrival, the cases rarely remaining more than a few hours +in a field hospital, being of necessity hurried away to the base +hospitals. Thus the time for visiting the sick and the wounded is +limited. + +"There are letters to be written for the badly hit men to the loved +ones at home. There are the dying to be comforted and pointed to the +Saviour. A word of cheer to be spoken to all. It is indeed in the +field ambulance where valuable service is rendered to men and staff +in a hundred ways. + +"To keep in touch with most of our men thus passing through the +ambulances, each ambulance operating in a different centre, +necessitates from four to six hours' duty each night. + +"Besides the work of the hospitals there are pressing day duties to be +performed. Burials must receive attention. Regiments must be visited. +Many calls are received from anxious and troubled men. Even the firing +line claims attention at times in the performance of duty. Wherever +the men are standing to their duty and where the greatest service +could be rendered there I have striven to be. Identification with the +men is the key-note of a chaplain's work. He shares in the +recreations, pleasures, dangers, and sorrows of his men, and is looked +upon as the soldier's best friend. + +"The strain is incessant, but the work is most encouraging and filled +with unequalled opportunities. + +"The men prove responsive to the spiritual touch and take full +advantage of the means of grace and communion afforded. + +"The circumstances of the front bring one into closest touch with the +men in such a way as is not possible at home, and it is indeed a joy +and a reward to feel that one is helping to keep the men in touch with +the faith and spirit of their fathers." + + * * * * * + +The public imagination has been touched by the part the Salvation Army +has played in this great struggle. Its contribution to the fighting +line and to organised works of mercy has been striking. I am grateful, +therefore, to General Booth for the opportunity of including in this +volume an authorised account of the Salvation Army's war work, +prepared by Brigadier Carpenter. + +"It is impossible to give in the brief space available anything +approaching a comprehensive idea of the work the Salvation Army is +accomplishing in the various new situations created by the war. The +more outstanding features of its activities can be summarised, but +such a statement appears--as do statistics to a lay mind--cold, +lifeless, uninteresting, whereas the tangible facts which they +represent glow with life and beauty and inestimable worth. + +"On the outbreak of hostilities General Booth held conferences with +his chief officers at headquarters in London, to determine upon what +lines of action Salvationists would be of most service to the +authorities and the people in the national crisis. + +"Our naval and military homes at Harwich, Chatham, Plymouth, and +Dover, and as many of our social institutions and halls as might be +found necessary, were placed at the disposal of the government; those +not taken for military requirements were offered to local governments +for use as relief and industrial centres. + +"With the formation of the Expeditionary Forces, General Booth +dispatched to the continent a contingent of officers to minister to +the troops in any way that might be found possible. These officers +were placed under the direction of Brigadier Mary Murray, Secretary of +our Naval and Military League. It might be mentioned that the +Brigadier is a daughter of the late General Sir John Murray. Miss +Murray went through the South African war at the head of a Salvation +Army Red Cross contingent, and for her services was awarded the South +African medal. + +"When the Prince of Wales Fund was inaugurated, Salvation Army +officers were appointed to most of the local committees formed in the +country, their close touch with the poor and their willingness and +practicality rendering them of great assistance in the wise +administration of the funds. In many centres, Leagues were formed for +looking out and caring for the wives and families of soldiers and +sailors. The women are visited in their homes, difficulties concerning +their allowances and other matters are straightened out; they are +invited to cheerful meetings held at regular intervals at the Army +halls, and when the sad news of disaster or death comes with its +paralysing sorrow into their homes, the Salvationist is at hand with +words of comfort and deeds of helpfulness. + +"One of our first calls to serve the troops of the new Army was in +Wales, when the men poured in from the valleys to enlist. Until these +men passed the final attestment and had been enrolled, they were not +under government responsibility, and arriving in such numbers as they +did they could not be immediately dealt with. The Military Commander +at Cardiff, explaining the difficulty in an evening paper, requested +help. Within an hour of the edition leaving the press the Salvation +Army had offered to cope with the emergency, and by six o'clock the +next morning had actually commenced operations. The Council Cookery +schools were handed over to us, and during the following days hundreds +of men were suitably provided for. Not only were their temporal needs +supplied, but our officers did much in the direction of advising and +helping the men in an endless variety of ways. New Testaments and +religious literature were distributed amongst them and their letters +despatched to friends at home. + +"More than 13,000 Salvationists have rallied to the Colours. Knowledge +of the temptations and discomforts to which these men, in company with +hundreds of thousands of their comrades in arms, are likely to be +exposed in camp strongly appealed to General Booth, who determined +upon providing as far as possible 'home away from home' for them. Thus +there are over 150 halls and rest rooms provided for the use of the +troops. + +"During the warm weather the work was carried on under canvas, but +with the approach of winter the marquees were replaced by wooden +buildings. The men may procure wholesome refreshments, read good +helpful literature, write and converse with the officers in charge; +and in the evenings bright, interesting meetings are conducted. +Attached to many of these rest houses is an authorised post office. At +some of our huts bathing accommodation has been provided. The rest +centres are in charge of experienced married men, and the presence of +a good sympathetic, practical woman amongst the troops is of untold +value. The wife, ready for any emergency, 'mothers' the men, +corresponds for them with wives, parents, and sweethearts, advises +them on a multitude of questions. She prescribes for their minor +ailments, does bits of mending and various other little kindnesses, +which all appeal to the best side of the men. These officers, as a +rule, have some knowledge of First Aid, and cases of slight mishap are +frequently ordered to the Salvation huts. + +"The troops bear hearty testimony to the blessings these havens of +rest and happiness have proved to be. Lord Kitchener himself has +expressed appreciation, and there have been many other most generous +expressions from highly placed officers regarding the Army's efforts +on behalf of the men. A general commanding one of the great camps +said, 'Please do not thank me for arranging sites for your buildings; +it is for me to thank General Booth and the Salvation Army for +rendering us such service. I know the value of the spiritual and moral +influence which the workers of the Salvation Army exercise over the +men.' The senior chaplain of a great camp applied for Salvation Army +officers to go and work amongst the troops, and himself defrayed the +cost of supplying and equipping a marquee for the purpose. 'Your men +go for the soldier's soul; that's why I want them,' he said. + +"The value of over 13,000 Salvationists scattered amongst the troops +and the fleet can only be faintly suggested here. A Salvationist is +trained, from the moment he kneels at the penitent form, to confess +Christ by his life and testimony; and never has he taken a braver +stand than he is doing to-day in the barrack-room, on ship deck, and +in trench. + +"The following incident, which has been multiplied a thousandfold, +illustrates the power of example. A rough, illiterate Salvationist +found himself in a barrack dormitory for the first time. Cursing, +swearing, and ribaldry were going on all around him amongst a crowd of +half-drunken, hilarious men. He knew he should kneel and pray, but +never before did he understand the full significance of the Salvation +Army song he had so often lustily sung: 'I'll stand for Christ, for +Christ alone.' Surely it would be easier to go into action than to +kneel and pray in such company! He turned hot and cold by turns, then +decided: 'Here goes,' and plumped down upon his knees. A few whistles +and jeers, a boot, a pillow followed, but he did not move. The +cursing gradually died away and there was silence in the room. + +"Next day several men sought him out to confess that they, too, were +Christians, but had not dared to face that fire alone. Next night +several of them knelt to pray unmolested, and by degrees the +Salvationist became the conscience of the company. A military officer +of high rank remarked to one of our leading men the other day: 'I +really did not know the Salvation Army until the war, but I have +watched your men. Now I deliberately place Salvationists with the +wilder of our spirits, and invariably find that after a week or two +the tone of the company has noticeably risen.' + +"During rest time at the front, Salvationists hold meetings behind +their guns and at their trenches. These 'unofficial chaplains' have +won many souls for Christ. During the coldest weather of this winter +some took off their greatcoats for their mates to kneel upon, and +there, within sound of the enemy's fire, they pleaded with their +comrades to turn from sin and seek the Saviour. One night twenty-two +men responded to this invitation. + +"The authorities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have appointed +Salvation Army officers as regular chaplains to the troops and +conferred military rank upon them. These officers are serving with the +Expeditionary Forces in Egypt and elsewhere. + +"In this country and at the base on the continent special facilities +have been granted to us for visiting the wounded in hospitals and also +the prisoners of war. Services are conducted in the German language, +and literature of that tongue is distributed amongst the German +prisoners by Salvation Army officers who have been engaged in our work +in the Fatherland. + +"It is an interesting fact that sufficient men to form an entire +battalion were recruited from our social institutions. Without +exception, these men came to us in a state of complete physical +unfitness. Drink and exposure, and in many cases other vices, had +robbed them of all the spring and confidence so necessary in the +soldier. After several months of good food, steady occupation, and the +message of cheer which our homes bring to their inmates, these men, so +recently the country's waste, marched out to serve their King and +country. Two of the number from one Home formerly held commissions in +the regular Army, but lost them through intemperance. Both were +Reinstated. One clever fellow, speaking several languages, was +attached to the Intelligence Department. + +"To our home-loving nation one of the saddest circumstances of the war +is the depopulation of Belgium. General Booth with his officers was +among the first to come forward with offers of help when the destitute +and stricken people poured into our country. Three of our homes in +London were at once thrown open to receive them, and at port towns, +such as Folkestone and Cardiff, where the refugees arrived in such +numbers that they could not be distributed, accommodation was provided +for thousands in buildings adapted by the Salvation Army officers. The +refugees sheltered in one of our London homes despatched a message in +French to His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace, expressing +profound thanks for the kindly reception they had been given in +England, and for the way the 'Armée du Salut' was caring for them. + +"The value of this effort has been fully recognised by the government, +and a communication from the Local Government Board on the subject of +the Army's work was expressed in the following terms: 'I am directed +by the Local Government Board to express the Board's appreciation of +the action of the Salvation Army, and its officers, which has been of +great assistance to them in dealing with the situation, which for a +time presented considerable difficulties.' + +"The assistance to the Belgian people was not confined to those in +England. General Booth despatched an experienced officer to Belgium +with orders to visit every centre of Salvation Army work in that +country. He succeeded in his mission and placed financial help with +the brave officers who had refused to leave their posts, though many +of them were right in the battle area, and had been exposed to the +utmost personal danger. Thus assisted, they were enabled to succour +hundreds of most deserving and starving people, and to continue their +spiritual ministrations to the people who clung to them for comfort +and support in their terrible experiences. + +"A work of first importance was also undertaken by the Salvation Army +at the request of the Belgian government, viz. the care of the wounded +Belgian soldiers in this country. When fit to leave the hospital ward, +the hospital authorities in whatever part of the country the soldiers +were being nursed--from Aberdeen to Plymouth--communicated with our +headquarters in London. The men were brought to the Metropolis under +Salvation Army escort and provided for by our officers until they were +fit to return to military service, or to civil life should they be +permanently incapacitated. Our land and industrial colony at Hadleigh +in Essex has proved to be a veritable boon as a convalescent depot for +these brave men. More than 8000 Belgian soldiers in this way have +passed through our hands. The efficiency of the arrangements for the +comfort and well-being of these men has earned unstinted praise from +the officials concerned of both the Belgian and our own governments. + +"On one of the worst nights of this winter a party of 200 Canadians, +Belgians, and a number of Russians arrived from across the Atlantic to +join the forces. They had no place to go to. 'Send them to the +Salvation Army' said the military authorities, and to the Salvation +Army they came. Coming in such an unexpected number in addition to the +hundreds of Belgians already under the Army's roof, they presented +something of a problem, but a little rearrangement soon enabled us to +warmly house and feed them all. The next night seventy more arrived +and were similarly cared for. + +"Salvationists are a poor people. Their only riches consist in love +and power to serve. Nevertheless, out of their scant means they +contributed between three and four thousand pounds to the Prince of +Wales Relief Fund, and also raised a further £2500 for the purchase +and equipment of a Motor Ambulance Unit consisting of five cars. The +unit is manned by Salvationists. It is no new thing to send ambulance +brigades to the front at war time, but it _is_ a new thing to see that +they are all conducted by Christian men. + +"The cars have splendidly stood the severe tests imposed upon them, +and the men in charge have borne themselves so well that they have +become known as 'The White Brigade.' No drinking, no smoking, no +swearing amongst them; always on time and carrying out the orders of +the medical staff with the utmost satisfaction, it is not to be +wondered at that our officer in command of the unit was promoted to +the charge of a section--with the management of twenty-five cars. A +second unit of six cars was despatched to France in February, with +which Her Majesty Queen Alexandra was pleased to identify herself by +personally dedicating the cars--now known as the 'Queen Alexandra +Unit.' + +"Apart from the work of the ambulance party, Salvation Army officers +are exerting themselves for the comfort of the troops in the battle +area and at the base hospitals. At Boulogne, Rouen, and Paris our +women officers are continually visiting the wounded. In Paris alone, +they visit seven hospitals for the British wounded. Hundreds upon +hundreds of letters have been written to anxious relatives and +friends, and where husbands have been in distress about their wives in +ill-health or poverty at home, a swift message across the channel has +been sent to our officer in the town mentioned, who has gladly gone to +comfort and assist the distressed ones concerned, and our Army sisters +have received scores of 'last messages' to wives and children as the +brave fellows have been passing away. Testaments, papers, stationery, +and chocolates are distributed, and a thousand and one of those gentle +heart ministries peculiar alone to women, whose hearts are filled with +love to Christ, are performed. Every week two large sacks of clothing +made by Salvationists in England are sent to the visiting officers in +France for distribution amongst the men. + +"At Boulogne, Le Havre, and Abbeville rest rooms, similar to those in +Great Britain, have been established. + +"Passing mention must be made of the patrols of Salvation Army +officers at the great London railway stations, such as Waterloo, +Victoria, &c. The special work of these officers is to care for men +stranded on Saturday and Sunday nights. Rooms have been opened in the +neighbourhood where the men are provided with blankets and +refreshments. Some of the men, whose troubles have resulted from +drink, have been led to renounce their drinking habits. + + [Illustration: _Drawn by Paul Thiriat._ + IN THE FORÉT DE LA NIEPPE. + An English private and a French sergeant bind each other's + wounds, and then faint from loss of blood. Both were rescued, + being discovered by a dog.] + +"In this brief review reference has largely been confined to the +Salvationists in Great Britain in connexion with the war. This serves +as an index of similar efforts which are being actively carried +forward by Salvationists in every part of the world, especially in +France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and +even in Germany. They are caring for those reduced to poverty as a +result of the war, caring for the wounded, succouring the refugees, +and lending the hand of help in many other ways. + +"We are unable to more than mention the splendid service rendered by +Salvationists in the United States, who organised what was termed an +'Old Linen Campaign'; 300,000 articles for the wounded--comprising +bandages, pads, &c.--in a large variety have already been made up, and +after being sterilised and labelled, sent forward to France, Belgium, +and Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF WORK AT THE FRONT + + Church of Scotland Commissioned Chaplains--One Hundred + Civilian Ministers of Scotland Offered Their Services--The + Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray's Report--Many Forms of Service at + the Front--From No. 10 General Hospital, Rouen--The French + Decorate Our Soldiers' Graves--Report of the 1st Echelon + General Headquarters--A Chaplain's First Lesson--After Neuve + Chapelle--The Work of the Y.M.C.A.--A Breathlessly Summoned + Council--Six Hundred Centres--A Glorious Nine Months. + + +I am indebted to the Rev. J.A. McClymont, D.D., V.D., Convener of the +Church of Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains, for the following account of Presbyterian work at the +front. It will supplement and bring up to date references to the work +of this great Church in the earlier chapters of this book. + +"Before the outbreak of the war six ministers of the Church of +Scotland held commissions as regular military chaplains, and all of +them, along with four of our Indian chaplains, who accompanied their +regiments from the East, are now serving with the Expeditionary Force. +The names of the former are Revs. W.S. Jaffray (1st Class), J.T. Bird +(1st Class), F.W. Stewart (3rd Class), A.R. Yeoman (3rd Class), J. +Campbell (3rd Class), and D.A. Morrison (3rd Class); of the latter +the names are Revs. G.E. Dodd, Andrew Macfarlane, G.C. Macpherson, and +J.H. Horton McNeill. In addition to these, about two hundred civilian +ministers of the Church have offered their services as chaplains at +the front. Among them are many eloquent preachers, many distinguished +scholars, and not a few accomplished athletes. Some have had valuable +experience as chaplains in the Territorial Force, or have served as +combatants in that force or in the Officers' Training Corps, while +others can produce evidence of experience and skill in connexion with +the Red Cross Society, the Boys' Brigade, or the Boy Scouts. Some of +them can preach in Gaelic, others have a knowledge of French and +German and other continental languages, and a personal acquaintance +with the countries in which the war is going on. Some have served with +acceptance in the Boer War or at a military station at home or abroad. +Keen sportsmen are to be found among them who can shoot, ride, cycle, +or drive a motor. + +"Until lately the number of additional Presbyterian chaplains allowed +by the War Office has been much smaller than was generally expected, +considering the many thousands of Territorials who have volunteered +for foreign service, and the immense multitude of recruits who have +enlisted in Kitchener's Army. The ideal arrangement would have been to +assign a chaplain to every battalion; but, instead of this, the +appointments were at first made to _divisions_ and _hospitals_, the +result being that after eight months of the war only eighteen +additional chaplains had been appointed for service at the front. +Recently the number has been increased to thirty-eight, making +fifty-four Presbyterian chaplains in all; and further additions will +soon be made. + +In the partitioning of these thirty-eight new chaplaincies among the +several Presbyterian churches, the War Office has been guided by the +Advisory Committee on the appointment and distribution of Presbyterian +chaplains. This Committee was created by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane some +years ago, and consists of a representative of the Church of Scotland, +the United Free Church, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the +Presbyterian Church of Ireland, respectively, with Lord Balfour of +Burleigh, a trusted elder of the Church of Scotland, as chairman. The +Convener of the Church of Scotland Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains was asked by Lord Balfour to nominate eighteen of the new +chaplains, bringing the number of Church of Scotland chaplains on +foreign service up to twenty-eight. The Revs. H.Y. Arnott, B.D. +(Newburgh), H. Brown B.D. (Strathmiglo), Geo. Donald, B.D. (Aberdeen), +A.S.G. Gilchrist, B.D. (Applegarth), Professor Kay, D.D., James Kirk, +M.A. (Dunbar), Oswald B. Milligan (Ayr), A.M. Maclean, B.D. (Paisley), +A. Macdonald (Glassary), D. Macfarlane (Kingussie), J. Campbell +McGregor, V.D. (Edinburgh), C.G. Mackenzie, B.D. (Methlick), James +MacGibbon, B.D. (Hamilton), J.J. Pryde (Penpont), D.A. Cameron Reid, +B.D. (Glasgow), Thos. Scott, M.A., T.D. (Laurencekirk), Patrick +Sinclair B.D. (Urquhart), and Geo. Thompson, B.D. (Carnbee), were so +nominated. All of these and the other Presbyterian chaplains above +referred to, with the exception of three who have gone to the East, +are serving in France and Belgium under the direction of the Rev. Dr. +Simms, K.H.C., a minister of the Irish Presbyterian Church, who, but +for the war, would have retired on account of the age limit before the +end of last year, but is now the responsible and honoured Head of all +the chaplains of every denomination at the western seat of war. + +Many grateful tributes have been paid to the faithful services +rendered to their countrymen by Presbyterian chaplains in this war, +and four of them have had the honour of being mentioned in despatches, +two of whom are ministers of the Church of Scotland, namely, the Rev. +J.T. Bird and the Rev. A.R. Yeoman. So far, only two chaplains have +been wounded, namely, Mr. Yeoman and Mr. J.H.H. McNeill, who are both +ministers of the National Church. Before giving a few extracts from +letters and reports received from chaplains at the front, it may be +well to mention that upwards of twenty ministers of the Church of +Scotland and about fifty University students who were studying, or +about to study, in the Divinity Hall have joined the Army as +combatants--some of them as officers and some of them as private +soldiers--while others are serving with the R.A.M.C. Several have done +excellent work in connexion with the Y.M.C.A., notably the Rev. L. +McLean Watt (Edinburgh), who was unable to accept a chaplaincy for the +period required by the War Office, and the Rev. Hugh Brown +(Strathmiglo), before his appointment to a chaplaincy. + + * * * * * + +"Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray, senior Chaplain to the Forces, writes as +follows: + +"'On the evening of October 2, 1914, I received telegraphic +instructions from the War Office to join the 7th Division, British +Expeditionary Force and reported myself for duty next day. On Sunday, +October 4--the last day and Sunday so many hundreds were ever to spend +in England--the Division was suddenly ordered to proceed to embark. +Few who were present at the open-air Parade Service that day are +likely to forget the scene of the great square, composed of such +famous units as the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, 2nd Battalion Royal +Scots Fusiliers, and 2nd Battalion The Gordon Highlanders, gathered +together for divine worship. The Division--the first British force to +land in Belgium--was, within a few hours of disembarking, holding in +check no less than five German Army Corps. How the various units added +fresh lustre to their glorious traditions is known to all who have +read the story of Ypres. + +"'The chaplain's work at the front is thrillingly interesting, +frequently dangerous, and often pathetic, and may be briefly described +under four heads. + +"'1. _Visiting men in billets._ + +"'The first duty of a chaplain is to get into intimate touch with his +men. He can hope to be useful and influence the men when, and only +when, by constant visiting he wins their confidence and goodwill. The +shyness, stiffness, and indifference so familiar to chaplains visiting +barrack rooms in peace time is altogether unknown at the front. On +active service the chaplain is welcomed as a comrade and friend. The +men are in billets for a fixed number of days, after which they return +to the trenches. Every endeavour is made to get into personal touch +with the men during the periods of rest, and to become acquainted with +their difficulties and needs. + +"'2. _Visiting wounded and dying._ + +"'The wounded are removed from the trenches immediately it becomes +dark and are brought to the Field Ambulance. The hospital work extends +far into the night--at times all night, for nights in succession, +particularly when a big fight is in progress. This is the most +important and impressive part of our work. After the patient has been +dressed by the medical officer, the chaplain kneels beside the +stretcher and gives whatever comfort and cheer he can. The heroic and +patient suffering of our men, their thankfulness and eagerness for +spiritual help and consolation, their thought for wives and little +ones, their absolute selflessness make one grateful and proud to +minister to such noble souls. Many messages are entrusted to the +chaplains. The wounded request a line to be written to allay the fears +of loved ones at home. The dying whisper such noble words as these: +(actual message) "Tell my wife I have merely done my duty." "I have a +wife and five little ones, God help them. I never thought I would come +to this, but I have done my best for my country." + +"'3. _Divine Service._ + +"'Sunday services are held whenever possible. When the men are in the +trenches on Sunday, arrangements are made to conduct service as soon +as they return to billets. These services are held in barns or, when +weather permits, in the open air. At each service I have endeavoured +to give the men a text or thought to strengthen and help them +throughout the week. The intense interest taken by all ranks in these +services renders them very impressive. + +"'4. _Soldiers' Clubs._ + +"'The comfort of men at the front has not been lost sight of. I was +requested by Divisional Headquarters to establish clubs in every +brigade area to break the monotony of life during the quiet winter +months. These clubs contain reading, writing, and game rooms and a +refreshment bar, where the men can obtain hot coffee. My thanks are +due to the Convener of the Army and Navy Chaplains' Committee, who +kindly sent me cases of general literature which proved most useful +and interesting to the men. Friends at home supplied games of various +kinds, as well as stationery, pencils, and such useful articles. +Lectures and concerts have been given, and everything possible has +been done to brighten the soldier's life.'" + + * * * * * + +"The Rev. J.T. Bird, M.A., C.F., writing from No. 10 General Hospital, +Rouen, says: + +"'In accordance with instructions from the principal chaplain I do +what I can to minister to Presbyterian troops within reach, where no +Presbyterian chaplain is available. This has usually meant, on +Sundays, holding a service in a Reinforcements Camp (infantry or +cavalry) in the morning, and two services in hospital: one in the +forenoon and one in the evening. One of the hospitals here is the +Scottish Red Cross Hospital--excellently equipped. I did what I could +for this hospital in the way of visitation and Sunday evening services +up till lately, when the Rev. A.M. Maclean of Paisley Abbey was able +to undertake these duties in addition to his work at a neighbouring +Infantry Camp. The attendance at my service held at the Reinforcements +Camp, at St. Nazaire and here, has varied from about 50 to 600, +according to circumstances. I have found the Church of Scotland Psalm +leaflets and the little blue booklet _With the Colours_ very useful +for all services. During the week one is kept busy visiting sick and +wounded in four hospitals; holding occasional week-night services for +convalescents and assisting to get up concerts for them; writing +letters for patients too ill to write themselves; and distributing +gifts of all descriptions (literature, cigarettes; woollen comforts, +&c., &c.) sent by kind people at home. + +"'The Sunday evening service has always been a united one (Church of +England and Presbyterian), and the Church of England chaplains I have +found very willing to co-operate in this way. + +"'I am glad to state that the number of Presbyterians who have died in +hospital has not been at all large, considering the large number of +patients treated, and this fact I think bears eloquent testimony to +the excellent equipment and comfort of the hospitals, as well as to +the skill of the medical officers and the great devotion of the +nursing staff. The mother of a wounded Seaforth Highlander, who was +lying in this hospital, came recently all the way from Inverness with +two other friends to see her son, and they all seemed deeply gratified +and impressed by the excellence and efficiency of the hospital. All +funerals of soldiers are announced beforehand in the French local +journal, and here, as at St. Nazaire, French ladies attend and +reverently place flowers on the grave after the burial service. They +specially decorated the graves for Easter. Such attention must, I +think, be gratifying to the sorrowing relatives. The Sacrament of the +Lord's Supper has frequently been dispensed, and the number of +communicants is always much larger than in time of peace at home +stations.'" + + * * * * * + +"The Rev. Professor Kay, D.D., A.C.F., writes from 1st Echelon General +Headquarters, France: + +"'A chaplain's first lesson, as I have learned it, is to give due +honour to the men he serves. All combatants have offered the supreme +sacrifice a man can make for any object; how can anyone not of their +consecrated number be worthy to say anything at all to them? Their +great vow is too sacred for words; the loss of comrades and the +uncertain future are felt but not discussed. The example of Christ +which made martyrdom an easy and a right thing for the apostles, the +new Covenant in His blood, the grace of His redeeming sacrifice--these +acquire fresh power and interest. The combatant understands them, if a +chaplain be an adequate minister of Christ's Evangel. + +"'An army on active service cannot guarantee food and shelter with +certain regularity; far less can it provide fixed routine for common +worship. Buildings, organs, choirs, Sabbaths are often unavailable. +The army must be always ready to move and to act; it is not possible +to set everybody free at one time. Hence one has to discover at what +times there will be leisure among the various units. Recreation in +clubs and reading-rooms is often easy to contrive, and hours for +worship can also be arranged. In hospitals periodic services are +possible. In any regiment there are likely to be various denominations +of Christians, and minorities must sometimes do without their own type +of chaplain. Hymns and Holy Scripture serve as uniting influences, and +the fair and friendly feeling among the chaplains in this vicinity +makes work easy. Work here makes it evident that the Church of +Scotland as by law established is only one of a wide Sisterhood of +Presbyterian churches. Canadian, English, Irish, Welsh Presbyterians +have been nearly as numerous as those from Scotland, and one +representative from South Africa appeared on the list. + +"'The battle of Neuve Chapelle caused a stream of casualties to flow +past this point for a week. Some died and were laid to rest beside +their comrades, their last messages being sent to their startled +kinsfolk at home. Some who were weary and willing to die took heart +again through sympathy and skilful nursing. One boy of seventeen in +sore torture was heard half-consciously crying: "Ah! bonnie Scotland, +what I'm suffering for you now"; he slowly recovered and did not +grudge his pains. Those at home for whom brave men are suffering and +dying should be done with tippling and trifling. + +"'The work at this point includes attendance at three hospitals and +the conducting of services for troops as required. During last week +there were only four cases "seriously and dangerously ill" and about +thirty men sick and wounded. At a Rest Depot a class was formed to +prepare for First Communion, and at a special service on Good Friday +eleven soldiers were admitted. The Sacrament was administered on +Easter Sunday morning, and there were about sixty communicants. These +included a few Baptists, Congregationalists, and others, who, if +members of their own churches, were admitted and invited to this +Communion. A Church Parade with an Irish cavalry regiment followed at +11 o'clock. In the twilight the largest soldiers' club in the district +was crowded for Evening Service. There the Bishop of London--candid as +King Alfred and persuasive as Alfred Tennyson--encouraged and blessed +us all, and his inspiring words hallowed the great enterprise which +brings us here.'" + + * * * * * + +The following statement of the work of the Young Men's Christian +Association at the front and at home has been written by the Rev. W. +Kingscote Greenland, at the request of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp. + +"No branch of the religious and social work among our soldiers during +the war, both at the front and in the home camps, has been so well +known and universally acknowledged and appreciated as that +accomplished by the Young Men's Christian Association. The press has +spread the fame of it far and wide and devoted leaders and columns of +details to it. Any exhaustive story therefore is as unnecessary as it +would be disproportionally large. What makes it imperative, however, +that at least a brief summary of its widespread and manifold +activities should be included, is that it has been a work of quite +interdenominational character--all churches equally contributing both +workers and money--and therefore the credit, if credit there is to be, +must be shared among all. The fact of it is that the Y.M.C.A. has +acted throughout as a species of central bureau or clearing-house, by +the ready and available means of which anybody and everybody desirous +of assisting in the moral and spiritual welfare of our troops could do +so without calling into existence new organisation and machinery. + +"And here it must be mentioned that two facts were, humanly speaking, +responsible for the striking emergence of the Y.M.C.A. into this +unique position. The first fact is that for fifteen years past the +Association has had great experience of this sort of work by reason of +its tents in all the Territorial camps every summer, so that the war +only meant an extension, though an immense extension, of activities to +which it was no stranger. And, secondly, the courageous spiritual +statesmanship and moral daring of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp, who on the outbreak of war, and in the holiday season too, +launched this policy. + +"The story of that breathlessly summoned council meeting in the +Headquarters of the National Council in Russell Square on August 5 is +a veritable romance. Telegrams brought holiday-making secretaries +hurrying from the seaside, and in a few hours it was decided to pitch +canvas tents wherever the new recruits for Kitchener's Army were +located, and issue a national appeal for the necessary funds. As +everybody now knows, this was done--hundreds of tents for +refreshments, reading, writing, and rest sprang up as if by magic all +over the land; thousands of pounds of money flowed in from high and +low; and the Young Men's Christian Association was swept forward in +the tide from being a semi-disparaged adjunct of the Church's care for +a certain type of young townsman, to that of a great ally of the +nation in its hour of moral, no less than physical, agony. The tale of +the swift adaptation of practically the entire premises, resources, +and plant of the Association to the military and naval emergency, +involving almost superhuman hours of thought and skill, can never +adequately be told. The whole country was mapped out, committees +formed, hundreds of workers engaged, stationery ordered, stores and +motor-transport acquired, the patronage of the King and the approval +of the War Office secured, and in a few weeks the machinery for the +safeguarding of the leisure hours of the troops who were flocking to +the colours was in working order. + +"Then came the late autumn with its rains and floods, and the +necessity for better accommodation than canvas tents. Wooden huts were +obviously required. But these would cost money--roughly £300 at least +apiece. A great appeal was issued for the necessary funds, and the +response was amazing. Several hundreds of thousands of pounds were +contributed, many donors presenting a hut and furnishing it, and as +winter closed in comfortable and warm and well-equipped huts replaced +everywhere the sodden tents. + +"As the military situation broadened and developed, the Association +followed suit, and huts were built and opened in the base towns in +France, Egypt, and India, while many young men were sent on board the +troop-ships as lay chaplains to take charge of the soldiers on these +journeys and to look after them on their landing in foreign and +colonial ports. + +"And so the situation as it stands at this present time of writing is +roughly as follows: 600 Y.M.C.A. centres in the home camps, of which +300 are permanent wooden huts. In France 50 centres, of which 36 are +huts. In Egypt 8 centres in charge of 10 young Christian men sent out +by the Association, and in India 30 centres, manned by 12 Association +workers. To this record must be added over 2000 camp workers, only a +very small proportion of whom are paid, and the innumerable ladies who +either serve at the counters or are quartered with local committees of +management. To this, further, several other inspiring features and +items must still be added. Under the Y.M.C.A. auspices, Princess +Victoria has a number of field kitchens across in France and Flanders +which supply the men at the actual front. Also, and by no means least, +scores of clergymen and ministers of all denominations give some, and +a few all their time, to conducting services and "talks" in the huts +in the evenings, while among the voluntary workers on Salisbury +Plain, at the Crystal Palace, the White City, Harwich and Felixstowe, +Hindhead, Milford, Southport, Alnwick and along the Tyne, and scores +of other camps, are to be found university professors and students, +men from all the theological colleges, retired city merchants, +ministers with leave of absence from their churches, business men +moved to leave their shops and offices in the care of wives and clerks +and managers, and almost every type of Christian man and profession +and occupation. + +"All this deals, as it will be seen, with the many externals of the +Association work, and takes little or no account of the various more +directly spiritual agencies. Almost every well-known evangelist has +given up his time to the Y.M.C.A. huts, including such men as Mr. W.R. +Lane, Mr. C.M. Alexander, and the Rev. Canon Hicks, while the work of +the Pocket Testament League and of Temperance has been wonderfully +successful. + +"Beginning on the Wednesday after Easter and continuing for seven +days, a special effort was made throughout the camps to make it a +Decision Week for the men of the new army. A pledge of acceptance of +Jesus Christ as Saviour and King was to be taken and a War Roll +signed. It is too early to give the final results, but already many +thousands have signed, and the reports of camp workers, chaplains, +clergymen, and ministers are most enheartening. + +"Of the actual meetings held, of the conversations that have taken +place, of the strange, moving, pathetic and thrilling incidents that +have marked this tragic and glorious nine months, much has already +been written, and books could be filled. Thousands of men of our homes +and churches have written and spoken most affectionately of the +service rendered to them in the Y.M.C.A. tents, and of the lessening +of their temptations thereby, while many hundreds of thousands of dear +ones have received letters written under the quiet conditions only +obtainable in the Association's huts, and, be it added, on their +millions of sheets of free notepaper. + +"Of the generosity of the public, the kindness and appreciation of the +generals and colonels and officers generally, and perhaps, most of +all, of the untiring and self-denying labour of those who have manned +the huts through these long months, short-handed, overworked, cheery, +and eager, in cold and mud, it is impossible fully to speak. Let it +suffice to say that the Young Men's Christian Association is deeply +humbled and proud, by reason of the honour God has manifestly +conferred upon it in giving it this supreme chance of serving the +interests of His Kingdom." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +WHEN THE MEN COME HOME + + Clergymen Serving in the Ranks--A Strange Burial + Incident--When the New Army Comes Back--Will the Churches be + Ready?--They are Coming. + + +The needs of the country led a good many men, already ordained to the +Christian ministry, to enter the new Army. The question whether they +should or should not do this was, as I have already indicated, a +matter of some dispute, but as the war went on a testimony gathered as +to the influence of such as did enlist. Thus "D." wrote to the +_Times_: + +"At our table, which served for meals and other purposes, sat opposite +to me a clergyman of the Church of England, to do his best with us to +fight and prevent his country being treated like poor Belgium. We knew +what he was, and what he had given up to join us, and his influence in +that hut, and in his platoon, was greater than that of the khaki-clad +official chaplain who paid us occasional visits. We all respected him +and knew his aversion to things which were often thought lightly of by +us, and one look at his good and serious face would often keep back an +oath, which would come out naturally to a troublesome steer or a slow +and careless sailor, and many a tale which would have been thought +appropriate in a smoking-room or round a camp fire remained untold in +his presence. This has been my experience of one man, and I am glad to +say that in this battalion there are already serving as private +soldiers some half-dozen clergymen." + + [Illustration: WHEN THE MEN COME HOME. + _Drawn by Arthur Twidle._] + +Let one of them also answer for himself. I do not know his name, but +he is a young Wesleyan minister who enlisted in the R.A.M.C. last +October, and who is, as I write, now at the forefront of the fight. +The following extracts from his letter were published in the _Daily +News_: + +"The call comes for stretcher-bearers, and I volunteer to go with No. +3. The medical officer comes out, flashes his torch, and gives the +order: 'Men to march in front of the waggon. Whole party walk--march!' + +"We are off. Ten paces ahead walked the medical officer, a captain; +behind him a sergeant and four men of the squad. Then comes the +ambulance waggon, with the great Red Cross on both sides, one man +driving. Inside are the stretchers (one man in the squad carries a +surgical haversack), and behind the waggon comes the drag-horse, with +a waggon orderly mounted on it. This horse will help us out of a ditch +or the mud, if the waggon gets stuck in it. + +"We head straight for the trenches. It is very dark; light rain +splashes on our faces, and there is a cold wind. Occasionally the +captain flashes his electric torch as we pass an outpost or a belated +infantry man returning from the firing line. The rattle of the waggon +sounds like the passing of heavy guns in the still night, and we +wonder whether we shall draw the enemy's shell fire. A road with a +waggon on it is a good spot to drop a 'Jack Johnson' on now and then. + +"Suddenly the sky is illuminated by a brilliant German star-shell +with a long white tail. Every figure, every tree, every stone in the +road is revealed for one moment to the enemy's snipers and artillery. +Egyptian darkness follows the flash, and out of it ahead we hear, +coming towards us, the tramp of many marching men. Their officer stops +us. + +"'I have left two men on the road--ptomaine poisoning. Pick them up, +will you?' he asks. + +"'Yes. Good-night!' + +"On we go again. The rain pours, the wind is rising to a gale. The +road is very narrow. The wheels of the waggon plunge into a deep rut +and send a spray of mud up into our faces. Soon we pull up before a +little building at the side of the road not far from our firing line. +It is the dressing station where the wounded are brought until the +waggons can come to convey them to the hospitals out of the fire zone. + +"Our captain and the sergeant enter the building, and a corporal in +charge of the place whispers, 'Sir, we have one dead here.' + +"'One dead! We did not know that. We have no chaplain.' + +"The sergeant whispers to the captain that I am a Wesleyan minister. +The captain calls me. + +"'Are you a minister?' + +"'Yes, sir.' + +"'Can you bury this man?' + +"'Yes, sir.' + +"'Carry on, then!' + +"What is his religion--the dead man? No one knows. One of the soldiers +has a Prayer-book on him, so we decide to read the Church of England +service. + +"Over the road, opposite the building, is a patch of ground--just a +cabbage patch. A grave has been dug, just a few minutes previously, +and the dead soldier lies in it uncovered, just as he fell in the +trenches. His arms are folded on his breast. A piece of cloth hides +his face from our sight. He lies two feet from the surface--no more. +Three of us stand by the grave. The corporal hands me an electric +torch, and I begin to read the burial service. + +"'Ping-ping!' A bullet whizzes over us. Out goes the torch--and we +finish with an extempore prayer. Five minutes later two of his mates +are filling up this soldier's grave, and another is cutting out a +rough wooden cross. Ten minutes more and we are away with our +ambulance." + +If they all acquit themselves thus we shall indeed be proud of +Kitchener's Army. + +The Christian work at the front becomes increasingly successful as the +months go by, until one wonders whereunto it will grow. We must not +exaggerate or make too much of momentary impressions of those at the +front, but such scenes as the following, pictured to us by the Rev. +Lauchlan McLean Watt in the _Scotsman_, will live in our memory. As we +read it we can hardly wonder at his closing words declaring that it is +Resurrection and Pentecost through which they are passing in France +and Flanders to-day. + +He had been in a deserted billet just behind the firing line, and was +about to move on when a couple of soldiers of the Black Watch appeared +on the scene. Here is the story he has to tell: + +"They touched their bonnets, and said, 'We're going off to the front +to-night, sir, and we thought we'd like to have the Sacrament before +we go. Can you give it to us?' 'How many?' I asked. 'Oh, maybe +sixteen,' was the reply. 'Well,' I answered, 'at six o'clock in the +shed next to this one be present with your friends.' + +"Off went the two with a deepened light in their faces, while I +prepared the place that was to be for some of them the room of the +Last Supper. A tablecloth borrowed from the officers' mess and a +little wine from the same source helped to meet our preparations. A +notice on the door that the place was closed for ordinary use until +the Communion service was over did not keep us free from interruption, +for the room was the ordinary one for the soldiers' 'sing-song,' and +men would come and beat upon the doors and clamour for admission, not +reading notices nor at first understanding. + +"The men began to gather, and sat down there as reverently as though +the dim, little, draughty hut were the chancel of some great cathedral +holy with the deepest memories of Christian generations. + +"'You might wait,' whispered one. 'The Camerons and Seaforths may be +able to come.' So we waited--a hushed and solemn waiting. Then quietly +some of them began to croon old psalm memories, and quiet hymns, +waiting. And at length the others came, stepping softly into the +place; and with them comrades, who explained that, though they were of +a different country and a different church belief, they yet desired to +share in the act of worship, preparatory to celebration. At length +about one hundred and twenty men were there, and we began. + +"It was the 23rd Psalm, the Psalm of God's shepherding, the +comradeship of the Divine in the Valley of the Shadow, the faith and +the hope of the brave. What a power was in it--what a spell of wonder, +of comforting, and uplifting in this land of war! They sang it very +tenderly, for it spoke to them of times when they had held their +mothers' hands, and looked up wondering in their faces, in the church +at home, wondering why tears were there. + +"It means a big thing still, to-day, for our Empire, this heart-deep +singing of our soldier men. I have never dreamed that I should see +such depth of feeling for eternal things. Do not tell me this is +Armageddon. It is not the end of things. It is Resurrection and +Pentecost we are passing through. A harvest is being sown in France of +which the reaping shall be Empire-wide. There will be angels at the +ingathering. + +"It only needed the simplest words to seal that sacrament. And next +morning, in the grey light, the men who had been touched by the +thought of home and the dear ones there, and the big throbbing thought +of consecration, were marching off to grip the very hand of death, in +sacrifice, like Christ's for others." + +The Easter visit of the Bishop of London to the front is fresh in our +memories. What a holy and triumphant progress it was! Vast bodies of +men have listened to the addresses of the bishop, and joined +reverently in the responses to the prayers. How grandly those glorious +hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "Jesu, Lover of my soul" have swelled forth +in the stillness which was only broken by the booming of great guns! + +The programme of the visit had been arranged with much care. There +were all sorts of services. Now the bishop was with the Flying Corps +gathered in one of their great hangars, now with the Household Cavalry +massed in the field, now with the Army Service Corps beside their big +lorries. To all sorts and conditions of men the bishop spoke, and it +seemed as though he had the right word for each man. + +He passed along the whole British front often within the range of the +German guns. At one part of the line, where there had recently been +heavy fighting, some five hundred officers, many of whom had only just +come from the battle, were present. The service was, of course, +voluntary, and the fact that those officers were present because they +_wanted_ to be there made the service all the more impressive. Veteran +generals knelt side by side with newly commissioned subalterns in +reverent worship on the hard stoned floor. + +Easter Day the bishop spent with the Territorial regiment of which he +is chaplain. I quote the description of the services from the +_Manchester Guardian_: + +"The regiment is in a most exposed position, and the bishop motored +into the village (a village that has been very much knocked about by +shell fire) in pitch darkness, only broken by the weird glare of star +shells fired from the German trenches about a mile away. A most +enthusiastic reception awaited him from the two hundred and fifty men +who were billeted in the village, the remainder of the battalion being +in the trenches. + +"Cheer after cheer greeted him as he entered the barn, where a +'sing-song' of the most lively nature was in progress. After giving a +short address the bishop went with some of the men to their billets +and had a cheery word for each. At seven A.M. on Easter Day he +celebrated the Holy Communion in a barn, the roof and walls of which +had been scarred and shattered by gun fire. Over two hundred men +communicated. As this service ended we found at least a hundred and +fifty men of other regiments outside the building, who had been +waiting since seven o'clock, and had been unable to enter the crowded +room. For these the bishop celebrated at once. Strange as the +surroundings were, with guns firing and the crack of rifles distinctly +heard, one would doubt if in any church, however beautiful, a more +reverent congregation had ever gathered together on an Easter morning. +On the evening of Easter Day the bishop preached his final sermon at +General Headquarters in the presence of Sir John French, many +distinguished officers, and a large body of men. One heard on every +side how much the bishop's presence and his words had inspired and +encouraged the gallant men who were present at the services. Easter +Monday saw him leave the front to visit Rouen and Havre before +returning to England." + +So once more old England greeted her sons across the Channel, and +commended them to Him who died and rose again for their Salvation. + +But we are beginning to look forward to the future. The war will end +some day, and then, what then? + +A new army will come back from the fight, veteran as regards its +fighting power, but new as regards its conduct and its spirit. Mr. +Asquith said this was a "spiritual war." It is so perhaps in a deeper +sense than Mr. Asquith meant. There has been "wrestling" out there, +not only against "flesh and blood," but against the powers of sin and +darkness. And there has been victory--victory over sin, victory in +Christ. And back they will come to us--these new men who have been +transfigured and transformed upon the battlefield. And the question is +to what sort of a Church will they come? Shall the fires of their new +love be chilled by the ice of our formality, or shall our worldliness +seem strange to these new citizens of the City of God? + +If we are not ready to receive these new men when they come home, God +will send in a terrible account to us which we shall have to pay. Woe +to the Church which quenches the fire of their devotion, to the +so-called Christian who lives in Ease-in-Zion instead of in Beulah +Land! + +Now is the time for the churches to prepare. We are told that the +enthusiasm of last September is dying out of our churches, that in the +busy work of the following months we have forgotten to pray. We are +even getting used to the war. Let the churches of our land bestir +themselves. These men will need our choicest care, as they deserve our +most brilliant example. Christ has not left Britain for Flanders. He +is here too, and we must seek Him in penitence and prayer, that when +the lads come home His Church shall be found ready for her Christian +task. + +What a welcome we will give them when they come! How the great hall +will be hung with flags, and the homely hearth will be gay for once! +What love light there will be in the eyes of the mother, the wife, and +the maiden! How hand will grasp hand, and all the world will seem +young again! They are coming--they are coming! + +But not all are coming,--some have fallen in the fight, and sad hearts +will weep in silence, and lives will seem worthless now they are no +more. But it will not all be darkness even to those who mourn, for it +is great to die with honour and in the service of one's country. And +many a home will cherish the memory of its hero, and look forward to a +meeting by and by. And Britain will emblazon their names on its roll +of honour--this man and that man has died for her. + +They are coming--they are coming, and we greet them one and all--the +men who fought for us and endured nobly on our behalf. + +Let us show them when they come a new Britain, freed from the curse of +drink, purified as by fire--a new Britain which has crowned Christ as +its King, fit mother of such sons as these! + + * * * * * + +The cross is still at the front--its power ever widening and +developing. It will go wherever our troops go, carrying with it the +life which is life indeed. Death cannot weaken its influence, it +triumphs over death, and many a soldier lad will it draw to itself, +and many a dying gaze will be fixed upon it, for it is there--always +there--when men need the truths it reveals. + + * * * * * + +The cross is still at the front--many crosses. It has become a custom +to fix crosses over the graves of our soldiers, most of them rudely +and hastily shaped, but crosses still. Some of them large and strongly +planted, others hardly showing above the earth. Not long will many of +them last. Over some of them the feet of soldiers in the rush of the +battle may tread, others may be overthrown by the storms of winter. +But they are there now, and some day may be replaced by more permanent +structures. Whether that be so or not, the truth they symbolise will +abide--Christ died, Christ lives. He died the just for the unjust to +bring us to God. He is the resurrection and the life. + +As we visit those graves by the wayside or in countless little +cemeteries, consecrated by our heroic dead, we thank God that over +them all is the Sign of the Cross. + + O dearly, dearly has He loved, + And we must love Him too, + And trust in His redeeming Blood, + And try His works to do. + + + + +_Spottiswoods & Co. Ltd., Printers, Colchester, London and Eton._ + + + + +_READY SHORTLY._ + + THE ROLL CALL + OF SERVING WOMEN + + A RECORD OF WOMEN'S WORK IN THE WAR + + BY MARY FRANCES BILLINGTON + + _ILLUSTRATED._ + + Large Crown 8vo. Cloth Gilt. 3s. 6d. + + LONDON: 4 BOUVERIE STREET. E.C. + + * * * * * + + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + | Typographical errors corrected in text: | + | | + | Page 109: 'look the law' replaced with 'took the law' | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + + * * * * * + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's With our Fighting Men, by William E. 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Sellers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: With our Fighting Men + The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War + +Author: William E. Sellers + +Release Date: November 1, 2010 [EBook #34188] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, Jeannie Howse and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<div class="tr"> +<p class="cen" style="font-weight: bold;">Transcriber's Note:</p> +<br /> +<p class="noin">Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been preserved.</p> +<p class="noin" style="text-align: left;">Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. +For a complete list, please see the <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="#TN">end of this document</a>.</span></p> +<p class="noin">Click on the images to see a larger version.</p> +</div> + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<div class="img"> +<img border="0" src="images/cover.jpg" width="40%" alt="Book Cover" /><br /> +</div> + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h2>WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN</h2> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a> +<a href="images/frontis.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/frontis.jpg" width="40%" alt="WE BESEECH THEE TO HEAR US GOOD LORD." /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">"WE BESEECH THEE TO HEAR US GOOD LORD."<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +<p class="right2" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>See page 57.</i></p> +</div> + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<h1>With<br /> +Our Fighting Men</h1> + +<br /> + +<h3>THE STORY OF<br /> + THEIR FAITH, COURAGE, ENDURANCE<br /> + IN THE GREAT WAR</h3> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>WILLIAM E. SELLERS</h2> + +<p class="cen"><i><b>Author of "From Aldershot to Pretoria"</b></i></p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>WITH COLOURED AND OTHER<br /> +ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS AND FROM<br /> +PHOTOGRAPHS</h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4><span class="sc">London</span><br /> +THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY<br /> +4 Bouverie Street & 65 St. Paul's Churchyard</h4> + +<br /> +<a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span><br /> + +<h3>PREFACE<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3> + +<div class="img"> +<img border="0" src="images/preface.jpg" width="50%" alt="The White Ensign and the Union Jack" /> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>In sending forth this book I wish to acknowledge the kindness and +co-operation of many friends, new and old, who have made my task easy +and my story, so far as possible, complete.</p> + +<p>In the first place, I express my hearty thanks to the Rt. Rev. Bishop +Taylor-Smith, D.D. (the Chaplain General); Revs. E.G.F. Macpherson, +M.A., and F.G. Tuckey (senior Church of England chaplains at the +front); Rev. J.A. M'Clymont, D.D., V.D. (Convener of the Church of +Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy chaplains); +Rev. J.H. Bateson (Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Army and Navy +Board); Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A. (Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Free Church Army and Navy +Board); Rev. E.L. Watson (senior Free Church chaplain at the front);<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span> +General Booth and Brigadier Carpenter (of the Salvation Army); Mr. +A.K. Yapp (General Secretary of the Young Men's Christian +Association); and several others.</p> + +<p>In the second place, I acknowledge with gratitude the help I have +received from reports in the <i>Methodist Recorder</i>, <i>Methodist Times</i>, +<i>United Free Church of Scotland Record</i>, <i>Church Pennant</i>, <i>Baptist +Times and Freeman</i>, <i>Guardian</i>, <i>Guy's Hospital Gazette</i>, <i>War Cry</i>, +and many other papers, to the respective editors of which I tender my +thanks.</p> + +<p>I also wish to express my cordial thanks to my colleague, the Rev. +E.G. Loosley, B.D., for the painstaking care with which he has revised +the proofs of my book.</p> + +<p>I hope and pray that the story recorded in these pages may quicken +interest in Christian work among soldiers and sailors, and so help to +extend the kingdom of Christ.</p> + +<p class="right">W.E.S.</p> +<p><span class="sc">Rochdale,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>April 1915.</i></span></p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="toc" id="toc"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span><br /> + +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> +<br /> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="70%" summary="Table of Contents"> + <tr> + <td class="tdr" width="10%" style="font-size: 80%;">CHAPTER</td> + <td class="tdl" width="70%"> </td> + <td class="tdr" width="20%" style="font-size: 80%;">PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a></td> + <td class="tdr">iii</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdl">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</td> + <td class="tdr">vii</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></td> + <td class="tdr">ix</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">I.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">AT THE HOME BASE</a></td> + <td class="tdr">1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">II.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT</a></td> + <td class="tdr">26</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">III.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">AT THE FIGHTING BASE</a></td> + <td class="tdr">44</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IV.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES</a></td> + <td class="tdr">63</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">V.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES</a></td> + <td class="tdr">79</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VI.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT</a></td> + <td class="tdr">100</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VII.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHRISTIAN HEROISM</a></td> + <td class="tdr">116</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS</a></td> + <td class="tdr">135</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IX.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">WITH THE GRAND FLEET</a></td> + <td class="tdr">153</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">X.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK</a></td> + <td class="tdr">171</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">XI.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF + WORK AT THE FRONT</a></td> + <td class="tdr">192</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">XII.</td> + <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">WHEN THE MEN COME HOME</a></td> + <td class="tdr">207</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> +<a name="toi" id="toi"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span><br /> + +<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h3> +<br /> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="List of Illustrations"> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc" width="80%"><a href="#frontis">A Moonlight Consecration Service</a></td> + <td class="tdr" width="20%"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep009">The Military Cross: The New Decoration For Special + Gallantry of Officers</a></td> + <td class="tdr">p. ix</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="tdr" style="font-size: 80%;">TO FACE PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep012">When the Lads Depart</a></td> + <td class="tdr">12</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep026">Helping the Helpless</a></td> + <td class="tdr">26</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep043">"It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary"</a></td> + <td class="tdr">43</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep058">Bishop Taylor-Smith, Chaplain General, and Other Chaplains</a></td> + <td class="tdr">58</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep074">British Trenches in the Aisne District</a></td> + <td class="tdr">74</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep088">British Soldier Comforting a Dying German</a></td> + <td class="tdr">88</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep098">A Sunday Evening Service on the Field</a></td> + <td class="tdr">98</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep108">In the Trenches</a></td> + <td class="tdr">108</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep118">The Bishop of London Addressing Men of the Army Service + Service Corps at the Front</a></td> + <td class="tdr">118</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep134">Hot Food for the Wounded—A New Form of Red-Cross + Work</a></td> + <td class="tdr">134</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep142">A Rescue Party. Good Samaritans of the Battlefield</a></td> + <td class="tdr">142</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep150">An Incident During the Fighting on the Marne</a></td> + <td class="tdr">150</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep162">A Voluntary Service on a Battleship</a></td> + <td class="tdr">162</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep178">A Fight in the Air. British Airman Attacking a German + Monoplane</a></td> + <td class="tdr">178</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep190">An Incident in the Forêt de la Nieppe</a></td> + <td class="tdr">190</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#imagep207">When the Men Come Home</a></td> + <td class="tdr">207</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep009" id="imagep009"></a> +<a href="images/imagep009.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep009.jpg" width="20%" alt="" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-left: 35%; margin-right: 35%;"><span class="sc">The Military Cross.</span><br /> +The New Decoration for Special Gallantry of Officers. Already several +Army Chaplains have won it.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<br /> + +<h3>INTRODUCTION<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3> +<br /> + +<p>The story I am about to tell is one of surpassing interest. It is the +story of Christian life, work, and heroism among our troops at the +front.</p> + +<p>The soldier is easily moved to good or to evil. In the past evil +influences have been more powerful and more numerous than influences +for good. Our soldiers had been drawn, for the most part, from classes +outside all churches and Christian influences, and the wet canteen had +been the most popular institution in the Army.</p> + +<p>For the last twenty-five years, however, the situation has been +altering for the better. The day-school has done its work, and a free +education has accomplished splendid things for the working-man. The +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span>Sunday-school, too, has extended its scope and has of late years been +more efficient than ever before. There has been a steady levelling up +of the people, and the Army has risen with the rest. Said a soldier to +me during the South African war: "They think we are the same as we +used to be, but we are no longer the scum of the earth."</p> + +<p>Slowly and surely the work done outside the Army has been reflected +<i>in</i> the Army. The Army Temperance Association, the Soldiers' +Christian Association, the Soldiers' Homes provided by the churches, +and other uplifting organisations have found that they were working on +soil to some extent prepared. The soldier has responded readily to the +appeals made, and the Soldiers' Homes have become as popular as the +canteens, and often more so. A Soldiers' Home in a camp has meant at +once a change for the better. The senior officers have recognised this +fact, and have gladly welcomed every Christian effort on behalf of +their men.</p> + +<p>I remember, when Bordon and Longmoor camps were formed, with what joy +my colleagues and I were welcomed by the officer in command. +Everything he had was placed at our disposal, a hut was apportioned to +us, and we furnished it, for the most part, from furniture belonging +to the camp. Everything was very rough in those days, and the roads +well-nigh impassable; but when we got there what a welcome we had! The +late Colonel Gordon, R.E. (nephew of Gordon of Khartoum), lent us his +piano and his wife often played it for us.</p> + +<p>I was standing on Petersfield Station platform one night looking sadly +at a group of drunken and half-drunken soldiers, when a +non-commissioned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span>officer came up, and, after saluting, said, "They +would not be like that if you had a Home for them, sir."</p> + +<p>By and by it was not only a hut we had, but a permanent Soldiers' +Home, and when it was opened by the Earl of Donoughmore, it became +crowded at once. Brigadier-General Campbell stood our friend through +all those difficult days, and rejoiced as much as we did in the +prosperity of the Home.</p> + +<p>It must be remembered also that for many years past there has been an +increasing leaven of Christian men in the Army. The Home to which I +have just referred could not have been the power it became had it not +been for this. I remember a lance-corporal who, so far as he knew, was +the only Christian in his regiment. He used to go out among the solemn +pines at night and pray for his comrades. Soon another joined him +there, and many another, and by the time the Home was opened we had a +company of Christian men ready to work among their fellows.</p> + +<p>During my ministry in Aldershot I saw this illustrated in much larger +measure, and the Christian men were, all of them, Christian +missionaries working with great success.</p> + +<p>I have already told the story of Christian work during the South +African war in my book "From Aldershot to Pretoria." The story is one +for which all the churches may well thank God. Though that war was +child's play compared with this, the higher war waged—the war for +Christ and His Kingdom—was one of constant victory. Large numbers of +men gave themselves to Christ, and when the war was over remembered +the vows they had vowed to Him.</p> + +<p>Now we have witnessed a mobilisation of Christian forces, such as +would have been impossible hitherto. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span>The Chaplaincy Department has +developed into a great and well-organised agency for good. Over two +hundred chaplains are already at the front, and the ministers of all +the churches are busily at work in the camps at home. All the old +Christian and temperance organisations are to the fore, only developed +out of all former knowledge, and the Young Men's Christian Association +has astonished and delighted the whole Christian world.</p> + +<p>The Christian men in the Army—more numerous before the war broke out +than they had ever been—are carrying on their noble work and are +constantly receiving additions to their ranks.</p> + +<p>We have known for years what Thomas Atkins was like—susceptible as a +child. I have heard sobs all over the room while picture slides of a +little child's story, such as "Jessica's First Prayer," were being +shown. But what will the new army be like? Will it be as susceptible +as the old? Will the men still thrill when the Gospel story is told? +They are different men—men drawn from all classes, actuated by a +common purpose to save their country. Will they think only of that, or +will their hearts also be "strangely warmed" by tidings of their +Saviour's love? Already the answer comes to us "Yes." Never before has +such deep seriousness fallen upon our men, and in their quiet moments, +and even amid the stress of battle, thoughts have turned to Christ and +hearts have been surrendered to Him.</p> + +<p>"The truth of the matter is," wrote the Bishop of London, in the +<i>Times</i>, after his visit to the front at Easter, "that the realities +of war have melted away the surface shyness of men about religion; +they feel they are 'up against' questions of life and death; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span>and I +have heard of more than one censor who has for the first time realised +the part religion bears in a soldier's life by censoring the +innumerable letters home in which the writers ask for the prayers of +their relations or express their trust in God."</p> + +<p>It is the purpose of the following pages to tell, so far as it is +possible, in these early months of the war, something of the Christian +work attempted and accomplished among our men at the front and at sea, +and to answer the questions I have just asked.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span><br /> + +<h2>WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN</h2> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER I</h4> + +<h3>AT THE HOME BASE</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Enlisting—"Good-bye"—Excitement and Drunkenness—Then came +Kitchener's Army—The Churches gave of their Best—A Canvas +City—Not for Pay, These—What the Churches Did—The Home +Church in the Camp—A Powerful Christian Leaven—Theological +Students Volunteer—What the Boys Did—Organising Religious +Work—Fifty Men Stood Up—The Y.M.C.A. Tents—A Proud +Boast—At Work in the Tents—A Typical Service—The Canadian +Y.M.C.A.—What the Salvation Army is Doing—The Church Army at +Work—Huts of Silence—W.M. Hut Homes and "Glory Rooms"—Hymn +494—Teetotal Soldiers—Lord Kitchener's Message—The Work of +the Navy Chaplains—The Sailors' Homes—Work among the Wounded +in Hospital—Hospital Stories.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>A troop train slowly passing through Winchester Station. Heads out of +every window. One great shout by hundreds of eager young lads, "Are we +downhearted?" And then, not waiting for those of us on the platform to +answer, the emphatic response "No!"</p> + +<p>Winchester Station looked strange that morning, early in August 1914. +Its dignified quiet had gone. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>No one would have dreamt that this was +the station of an ancient cathedral city. Armed sentries were posted +at every point of entrance and departure. With fixed bayonets they +guarded the signal-boxes. Their beds were in the waiting-rooms. The +whole station was given up to the military.</p> + +<p>And this was not the only case. All down the line it was the same, +while every few yards by the side of the metals, all the way to +Portsmouth and Southampton, soldiers with fixed bayonets were on +guard. Here and there Boy Scouts were assisting, and enjoying +themselves immensely.</p> + +<p>Portsmouth Harbour at that time was closed to ordinary traffic. The +few passengers who still ventured to the Isle of Wight, in what should +have been the height of the holiday season, had to betake themselves +to Southampton, and be thankful if after long waiting they could get +across from there.</p> + +<p>The Solent was full of troop-ships. We counted over forty at one time +waiting to take troops across, while many more were in Southampton +Water. The Isle of Wight was an armed camp. At night search-lights +played all over it.</p> + +<p>What touching farewells there were! Stand on almost any platform and +see—that is if you have the assurance to look on at that which is +sacred. A mother brings her little ones to say good-bye to their +soldier father. An old woman with difficulty slowly comes to the edge +of the platform to give her blessing to her soldier son. A wife is +locked for a few brief moments in a loving embrace.</p> + +<p>The father, or son, or husband brushes the sleeve of his tunic across +his eyes, and then, as the train begins to move, says "Good-bye. I'll +soon be back!" <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>And as the train steams out those brave lads ask +again, "Are we downhearted?" and the mothers and wives and +sweethearts, with tears streaming down their faces, strive to answer +"No!"</p> + +<p>Those were stirring times at Aldershot. The old scenes at the outbreak +of the war in South Africa were re-enacted, only on a larger scale. +That was mere child's play to this, and every one realised it. +Incessant coming and going as troops gathered from all parts of the +country. Military bands marching detachments to the station on their +way to the front.</p> + +<p>At first there was much drunkenness, for this is generally the case +where there is much excitement. But soon a serious feeling crept over +all, and the town grew more sober in every respect. Our troops were +going to fight the greatest military power in the world, and every man +realised that it would be a struggle such as this country had never +known before.</p> + +<p>By and by our regular troops had departed, and the "Terriers" began to +come in. A workman-like lot of men these, shaping like good soldiers. +In their thousands they had volunteered for active service, and to +active service after a period of training they should go.</p> + +<p>And then came Kitchener's Army. And what an army! The appeal had gone +forth for half a million men, and then for another half million, and +by and by for still another million.</p> + +<p>The response was magnificent. Never was our country so great as in +those days when Kitchener's Army was being formed. The rush of +recruits was overwhelming. It seemed as though the whole body of young +men in the country would volunteer.</p> + +<p>The churches were to the front in this matter. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>All suspicion that the +churches would prove unpatriotic was blown to the winds. They had been +training their young people for peace, but when their country was +threatened they were ready for war. They had, many of them, been +strongly opposed to conscription, but it was no conscript army which +was being embodied; it was an army of free Englishmen.</p> + +<p>The churches gave of their best. The vicarages and manses of the +country were denuded of their sons. In some Sunday-schools the young +men's classes volunteered to a man. In many places it was only with +great difficulty that the work of the Sunday-schools was carried on, +because the male teachers had enlisted. From the Nottingham Wesleyan +Mission went five hundred young men.</p> + +<p>All sorts and conditions of healthy young manhood responded to their +country's call. Kipling's lines, true of the regular army, were +prophetic when applied to Kitchener's Army of those days:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Parson's son, lawyer's son, son of the parish squire,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Garden hand, stable hand, hand from the smithy fire,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Counter boy, office boy, boy from the dock and mine,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Eat together, sleep together, follow the drum in line.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>And the young women would have gone too, if they could. It went hard +in those days with a sweetheart who was not disposed to volunteer. And +the young women <i>did</i> go. The rush of volunteer nurses was tremendous +and had to be checked. We shall hear of their good work as we +progress.</p> + +<p>Aldershot was taken by storm by Kitchener's Army. At one time there +were a hundred and fifty thousand men in the camp. Seeing that the +barrack accommodation in the camp is not for many more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>than fifteen +thousand in normal times, it was evident that the only way to meet the +new conditions was to create a canvas city, and a canvas city it +became. There were many miles of tents.</p> + +<p>It was a sight indeed to see Kitchener's Army drill. The rush was far +too great to be met by the Army clothing factories, and for many weeks +there were no uniforms, and the men drilled and were drilled by other +men in ordinary civilian clothing.</p> + +<p>One could see the varied occupations of the men who had enlisted. Here +is a man, great of girth, who will need to have his size reduced +considerably ere he rushes at German trenches, and he still wears the +leggings with which he trudged across his fields. Here is a man who +evidently a few days ago held in his hand the yardstick with which he +measured his calico. He is bent on sterner work now.</p> + +<p>Here, again, is one from the pit and another from the mill, and a +third who looks as though he had been a lawyer or a lawyer's clerk. +And drilling them all is a man who evidently a few days since was +hewing coal from a Welsh mine. He is back to the colours now, but will +have to wait for his transforming uniform.</p> + +<p>But all eager, all intense. No work for pay this. "Mercenaries" the +Kaiser called them, but no mercenaries these—England's best and +noblest ready to give their lives for the land they love so well.</p> + +<p>It was a happy thought which allowed men who had been accustomed to +live and work together to form their own battalion or regiment; and so +we had the Public School Corps, and the Pals' Brigade, and many +another. Fastidious young men from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>West End drawing-rooms proved that +they had the hearts of true Englishmen, and worked hard as the rest. +Later on, in one hut were men whose income was said to average £2000 a +year. They were just privates.</p> + +<p>From the religious point of view it was a great opportunity. Nearly +every church in the land had sent of its best and had done its best to +honour those who went. "Rolls of Honour," containing the names of +those who had gone from that particular church, hung in the porches. +In many, Sunday by Sunday, the names on the Roll of Honour were read +out and special prayer offered for them.</p> + +<p>The young men had left their homes and churches with the voice of +prayer ringing in their ears. They knew that they were going to +serious work and that many of them would never return. The most +careless of them were serious now, and were ready, if the impression +did not pass away, to give themselves not only to their King and +Country, but to the King of Kings.</p> + +<p>And right earnestly was the work begun in the Home Church continued in +the camps. These camps were established all over the country, for +Aldershot and Salisbury Plain were altogether inadequate. To all such +camps chaplains were appointed, and, for the first time, the Baptists, +Congregationalists, Primitives and United Methodists, who, except in +the great military centres, had stood out of the Army work, had their +appointed chaplains—not many as yet—but sufficient to show that they +also felt the need and were ready to do the work. They have since +joined forces for this service, and are carrying on their united work +by Free Church chaplains.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>The entry of the Free Churches into the Army work is of such general +interest that I asked the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of +the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, to send me a brief +account of the facts. Mr. Shakespeare replied under date of February +10, 1915.</p> + +<p>"Up to ten years ago, the sentiment among Baptists and +Congregationalists was not very sympathetic towards the Army, and +there was no provision on the Attestation Sheet for the entry of men +as belonging to these two denominations. I then secured a column for +this purpose, which has been in use ever since, but I do not think it +has been very effective.</p> + +<p>"When the war broke out, our churches were practically unanimous in +their support of the Government. At that time about three thousand +troops were entered under our two denominations. I went to see the +late Mr. Percy Illingworth, who interested himself very warmly in the +proper recognition of Baptists and Congregationalists. Large numbers +of our young men began to enlist. The Rev. R.J. Wells and I, through +interviews at the War Office, secured that orders were sent out +directing that men were to be entered according to their religious +professions. Mr. Lloyd George brought the matter under the notice of +Lord Kitchener, who strongly resented any sort of sectarian unfairness +and wished our recruits to have the same facilities as those of other +denominations. Meanwhile, Mr. Wells and I collected the names and +regiments of Baptist and Congregational recruits, with the result that +we are able to announce the following figures, though more than a +third of our churches have made no reply:—</p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="40%" summary="Baptist and Congregational recruits"> + <tr> + <td width="80%" class="tdl"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>Bloomsbury</td> + <td class="tdr" width="20%">113</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Hampstead, Heath Street</td> + <td class="tdr">92</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Plaistow, Barking Road</td> + <td class="tdr">400</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Hornsey, Ferme Park</td> + <td class="tdr">160</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Peckham, Rye Lane</td> + <td class="tdr">116</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Glasgow, Hillhead</td> + <td class="tdr">210</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>"In spite of what had been done, a great mass of certified evidence +began to reach us that recruiting sergeants were refusing to enter our +recruits as Baptists or Congregationalists, but were putting them down +to some other church. Of this we have exact evidence. Further orders +were then issued by the War Office that this must not be done.</p> + +<p>"At the beginning of the war there were only two Baptist Chaplains to +the Forces—Rev. F.G. Kemp at Aldershot, and Rev. J. Seeley at +Woolwich. The War Office now asked our Army Board to nominate +additional provisional chaplains, both for home camps and for the +Expeditionary Force, and, in addition, that ministers should be +appointed for any place where there was a considerable body of troops +as 'officiating clergymen,' still carrying on their churches, but +having the right to hold church parade, visit in camp, hospitals, &c. +Of these a large number have been appointed. In addition, +Congregational chaplains were appointed.</p> + +<p>"The next stage was that we were approached from the Primitive +Methodist and United Methodist Churches asking to be grouped with us +for Army and Navy purposes. The result has been the formation of a +United Army and Navy Board for the four denominations, and our +chaplains and officiating clergymen have charge of soldiers and +sailors belonging to these four churches.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>"The next step was that an appeal was made by the Rev. R.J. Wells, for +the Congregationalists, and myself, for the Baptists, for an 'Army +Tent and Chaplain Fund,' the result being that we have raised a +sufficient sum to enable us to erect permanent institutes or huts with +chaplains, or 'officiating clergymen,' in about half a dozen camps. +The Primitive Methodists and United Methodists are taking the same +course, and together we shall shortly have a considerable number of +such huts available.</p> + +<p>"Concurrently with this we have succeeded in securing appointments for +'officiating clergymen' and chaplains for the Navy and at naval +stations, though some of our chaplains hold a double position, both to +the Army and Navy."</p> + +<p>From the character of the response it was evident that there was a +powerful Christian leaven working in the Army itself.</p> + +<p>To begin with, there was a wholesale offer by Christian ministers for +chaplaincy work. Not a tithe of the offers could be accepted, and then +was witnessed a sight such as has never been seen before. As they +could not be accepted as chaplains, a large number of ministers of +religion enlisted as private soldiers, and these from practically all +the churches.</p> + +<p>Certainly the proposal that the clergy should volunteer as combatants +was not favoured by the ecclesiastical authorities. The Archbishop of +Canterbury recognised the <i>prima facie</i> arguments used by the younger +clergy in support of such action, but concluded that fighting was +incompatible with Holy Orders.</p> + +<p>However, many, with the Archbishop's consent, enlisted in the Army +Medical Corps, and are devoting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>themselves to the sick and wounded. +Among the Wesleyans, the matter was left to the judgment of the men +concerned. Some enlisted in line regiments, but the majority also +entered the Army Medical Corps. In one barrack room of the R.A.M.C. at +Aldershot, we hear of five Church of England curates and one Wesleyan +minister. So far as we know the other Free Churches adopted the same +line as the Wesleyans.</p> + +<p>The Theological Colleges were not slow to follow the example of the +ministers, in fact in many cases they led the way. Both in this +country and in Scotland a large proportion of the students +volunteered—so many in fact that it has become a serious matter for +the immediate future of the churches.</p> + +<p>The Church of England has been suffering from a dearth of candidates +for its ministry for years past, and, as the <i>Times</i> says: "The great +reduction caused by the war may quite seriously affect the Church's +efficiency." However, these young men evidently thought that they +might serve their Church and its Divine Lord as well in the ranks as +in the pulpit, and might serve their country at the same time, and +they went.</p> + +<p>This was a new army—new in every respect. Never before had Christian +ministers and young men in training for the ministry volunteered, in +any numbers, as private soldiers; but the call had been imperative, +and they were out to save their country. They took their religion with +them and made it felt.</p> + +<p>Still another great work for the Army has been done by the Christian +churches. In an important article in the <i>Times</i> of January 1915 we +were told:</p> + +<p>"It is impossible to give an adequate account of the valuable work +done by the different churches in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>providing men for the Army through +the various Lads' Brigades and Boy Scouts. The Boys' Brigade is the +senior and largest of these organisations; it has many branches +throughout the Empire, with a present total strength of 115,000. Many +of its members have enlisted. The Church Lads' Brigade had in 1913 a +membership of 60,000, besides two junior organisations, the Church +Scout Patrols and the Church Lads' Brigade Training Corps. It has also +contributed a very large number of recruits. In London the Diocesan +Church Lads' Brigade, which forms part of the Cadet Force of the +country, sent practically every officer eligible and nearly every +cadet of seventeen years of age to join the regular forces soon after +the declaration of war. Many of these have been in action, and the +following casualties have been reported: Killed, two; wounded, +thirty-two; missing, six; invalided, five; prisoners, two. These Boys' +Brigades have become very popular. Besides those already mentioned +there are the Jewish Lads' Brigade, the Catholic Boys' Brigade, the +Boys' Life Brigade, and the Boys' Naval Brigade. Three of the new +V.C.'s have been won by former Brigade lads. On behalf of all these +admirable organisations the Lord Mayor of London has issued an appeal +for financial support, pointing out that 225,000 of those now serving +with the colours have been prepared for their work by one or other of +these organisations."</p> + +<p>The Government heartily backed the efforts of the churches. In +addition to the chaplains of all denominations, others for whom no +appointments could be found were allowed to go to France at their own +or their friends' expense, to render to the soldiers what spiritual +help they could.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>Services for the men in training were organised everywhere. Schools, +vicarages, and manses were turned into temporary soldiers' homes. +Wherever they came, the men found the churches ready to receive them. +They supplied them with literature to read and with writing materials, +provided refreshments, organised religious services, and did their +best, not only to cater for their social needs, but to enlist them +into the Army of Jesus Christ.</p> + +<p>Numbers of the soldiers were preachers too, and supplied the pulpits +of the Free Churches where they were stationed. They occupied choir +stalls, taught in Sunday-schools, and generally helped to carry on the +work of the churches. Many of these Christian lads were themselves +unofficial chaplains among their comrades.</p> + +<p>At Aldershot and the other great military centres, the work of the +churches was naturally of the best. Never was the opportunity so +great, and never was the response so rapid.</p> + +<p>Take, for instance, the report that comes to us from Grosvenor Road +Wesleyan Military Church, Aldershot. Grosvenor Road Church dominates +the town. It is a noble Gothic building, its tower visible for many +miles. It is locally known as the "Wesleyan Church of England." It is, +of course, customary for it to be crowded at the Parade services, but +now it was thronged with soldiers at the voluntary services also. +Wesley Hall at the back and the Soldiers' Home Lecture Hall at the +side were thronged at the same time. On one Sunday evening, when the +appeal was made for decision for Christ, fifty men stood up in the +midst of eleven or twelve hundred of their comrades, to avow that they +did then and there give themselves <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>to Christ. It was no easy matter +for a soldier to do, but it was done, and similar scenes were enacted +on many occasions.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep012" id="imagep012"></a> +<a href="images/imagep012.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep012.jpg" width="75%" alt="WHEN THE LADS DEPART." /></a><br /> +<p class="right3" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Drawn by Arthur Twidle.</i></p> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">WHEN THE LADS DEPART.<br /> +One of Kitchener's army salutes his mother as he leaves.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>Let no one suppose, however, that this was the only place where +decisions for Christ were registered. Nearly all the churches could +make some such statement, though perhaps they could not speak of such +large numbers. Never a night passed but some soldiers gave themselves +to Christ, in the "Glory Rooms" of the various soldiers' homes. The +chaplains and the Army Scripture readers were busy all day and often +far into the night: by day visiting the men in barrack room and tent, +in the evening conducting services for them, and at night writing +letters on their behalf.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to chronicle such work as this. Much of it is too +sacred to be told. Many of the best workers are the slowest to speak +of their work, and where all did their best—their <i>very</i> best—it is +invidious to mention names. But on every hand we hear of spiritual +results surpassing all previous experience in work among +soldiers—work which the Great Day will declare.</p> + +<p>It must be borne in mind that the men were ready for this spiritual +work. The times were serious and they were serious too. It must also +be borne in mind that splendid preparatory work had been done in the +churches and Sunday-schools of our land. And now that the spiritual +need was felt, the response was rapid, and the Sunday-school teacher +far away reaped the result of his labour.</p> + +<p>I turn now to another class of work, the work of the Young Men's +Christian Association. For many years the Y.M.C.A. has been identified +with social and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>Christian work in the Army. It has had its tents +wherever soldiers have gathered for their training, and during the +South African War it rendered most efficient and appreciated service.</p> + +<p>Since the outbreak of the present war it has to a large extent +suspended its ordinary work, in order that it might establish a system +of recreation tents and reading rooms in all the naval and military +camps. It is the boast of the Association that it has not refused a +single request for a tent, and by the end of March 1915 it had 700 +centres in different training camps, each with its wooden "hut" or +canvas tent.</p> + +<p>Not only are they in England, but in Scotland and Ireland, and by and +by upon the Continent also. When the Canadians came they found the +Y.M.C.A. ready to receive them. Six buildings were erected for their +use, and the largest of these measured a hundred feet by thirty, with +wooden walls and floor, and a canvas roof.</p> + +<p>Coffee is served in these extemporised Soldiers' Homes from five +o'clock in the morning to the end of the day. Everything that it is +possible to do for the soldiers' comfort is done. In one of these +tents 5000 letters were written and posted in one week. In the +evenings "Singsongs" are arranged, and hundreds of thousands of a +popular Christian songbook have been sold. Literature, largely +provided by such agencies as the Religious Tract Society, abounds.</p> + +<p>On Sundays the "Homes" are given over to the ministrations of the +chaplains. All denominations are welcome, and the freedom of the +buildings is also allowed for services to the Roman Catholics and the +Jews.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>Over 3000 voluntary helpers have taken part in this work as well as +the staff of the National Headquarters, while 95 per cent, of the +general secretaries throughout the country have acted as supervising +agents. We do not wonder that the Association has received the thanks +of the Government.</p> + +<p>May I describe one service in a Y.M.C.A. tent? It is Sunday evening. +The various Parade services of the morning have been held, the Church +of England in the open air, and the Congregationalists and Wesleyans +in the tent. But now a sergeant is in charge, and for half an hour he +allows the men to choose what hymns they like, and right heartily do +they sing. But now an Anglican archdeacon is on the platform, and with +eager words and practical advice is urging the soldiers to live as +Christian gentlemen. Then follows a Wesleyan minister with many a +story and many an appeal. Then a Congregationalist minister, in +quieter vein but with restrained earnestness. There are Christian +songs between the addresses and many an audible response from the +"Tommies" to the word of exhortation spoken. It is a re-union of the +churches, proving that at heart they are all one in Christ Jesus, and +it is made possible by the work of the Y.M.C.A.</p> + +<p>In the case of the Canadians, the Y.M.C.A. is actually a part of the +military force, and that is a remarkable thing. Six of the Canadian +officers of the Association in the first contingent were at the same +time officers in the Canadian Army, and were told off to the service +of the Y.M.C.A., but they were none the less officers for that. In +this way the Association is recognised, and the officers can go with +the men right into the trenches, and do. Fine men were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>these first +six officers, four of them with the infantry brigades, one with the +cavalry, and one with the artillery.</p> + +<p>The Salvation Army is also doing this work in its own way, but on a +smaller scale. Writing to the <i>Times</i> in October 1914, Commissioner +Higgins said: "We have established centres of work by permission of +the authorities in about forty camps, and others are in course of +preparation. We have many indications that the men highly appreciate +what is being done. In one centre alone, on one day recently, we +received 2000 letters for men in camp.</p> + +<p>"In addition to personal help—which is so valuable when men are +separated from their families and friends—there are opportunities for +reading and writing, simple recreation and rest, and we are, so far as +possible, holding bright and happy meetings, where men who know +something of the power of Christ are able to urge upon their comrades +the love and service of God. It seems to us that these cannot but be +of the highest advantage to the men when they come to face those +dreadful ordeals which must lie before many of them. Salvation Army +officers have been appointed by the authorities concerned as chaplains +for various units, both in the forces coming from Canada and New +Zealand."</p> + +<p>Everyone who knows anything of Christian work in the British Army +knows how efficient is the service rendered by the Salvation Army, and +its Salvation soldiers are always at work bringing other soldiers to +Christ.</p> + +<p>The Church Army is, and also has been, at work. Prebendary Wilson +Carlile reports that it has supplied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>tents in a number of the larger +stations, tents which were welcomed everywhere, and in which the same +class of work has been done as in those of the Y.M.C.A. The "Lord +Kitchener" tent in Hyde Park, close to the Marble Arch, has proved to +be an admirable institution, and has afforded an object lesson as to +how this work should be done.</p> + +<p>At the request of Bishop Taylor Smith, the Chaplain General, a new +departure in Christian work among the troops has been taken. In twelve +different camps small chapels have been built, each 30 feet by 20 +feet. In each chapel are a Lord's Table and chairs, and there is a +small room, 5 feet by 8 feet, for interviews with the chaplain. These +chapels are called "Huts of Silence" and are intended for quiet +meditation and prayer. It is a new experiment and will be watched with +much interest. Tommy is a gregarious creature, and how he will take to +silence remains to be seen. There is, however, opportunity for all +classes of Christian work in the ever-growing British Army.</p> + +<p>In connection with the Army work of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, +Soldiers' Homes have long played a conspicuous part. Before the war +broke out that church had already spent £154,420 on providing +forty-one such homes in different parts of the Empire, twenty of these +being in England.</p> + +<p>Always full in peace time, these homes have of course been overcrowded +in time of war, and scores of temporary homes have been brought into +use in all the great centres. Soon after the war broke out an appeal +was made for £5000 to erect tent or hut homes in all the camps. It has +had a noble response, and the work is succeeding beyond expectation. +In each of these homes there is a "Glory Room." The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>name comes from +the Mother Home at Aldershot, and they call it so because</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Heaven comes down their souls to meet<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And glory crowns the mercy-seat.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>No pressure is brought to bear on any soldier to enter the Glory Room. +There are the reading rooms, games room, refreshment room as +everywhere else, but night by night an increasing number of lads find +their way into the Glory Room. There prayer is wont to be made, and +Sankey's hymn-book, loved of the Christian soldier, is in evidence. +Never a night passes but some soldier lad comes home to God, and +"Glory crowns what grace has begun."</p> + +<p>Every night the gathering ends with the Christian soldier's +watchword—"494." Years before the South African War it was used among +our Christian lads. It went right through South Africa. As company +passed company on the march, a Christian man in one company would +shout "494," and if there were a Christian in the passing company he +would respond "494." Sometimes the response varied and instead would +come the ringing shout, "Aye, lad, and six further on." Thus the +Christian soldier's watchword rang out from the Cape to Pretoria. And +it has been ringing right through this war.</p> + +<p>So every meeting in the Glory Room of a Wesleyan Soldiers' Home closes +with it. If you turn to Sankey's hymn-book you will find that "494" is +"God be with you till we meet again," and "six further on" is "Blessed +assurance, Jesus is mine." Thus our lads cheer each other in times of +difficulty and danger.</p> + +<p>I must not forget to mention the little Red Books and Blue Books +which, to the number of 60,000, have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>been distributed to all Wesleyan +soldiers and sailors in the Expeditionary Forces. These, which contain +hymns and prayers, have been compiled by the Rev. F.L. Wiseman and are +greatly appreciated by the men. Also a "Housewife" has been given to +every man, containing all things necessary for patching, darning, and +mending.</p> + +<p>But every church has cared for its men, if not in these, in other +ways, and the men have been loaded with comforts. I have singled out +the Wesleyan Soldiers' Homes for special mention, because that church +has made this work a speciality, and has homes now in every great +military or naval centre throughout the Empire. But it must not be +forgotten that the Church of England has its "Institutes" also, and +that the Presbyterian Church is just beginning this work. Miss +Daniel's Soldiers' Home at Aldershot has for many years rendered good +service.</p> + +<p>Perhaps this is the best time to speak of Temperance work in the Army, +for it is another form of Christian service.</p> + +<p>Temperance principles had been rapidly leavening the Army years before +the outbreak of war. We are apt to forget that we have a new army, an +army educated in our Council schools and Sunday-schools, and most of +its men have been under Christian influence. Before the war broke out, +over forty per cent. of our Army in India were members of the Army +Temperance Association, and in this country, though the percentage of +members was lower, that magnificent institution was rejoicing in great +success. There was still a "tail" to the British Army, a long and +unwholesome tail, but it was growing shorter and more wholesome each +year.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>Since the war commenced it has grown shorter still. Temperance work +has been done everywhere. The Army Temperance workers are in all the +homes, and the fruit of their work is seen on every hand.</p> + +<p>The decree of the Czar of Russia prohibiting the sale of vodka gave a +great impetus to British Temperance work, and perhaps Lord Kitchener +gave as great if not an even greater stimulus.</p> + +<p>Lord Kitchener's message to the Expeditionary Force on its departure +for France may in part be quoted: "In France and Belgium you are sure +to meet with a welcome, and to be trusted. Your conduct must justify +that welcome and that trust. Your duty cannot be done unless your +health is sound, so keep constantly on your guard against any excess. +In this new experience you may find temptation in wine.... You must +entirely resist temptation."</p> + +<p>Lord Kitchener also issued a strong appeal to the British public, +urging them not to treat our soldiers to intoxicating drink, and his +entreaty was backed by strong measures in many camps.</p> + +<p>At the request of the naval and military authorities the Home +Secretary (Mr. McKenna) carried through Parliament a measure giving to +licensing justices in any district, upon the recommendation of the +chief officer of police, the power temporarily to restrict the sale, +consumption, and supply of intoxicating liquors on licensed premises +and in clubs.</p> + +<p>Add to all this the immense work of the churches and various +temperance associations, and there is no wonder that we have new men +in a new army.</p> + +<p>I turn now for a few moments to work among the men of the Navy. Not so +much could be done for them as for our soldier lads. Church of +England <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>chaplains were, of course, on the larger ships, but room +could not be found for the chaplains of other churches. All the +records tell of splendid work done by the chaplains on board.</p> + +<p>And when from their life on the ocean wave the men came in for brief +periods to the home ports, the chaplains on shore rejoiced in the +opportunity of service. Everywhere services were arranged—services on +board ship, and services on shore. All sorts of literature was +provided. Comforts, in the shape of warm garments made by loving hands +at home, were distributed.</p> + +<p>The Sailors' Homes were open to them, and were thronged during the +brief periods when they could be used by the men. Special mention must +be made of the splendid work done by Miss Agnes Weston for many years. +It must not be forgotten that long before the outbreak of war +Christian and Temperance work had been as fruitful in the Navy as in +the Army. But the war has made such work still more effective.</p> + +<p>On board ship the Christian men were always ready for prayer. The Rev. +R.H. Hingley tells that one day he had been conducting a brief service +on a cruiser, and as he was waiting for his boat, man after man came +up to him and suggested a prayer meeting. It was a newly commissioned +ship and many of the men who gathered to the prayer meeting confessed +Christ for the first time.</p> + +<p>At sea these men congregate every evening for prayer in the chaplain's +room, but often that room is too small, and more commodious quarters +have to be sought.</p> + +<p>Mr. Hingley tells of a letter he has received from a sailor saint. "We +have taken the ninety-first Psalm <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>as our special song. How grand it +is to be sure, and how true have we proved it to be!" Thus many of our +Christian sailor lads go down to the sea in ships singing as they go, +"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide +under the shadow of the Almighty," and so they are not afraid "for the +terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day." Christ has +many witnesses among our sailors in the North Sea.</p> + +<p>It was not long before another class of service came to those at the +Home Base, viz. the work among the wounded in the hospitals. This war +has brought the fact of war home to every one.</p> + +<p>Not long was it before the hospitals already in use were all too small +for the numbers of wounded drafted from the front, and hospitals +sprang up in all the great centres of population. For weeks +preparations had been made. Red Cross amateur nurses and St. John's +Ambulance nurses had been completing their training. Medical men had +volunteered their services, and ministers of religion of all +denominations were ready to do what they could for the spiritual needs +of the men.</p> + +<p>The opportunity was golden. Never had there been one like it before. +These men had come through the Valley of Death. They were ready to +think and pray. Says one chaplain:</p> + +<p>"Again and again, while going through the wards, men have said, 'I +shall be a different man after this, sir.' They have told us of their +life in the trenches and of the prayers they have made while the +bullets have been flying about them. Said one: 'I know this—on the +field I prayed hard, more than ever I prayed before.' Another man +speaks of the peace he had when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>facing death. 'I remembered those +words in one of the Psalms—"A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten +thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee"—and God +brought me through.'"</p> + +<p>Multiply this story a thousandfold and we shall see what the war has +done for men, and also realise how easy it has been to lead soldiers +thus impressed into fellowship with our Lord. A loving work is this, +requiring ministry tender and true, but it has been done and done +right nobly. Men who had learnt not to be afraid of death have learnt +also how to live.</p> + +<p>In Denmark Hill Hospital a wounded man told this story to the Rev. A. +Bingham. A young soldier was mortally wounded in one of the great +battles. When he realised that he was dying he began to sing. Faintly +but clearly he sang:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;<br /></span> +<span class="i4">. . . . . .<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In Life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Far away from loved ones—far from home—wounded to the death, the +soldier found in the love and presence of Jesus his Saviour and +friend, rest and peace. And his comrade in the hospital remembered his +dying song and passed it on that it might become a message to many +another when they too came to die—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>One more hospital story will suffice. It is of a different order from +the last, but it reveals Thomas Atkins as he really is.</p> + +<p>The wife of the local colonel was making the round of a hospital and +paused at the bedside of a wounded soldier, who evidently hailed from +the North of England. He was toying with a helmet, apparently a trophy +of war.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the lady, "I suppose you killed your man?"</p> + +<p>"Well, naw," quietly responded the soldier. "You see it was like this. +He lay on the field pretty near me with an awfu' bad wound an' +bleedin' away somethin' terrible. I was losin' a lot of blood too fra' +my leg, but I managed to crawl up to him, an' bound him up as well as +I could, an' he did the same for me. Nawthin' o' coorse was said +between us. I knew no German an' the ither man not a word o' English, +so when he'd dun, not seein' hoo else tae thank him, I just smiled, +an' by way o' token handed him my Glengarry, an' he smiled back an' +giv' me his helmet."</p> + +<p>Thus Thomas Atkins has shown how to fight his enemy and to love him +too.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>This, then, in brief outline, is the story of Christian work at the +Home Base during the early stages of the war.</p> + +<p>Chaplains or acting chaplains everywhere, Scripture readers, Y.M.C.A. +workers, voluntary workers, all sorts and conditions of workers. +Bright, cheery services every evening. Loving appeals for decision for +Christ—appeals which have been responded to by thousands of our lads. +Centres for thought and rest and recreation everywhere. The need has +been <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>great, and the need has been supplied by people moved to +self-sacrifice as never before.</p> + +<p>Few families but have had some members in either Navy or Army, and as +parents have said good-bye to their sons they have known that a hearty +Christian welcome awaited them where they went, and that they might +safely leave them to the kindly ministry of willing hearts and hands. +The motto of everyone, high and low, has been <i>Ich dien</i>—I serve.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER II<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">If Minister Shoots Minister!—A Brighter Side—A Beautiful +Story—Pastors and Members in the Firing Line—A German +Pastor—The Retreat through Belgium—The Work of Heroes—A +Rear-guard Action—Seeking the Wounded—Refugees Stupid with +Terror—Behind the Rear-guard—A Narrow Escape—A Night to be +Remembered—The Man who Saved the British Army—God has been +with Me—The British Soldier will Joke—Why Not?—Awful +Experiences—A Monotony of Horror—Picking up Wounded +Stragglers—Lines of Broken Men—Still Retreating—A Wonderful +Triumph of Will—Thirsty Heroes—The Ambulance Found—The End +of the Retreat—Mentioned in Despatches—No Parade Services.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Viewed from a Christian standpoint, the most distressing things about +this war are: (1) That <i>Christian</i> nations are engaged in a life and +death struggle. It is a lamentable confession, an awful fact. Two +thousand years of Christian teaching have absolutely failed to keep +Christian nations at peace.</p> + +<p>And yet are these nations Christian? Has not Germany by its adoption +of a false philosophy forfeited the title of Christian? So far as its +military class is concerned I fear we must say "Yes," but so far as +hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants are concerned we rejoice to +believe we can still answer "No." They are fighting because they +<i>must</i>, and because they do not understand. And we are fighting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>in +another sense because we <i>must</i>. Like Luther, "We can no other." May +God forgive us if we are wrong! We believe—with all our hearts we +believe—our cause is just.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep026" id="imagep026"></a> +<a href="images/imagep026.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep026.jpg" width="42%" alt="HELPING THE HELPLESS" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">HELPING THE HELPLESS.<br /> +Royal Navy Division helping Belgian soldiers and refugees during the +retreat from Antwerp.<br /> +<i>Drawn by Ernest Prater from sketches made by one who was there.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>And out of this first distressing thing there emerges another. (2) +Christian <i>ministers</i> are opposed to each other in the ranks, not +because they <i>want</i>, but because they <i>must</i>. The law of conscription +in Germany and in France applies to them as to others.</p> + +<p>Surely these might have been left out of the call, or at any rate +might have been left free to respond or not as their conscience +dictated, as was the case in England. The consequence is that hundreds +if not thousands of churches are left without their spiritual leaders, +and everywhere the flock is destitute of the shepherd's care.</p> + +<p>I said "a distressing thing," but is it not a tragedy? And if they +should meet—these Christian ministers—across the trenches or in the +line of battle, and minister shoot minister, or perforce meet him in a +bayonet charge!</p> + +<p>But there is a brighter side even to this dark picture. There are +twenty thousand priests, "religious," and seminarists serving in the +French Army. Among them are three bishops. Monsignor Ruch, coadjutor +of Nancy, is one; he is employed as a stretcher-bearer. Another, +Monsignor Perros, is a sub-lieutenant; and the third, Monsignor +Mourey, is simply Private Mourey in the ranks. It is quite an ordinary +thing for confessions to be heard by soldier priests in the trenches, +and for absolution to be given before the charge. Protestant +ministers, too, fighting in the ranks never forget they <i>are</i> +ministers, and their ministry may be even more effective than that of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>the chaplains, for are they not comrades too? Thus the armies are +leavened by Christian men, whose supreme business must be the Kingdom +of God.</p> + +<p>A beautiful story comes to us from the early days of the war. In the +hall of a great railway terminus in Paris, a number of wounded were +laid out on straw waiting to be taken to a hospital. Several of them +had evidently not long to live. One especially was very restless, and +a nurse moved to his side, and began to do what she could for him.</p> + +<p>"I badly want a priest," moaned the dying man.</p> + +<p>The nurse looked round upon the company of wounded.</p> + +<p>"Is there a priest here?" she asked. A voice in little more than a +whisper replied:</p> + +<p>"Yes, Sister, I am a priest. Take me to him."</p> + +<p>There he lay at the point of death, wounded and wounded sorely. It was +a strange sight—his dirty ragged uniform not yet removed, the stains +of war and of awful travel from the front upon his face, and he a +priest!</p> + +<p>"Take me to him," he repeated.</p> + +<p>She said: "You are not fit to be moved, I dare not do it." And then +insistently he whispered:</p> + +<p>"Sister, you are of the faith. You know what it means to the dying +lad. I must go."</p> + +<p>He tried to rise from the straw on which he lay, and seeing his +determination the nurse had him moved to the dying soldier's side. A +few whispered words of confession, and the priest motioned to the +Sister.</p> + +<p>"I cannot raise my arm. Help me to make the sign," he said.</p> + +<p>The Sister lifted his arm and together they made the sign of the +cross. And then, exhausted, the soldier <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>priest fell back. His comrade +felt for his hand, clasped it in his dying grasp, and together priest +and penitent passed away.</p> + +<p>Thus heroically are many French priests doing a double work, at once +fighting for their country and for their faith.</p> + +<p>It is the same with French Protestant ministers. All of military age +have had to go. The President of the French Wesleyan Conference, the +Rev. Emile Ullern, is fighting as a private soldier in the French +Army, and many another. Two-fifths of the pastors of the Reformed +Church of France are also in the ranks. Already three of them, plus a +missionary and a most promising theological student, one of the +Monod's, have fallen on the battle-field. Our French churches are +without pastors, and the work of many years is seemingly being ruined. +But their members are at the front too, and it is a joy if, now and +then, they meet and are able to comfort one another in the firing +line.</p> + +<p>It is the same in Germany. Already we hear of one German Methodist +minister who has fallen at the front—Rev. Friedrich Rösch, Ph.D. He +graduated brilliantly in philosophy and languages at Strasburg +University. He then offered for missionary work and rendered excellent +service among the Mohammedans of Northern Africa. He had a good +knowledge of Arabic and had learned two other African languages. Now a +British or French bullet, or shrapnel shell, has cut short his career.</p> + +<p>This is the grim tragedy of this awful war—Christian fighting +Christian, Christian minister fighting Christian minister.</p> + +<p>Our business, however, is with the <i>British</i> army and with Christian +work therein. Our task is a difficult <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>one, for the veil of secrecy +which enveloped the early days of the war has hardly as yet been +lifted. Only here and there has that veil been raised just a little, +but wherever we are privileged to gaze we are filled with admiration. +The work of our chaplains and doctors and nurses has been heroic, and +the no less noble work of Christian soldiers fills us with +thanksgiving.</p> + +<p>The war began with retreat. That apparently invincible German army +strode ruthlessly through Belgium, leaving fire and rapine and death +in its track. It found a garden, and it left a wilderness; prosperity, +and it left starvation. It will be remembered for all time for +barbarities that disgraced war. Belgian mothers will tell their +children, and the story will be passed down the ages, of broken hearts +and ruined lives, and a tortured devastated land.</p> + +<p>And then, the devoted little army of Belgium thrown upon one side, the +clash of war began in France. Our British Expeditionary Force had been +rushed across the Channel with General Sir John French in command. +With marvellous efficiency it had crossed without a single casualty, +convoyed by British and French men-of-war. With the forces went the +chaplains of the different denominations, their numbers to be steadily +augmented throughout the war.</p> + +<p>But the French were not ready, and our force was all too small for the +task allotted to it. To our eternal credit, we also were not ready. +Our Army did the work of heroes, but the huge German Army steadily +marched on, and there was nothing to be done but retire. When the full +story of the retreat from Mons comes to be written, what grim reading +it will make!</p> + +<p>Of course, in those desperate days all that the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>chaplains could do +was to look after the wounded and bury the dead. Organised services +were out of the question. A few men gathered here or there at the +close of a terrible march, a prayer or two, a message of cheer or +consolation, and then a brief sleep, and the inevitable weary march +again, the rear-guard fighting all the way. But all day long there +were opportunities of individual service and these were used to the +full.</p> + +<p>From the publications of the Salvation Army we get a vivid picture of +those days. Being an international institution it had, and still has, +its agents in every part of the fighting area. Germans, Russians, +French, Belgians, and British are all the same to it—they are men who +need salvation. It has been as vigorous in its work among Germans as +among any others, and its trophies won upon German battle-fields will +be bright jewels in our Redeemer's crown.</p> + +<p>Brigadier Mary Murray, who rendered signal service during the South +African war, and who wears the South African medal, was in Brussels +when the Germans entered the city. She gives us a vivid picture of her +experiences in connexion with the German occupation. I quote from the +<i>War Cry</i> of September 12, 1914:</p> + +<p>"At last I am able to write. Twelve days of silence, no post, no +papers, nothing but such news as the Germans cared to put up, and all +the time a sound of heavy firing.</p> + +<p>"We reached Brussels last Tuesday week. The first impression was of a +town <i>en fête</i>. The streets, even the poorest, were gay with bunting +and flags; on every side black, orange, and red caught one's eye.</p> + +<p>"In trying to get an extra man officer for our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>party we were still in +Brussels on Thursday, and by twelve o'clock found ourselves German +prisoners. Every house in the better part of the town was closed and +the windows shuttered. The empty streets at twelve o'clock gave one a +horrid chill, but by four o'clock dense masses of people watched the +German Army pass. Old men, young men, bare-headed women, women with +hobble skirts, but one and all holding tiny dogs in their arms! +Behind, the cafés were in full swing.</p> + +<p>"Hour after hour the 4th German army corps rolled along the cobble +streets, a solid grey line of burly men and magnificent horses. I +turned from watching and saw a boy in the act of throwing a +heavily-weighted belt dragged away by two policemen. In the cafés men +were drinking the inevitable beer and playing cards. I turned again. +Still on they came, cavalry, artillery, and infantry—a man to my +right in French said, 'One of these men told me they knew they were +going to their death.' Just then a cavalry man, catching sight of my +uniform, very courteously and gravely saluted me, saying, 'Heils +Armee' (Salvation Army).</p> + +<p>"The next day—still the army passing through,—a gunner, bending +down, said, 'Heils Armee—Hallelujah!' Wild rumours throughout the +town; atmosphere electric, a single act of violence, and one felt the +Germans would have opened fire. Notices were posted all over the town +imploring the people to be calm; every day, often all day, we tried +for a way to get out, but without a ray of hope; day after day +refugees arrived with tales of misery and horror.</p> + +<p>"My diary runs: 'All cafés to be closed early. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>Germans send for +quicklime to cover their dead. 7000 wounded arrive—all Germans. +Germans posted notices to-day: "English badly beaten; French +retreated." Threatened to sack Brussels. No milk, no bread, no eggs, +no butter. We were mobbed to-day, as the rumour had spread that +Brussels had been betrayed by the English. Notice out not to touch +water, as German dead were lying in great numbers unburied near +Mallien.'"</p> + +<p>From Brussels Brigadier Murray made her way to Le Havre. The scenes +she witnessed among the flying Belgians were terrible. One picture +will ever live in her memory—and ours.</p> + +<p>"A woman who had to fly at night from her village had to do so with +three tiny children; the baby she put into her apron with some +clothing, the other two she carried. Through the darkness she had to +walk to the junction, where ensued a wild scramble for seats. When the +train had started the distracted woman discovered that the baby had +dropped from her apron, when and where no one could discover."</p> + +<p>Later Brigadier Murray has had charge of the first ambulance sent out +by the Salvation Army.</p> + +<p>The bravery of these women Salvation Army officers is past +description.</p> + +<p>During the battle of Mons Adjutant L. Renaud, a French-Swiss officer, +was in charge of the Salvation Army corps at Quaregnon, near Mons. She +tells us her experiences during those fearful days.</p> + +<p>"Here in Quaregnon it has been terrible—beyond all expression. More +than 300 houses have been destroyed, and many civilians killed, not +only men and women, but also children, <i>but none of our Salvation +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>Army comrades has been touched</i>. We have been protected in a +marvellous manner. We can say with David, 'The Angel of the Lord +encampeth around those that fear Him and plucks them out of danger' +(French translation). God has done that for us. The battle continued +from Sunday morning at eleven o'clock to Monday evening. The +bombardment did not cease a moment; while it was on we had thirty of +our comrades with their little children in our large cellar."</p> + +<p>We understand that the officers got possession of this house with the +large cellar last year. The hall is on the ground floor. In their +former house there was no cellar. The adjutant proceeds:</p> + +<p>"I am so glad that I remained at my post, to aid and encourage not +only my Salvation Army comrades, but also the population. The people +were completely panic-stricken. I do not know how it has happened, but +the Lord has enabled me to rest in a great calm and without any fear. +Lieutenant and I have been enabled to go amongst the people, +comforting them and taking help to them even when the balls have +whistled by our ears. Oh, how God has protected us! That night of +August 23 will never be forgotten by me.</p> + +<p>"The day after the battle—what horrible sights! Dead bodies in the +streets, the wounded, and from all sides poor maddened people flying +to save themselves with their little children—all the people weeping. +I could never describe what I have seen. How is it possible that such +things could take place in this age of education? And now the misery +is here for the poor workers. It is already seven weeks since the men +(colliers) could work. The food has been <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>seized and more often than +not wasted by the German troops. The future is very dark for these +poor people.</p> + +<p>"When the English soldiers came here the Lieutenant and I prepared tea +for them while they dug trenches. After the battle, when the Germans +came, we lodged many of them in our hall and did what we could for +them. Then I thought of all our dear Salvationists who are in the +different armies—English, German, French, Austrian, Russian, Belgian. +Oh, how glad I am that I remained at my post to help my comrades! On +the Sunday during the bombardment the cry went forth, 'Let all those +save themselves who can do so!' I went outside to see if there was any +serious danger. Then I said to the people, 'Come with us in the hall; +I will take care of you as much as I can.' They came, and were content +to be with their officers. They said, 'If it be necessary for us to +die, well, we will be with our officers; it will be better for us to +be with them.' Thus they remained with us, and God has protected all. +Blessed be His Holy Name!"</p> + +<p>Adjutant Renaud and her Lieutenant, however, were not the only women +Salvation Army officers who stuck to their posts. They all did so, +nerving themselves with the strength of Christ, and daring all things +in His name. And to-day many of them are still working in Belgian and +French towns overrun by German troops doing their best for Christ and +the Kingdom.</p> + +<p>It is time, however, that we rejoined the British troops who by this +time are retreating from Mons. There had been terrible fighting around +Mons for four days, but the opposing forces were overwhelming, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>and +they had no option but to retire fighting a rear-guard action all the +way. The retreat began on or about August 24, 1914, not three weeks +after the declaration of war. It was a pitiful experience for our +soldiers who are not accustomed to turn their backs to the foe.</p> + +<p>It is not our purpose to tell the story of that awful retreat—other +books will do that. Nor is it possible as yet to tell in full the +story of the Christian work attempted during the hurried marching of +those fearful times. In the first place commissioned chaplains are not +permitted as yet to publish reports, and in the second place all work +attempted was necessarily unorganised and fragmentary. It could be +nothing more than caring for the wounded and whenever possible burying +the dead.</p> + +<p>The horrors of the retreat can only be known by those who experienced +them, and there was little light amid the darkness of apparent +failure. It must be remembered that our men were fighting all the +time, sometimes it seemed to them succeeding, but really only +succeeding in allowing the main body to retreat to the rear. For +twelve days the retreat continued and did not terminate until +Saturday, September 5.</p> + +<p>Here and there we get a little light in the darkness. The <i>War Cry</i> of +September 19 contains a story from the pen of a motor driver in the +R.F.A., who was also a Salvation Army bandsman, which has to do with +the battle more than the retreat, but which may as well be told here, +leaving a description of some incidents in the retreat itself to +follow later.</p> + +<p>"We got everything ready for the enemy, the trenches dug and the guns +fixed, and then came the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>worst job of all—waiting. For thirty-six +hours we lay there watching and listening for the first sign of the +Germans. Then for five hours the battle lasted without cessation.</p> + +<p>"Having brought my transport wagons up to the firing lines with my +motor, I had to help load the guns. Shells were flying and bursting +all round us. I was wounded by a splinter from one of the shells, but +as it was only a flesh wound I bound it up and went on with my work.</p> + +<p>"Now, the enemy seemed to be beating us, then again they retreated. +All the time my comrades were falling around me, and the Germans were +falling in hundreds too. So thick were the enemy's dead that when the +advance was given we simply had to force the motor up and over heaps +of bodies—there was nothing else for it.</p> + +<p>"At last the battle, so far as the batteries in our neighbourhood were +concerned, went in our favour, and we were ordered to follow the +retreating Germans. In doing this six of us got lost, and for four +days we were tramping about without a mouthful of food or drink!</p> + +<p>"By day we lay concealed in the corn or grass fields, and by night we +crept along, without any guide, only hoping and praying—I've prayed +many times in the past, but never so much as on these nights—that all +would come right.</p> + +<p>"On the first day we were fairly well, on the second we were <i>very</i> +hungry, on the third our tongues were hanging out, and two of my +comrades went mad.</p> + +<p>"On the fourth night we fell in with a British ambulance section and +were taken into camp. As <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>I was passing an ambulance tent I heard some +one singing:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'I'm a child of a King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I'm a child of a King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With Jesus my Saviour,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I'm a child of a King.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">I asked who it was, and was told it was a Salvationist.</p> + +<p>"In the stillness of another night from one of the tents I heard—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'Then we'll roll the old chariot along,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And we won't drag on behind.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"I tell you it was thrilling; it made me dance for joy. Two or three +Salvationists were having a Free and Easy; after the chorus had been +sung once or twice I heard it taken up by other Salvationists in other +tents, and presently from many parts of the camp could be heard the +old Salvation Army song. It was splendid!</p> + +<p>"My, didn't the old verse go with a swing—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'If the Devil's in the way<br /></span> +<span class="i2">We'll roll it over him!'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">By this time the whole camp had joined in. Some of the +non-Salvationists would sing it with a slight change.</p> + +<p>"Another favourite with us Salvationists was the last verse of 'I'm a +child of a King'—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'A tent or a cottage what need I fear,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He's building a palace for me over there.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"I was unable to get to chat with any of the Salvationists, because if +you want to go from one battery to another you have to get permission. +But <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>one night I did go and listen outside one of the tents to their +singing. It cheered me only to know I was near some of my comrades. I +learned that the Salvationists in camp came from various parts of +England, some were bandsmen, some local officers, and others soldiers. +I didn't hear that any had been wounded beyond myself, although the +comrade I heard singing in the ambulance tent was in all probability +injured!"</p> + +<p>But now for the retreat itself! The passage I quote is from the pen of +the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins, as printed in the <i>Methodist Recorder</i>.</p> + +<p>Mr. Watkins had already seen much war service. He was in Crete. He +accompanied the British Army to Khartoum and was present at the battle +of Omdurman. He went through the South African war and was shut up in +Ladysmith during the siege. He knows what campaigning is, and he knows +how to describe what he sees. When this war broke out he was attached +to the 14th Field Ambulance, in command of which was Lieut.-Colonel +G.S. Crawford. The personnel of the ambulance consisted of nine +medical officers, one quartermaster, two chaplains—Rev. D.P. +Winnifrith (Church of England) and himself (Wesleyan)—and 240 +non-commissioned officers and men. His full description of the retreat +is as fine a piece of writing as I remember to have seen in connexion +with this war.</p> + +<p>"On we tramped through Maretz, our destination being, we were told, +Estrées. Never a halt or a pause, though horses dropped between the +shafts, and men sat down exhausted by the roadside. A heavy gun +overturned in a ditch, but it was impossible to stay to get it out, so +it was rendered useless, and the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>disconsolate gunners trekked on. +When horses could draw their loads no longer, the loads were cast by +the roadside; there could be no delay, for the spent and weary +infantry were fighting in our rear, and every moment's delay had to be +paid for in human lives.</p> + +<p>"Darkness fell and still we marched—I dozed in the saddle to waken +with a start, but still nothing but the creak and rumble of waggons +and guns, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of men. I cannot give a +connected account of that night—it lives in my memory like an awful +but confused nightmare—the overpowering desire for sleep, the +weariness and ache of every fibre of one's body, and the thirst. I had +forgotten to be hungry, had got past food; but I thirsted as I had +only thirsted once before, and that was in the desert near Khartoum.</p> + +<p>"About midnight we reached Estrées, and I asked a staff officer where +the 14th Field Ambulance was camped. 'Camped!' he exclaimed. 'Camped! +Nobody camps here. Orders are changed and there must be no halt.' +Then, as an afterthought, 'What Ambulance did you say?' 'Number 14.' +'Do you belong to it?' 'Yes.' 'Then I congratulate you, for if reports +are true, you are all that is left of it: it is said to have been +wiped out by shell fire.' I said I thought the reports were, to say +the least, exaggerated, and rode on.</p> + +<p>"Shortly after I heard a familiar voice also asking for the 14th Field +Ambulance. It was Major Fawcett, R.A.M.C, who, like myself, had been +detached from the Ambulance on special duty. We greeted each other +with joy, and for the rest of that awful march had company.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>"At last we felt we could go no further (remember, in the last four +days we had only ten hours' sleep, and three proper meals), and were +in danger of dropping out of our saddles from exhaustion. So we +dismounted, sat by the roadside holding our horses, and at once were +fast asleep.</p> + +<p>"Two hours later we wakened, dawn was just breaking over the hills, +and still the column creaked and groaned its way along the road, more +asleep than awake, but still moving. A wonderful triumph of will over +human frailty. But at how great a cost to nerve and vitality was +revealed by one look at the faces of the men.</p> + +<p>"I was noticing how worn and gaunt my companion was looking, and was +about to remark upon it, but the same thought was in his mind and he +forestalled me. 'Isn't it wonderful how quickly this sort of thing +tells upon a man? You know, Padre, you look as though you had just got +up from a serious illness, and only three days ago you looked as hard +as nails, and as fit as a man could be.'</p> + +<p>"Soon after sunrise we came up with two of our ambulance waggons and +one of our filter water-carts. The wounded were in such a state of +exhaustion with the long trek, and the awful jolting of the waggons, +that Major Fawcett decided to halt and make some beef-tea for them, so +rode on ahead to find some farm where water could be boiled. He had +hardly gone when a battalion of exhausted infantry came up with us, +and as soon as they saw the water-cart, made a dash for it.</p> + +<p>"Hastily I rode up to them, explained that there was very little water +left in the cart, and that little was needed for their wounded +comrades.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>"'I'm thirsty myself,' I said, 'and I'm awfully sorry for you chaps, +but you see how it is, the wounded must come first.'</p> + +<p>"'Quite right, sir,' was the ready response. 'Didn't know it was a +hospital water-cart,' and without a murmur they went thirsty along +their way."</p> + +<p>Soon the retreat was renewed and steadily they marched to the rear +until St. Quentin was reached, where they got their first wash and +actually eight hours' sleep. Then on again—back, back, always back. +The River Aisne was passed, soon to be regained and made memorable by +a brilliant fight. But now it was all retreat. Day after day, night +after night they trekked. The days were tropical, the nights arctic. +Often it was too cold to sleep, though sleep was needed badly.</p> + +<p>At last, on Saturday, September 5, they reached Tournan, south of +Paris, and were informed that the retreat was over, and that they +would ere long turn to attack the foe who had so ruthlessly followed +them.</p> + +<p>The men were not down-hearted even through that awful march. +Down-hearted? No! They were always asking when they could get "a bit +of their own back." Their one desire was to turn and face their enemy. +This was a retreat, not a defeat. The men were ragged, bearded, +footsore, unkempt, but were unconquered and unconquerable. The spirit +of their country burned in them and blazed through their eyes, and +when the message of Sir John French came thanking them for their +magnificent courage and promising them a share in the rounding up, +they cheered until they could cheer no longer.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>When Sir John French published his first list of names for honourable +mention, the names of seven chaplains were "mentioned in Despatches." +And among the seven the name of the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins was +mentioned twice.</p> + +<p>No Parade services—they were out of the question,—hardly any short +unofficial services such as we grew accustomed to during the South +African War. Just a hearty handshake, a "God bless you," a whispered +text, or a hearty word of cheer, but the ministry to the wounded +always, and wherever possible the burial of the dead. No more is +possible in such a retreat. But the Christian soldier is cheered by +the sight of his chaplain. His "494" is never forgotten, and as he +passes along the lines of the wounded they look up and call him +blessed.</p> + +<p>Thank God, the Cross is always where there is suffering and death, and +never is it needed more than on the stricken field, or in such a +retreat as "The Retreat from Mons."</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep043" id="imagep043"></a> +<a href="images/imagep043.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep043.jpg" width="42%" alt="IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY." /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">"IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY."<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER III<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>AT THE FIGHTING BASE</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Commissioned Acting Chaplains—All Creeds Participate—Stories +of Christian Workers at the Fighting Base—Pluck, a Miracle +Worker—A Whole Regiment Praying—More Chaplains' Stories—The +French Mayor's Speech—Protestant Service in a Roman Catholic +Church—An Old-Fashioned "Revival"—The Cross upon the Field +of War—A Hospital Confirmation Scene—Y.M.C.A. at the +Fighting Base—The Story of the German Sniper.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Perhaps this is the best time to say a word about religious +ministrations in the Army.</p> + +<p>When a soldier enlists he is expected to "declare" his "religion." +Time was when only two forms of religion were recognised in the +Army—the Church of England and Roman Catholic. A recruit was asked, +"What are you? Church or Catholic?"—that was how it was shortly put. +But that day has gone by, and now all the chief religious +denominations are recognised, and the men—to the extent I have +already indicated—have the ministration of the chaplains of their own +churches. This some officers at first fail to recognise.</p> + +<p>The story goes that a captain, who had recently changed regiments and +had not as yet become acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of his new +command, was surprised at the small muster for Church of England +Parade. "You see," explained the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>sergeant-major, "we've sixteen Roman +Catholics, twelve Wesleyans, six Primitive Methodists, two Jews, and +four Peelin' Purtaties!"</p> + +<p>The Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian chaplains hold +commissions in the Army. The Wesleyans, although commissions have +repeatedly been offered, prefer to keep their ministers under their +own control. Their ministers become "Acting Chaplains," and, as I have +already indicated, during the present war for the first time, the +other Free Churches have been recognised in the same way. When, +however, war breaks out, all the chaplains, commissioned and acting, +are on the same footing, are attached to some unit, and are under its +commanding officer. They all wear uniform, and the only way to +distinguish the "Padre" from the ordinary officer is by the black +shoulder-knots and the cross on his hat.</p> + +<p>At the head of the Chaplaincy Department is Bishop Taylor-Smith, the +Chaplain-General. He is a powerful preacher, a good administrator, a +broad-minded man, and eminently fitted for his high position. But he +remains at home during this war, for the Chaplaincy Department has +become a big thing, and only very occasionally can he pay visits to +the front.</p> + +<p>The chaplain in charge of the Army work at the front is the Rev. Dr. +J.M. Simms (Presbyterian), one of the chaplains who also have the +distinction of being Hon. Chaplains to the King. It shows how catholic +the Army authorities are, and how little they allow their sympathies +to be with any one church, that the man in charge of the chaplains of +all the churches is a Presbyterian. He takes this position by virtue +of seniority, for Dr. Simms has seen long and varied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>service; but +never before has any other than an Anglican clergyman found himself in +command.</p> + +<p>The senior Church of England chaplain is the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, +who served with distinction throughout the South African War and was +among those shut up in Ladysmith.</p> + +<p>Chaplains have military status. The Chaplain-General ranks as +Major-General, Dr. Simms as Brigadier, and the others as Colonels, +Majors, or Captains. They do not use their title of military rank.</p> + +<p>As Bishop Taylor-Smith says: "There are no flouts or sneers against +the Sky Pilot in the Army of to-day. Quite the reverse; for does he +not bring them comfort and courage, and that quiet confidence which a +man of great moral might can implant in the most irreligious mind?... +Sometimes one hears grumbles at having to salute civilians 'dressed up +as officers,' but never a word against the Army chaplain—the Padre."</p> + +<p>In an interview reported in the <i>Daily Chronicle</i>, Bishop Taylor-Smith +goes on to say: "Chatting with a senior Army chaplain who had been at +the front from the beginning, I was not surprised to hear that he had +not once received a snub, for his story confirmed the remarks made to +me by Tommy Atkins himself. Down there in the bleak desolation of mud +and morass, with death hurtling through the grey sky, one is face to +face with the Unknown, and the man who in his native town never sets +foot in church, turns with gratitude to the chaplain to strengthen him +with the comfort of God.... All Protestant creeds are one in the +fighting line. If an Anglican minister is not at hand, a Presbyterian +speaks a few words, and all of the Protestant denominations work hand +and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>glove.... Only for Holy Communion in the field does he wear his +surplice, and usually he invites all, the unconfirmed, or even those +of other creeds, to participate, for any minute may mean death out +there."</p> + +<p>I can bear this out from personal knowledge. There is much less +distinction between the denominations in the Army at home than one +would expect, but in the "field" they rejoice in the grand old title +of Christian, and on occasion each does the other's work.</p> + +<p>Every day is a Sunday, so far as the chaplain is concerned. He takes a +service when and where he can. He cannot have too many, and the men +readily respond to his call.</p> + +<p>At the fighting base, however, his most important work lies in the +hospital. Here he is sorely needed. The men want him more than they +ever did in their lives. And it is his to hear their last words and to +tell them of the peace of God.</p> + +<p>We must remember that the fighting base is an ever-moving base, moved +according to the exigencies at the front, now forward, now back. It is +many miles behind the firing line, far from the sound though not the +sights of war. Here are Headquarters, where the brains of the Army do +their responsible work. To Headquarters comes information from every +available source. The telegraph and telephone instruments tick and +ring all day long. Motor cyclists bring their store of knowledge, and +aeroplanes, most important of all informants, dispense their news.</p> + +<p>Here, also, somewhere among the miles that measure the fighting base, +are the base hospitals, where the cases that cannot at once be sent to +the homeland are received and cared for; and here, also, are soldiers +on their way to the front, or those who—retired from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>the +trenches—are resting until their turn comes to go back.</p> + +<p>It will be seen, therefore, that the term fighting base is a very +elastic one. It stands for that wide area behind the advanced lines, +where all but the fighting work is done.</p> + +<p>Now, let us get among the Christian workers and see what they are +doing there.</p> + +<p>We are impressed with their magnificent opportunity. The men who have +been fighting know what it means. They have looked the king of terrors +in the face, and they feel the need of a Saviour as never before. The +men who, as yet, have not been to the front cannot escape an +indefinable dread, and they, too, are ready for the gospel message. +While the wounded—suffering, and maybe drawing near to death—eagerly +drink in the words of life.</p> + +<p>We will listen to some of the chaplains as they tell their own tale.</p> + +<p>We will begin with the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, of the United Free +Church of Scotland. Writing to the <i>Record</i>, the organ of that church, +he begins by emphasizing the splendid character of the men of the +Expeditionary Force. He says (November 3, 1914):</p> + +<p>"Of 200,000 men forming the Expeditionary Force only 366 are in +prison—one man out of every 546. That statement proves the clean +character of the force. Of these 366 men in prison we find that the +number penalised for yielding to the sins about which Lord Kitchener +warned the troops before they left for overseas is (according to the +official returns) one man in 5000. Only one man in 5000 is worthy of +contempt. The rest are in gaol for reasons which stir not wrath but +pity."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>This is a remarkable statement, and when we consider the strain that +these men have experienced, and the reasons for their failure as given +by Mr. Adams—breaking ranks to seize a bunch of fruit, falling asleep +on "sentry-go" and the rest,—the wonder is that there have not been +many more. We do not wonder that he adds: "British soldiers have a +good name and a good character in this country, and it is well that +this be placed to their credit by the people of the Christian Church."</p> + +<p>Like all the chaplains at the base, Mr. Adams finds his chief +opportunity in the hospitals. He says:</p> + +<p>"At the base there are nine hospitals, some in public buildings, some +in tents out on the plain. Of these nine hospitals, some are filled +with British wounded, others with British and French, and the fellow +soldiers of both—Turcos, Senegalese, Belgians, Indians. The +chaplain's work is principally there, going from ward to ward and tent +to tent, talking on all subjects from the war to the Word of God, +writing letters, or getting those angels of mercy, the nursing +sisters, to write for men too crippled to write.</p> + +<p>"As he goes on his way the Padre distributes out of his well-filled +haversack gifts which have come from kind-hearted people at home.... A +fig, a handful of raisins, a packet of 'Woodbines' (greatest of all +luxuries in the opinion of 'Tommies' and 'Jocks'), a box of matches, +an old illustrated paper, a little bottle of perfume, or a little bag +of perfume for the uneasy and restless. These are some of the contents +of the wonderful haversack, and words cannot express the value of the +good things. The men look on them as love-tokens from home.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>"These men deserve our best care. They are brave in suffering as they +have been in service. Their pluck is extraordinary, and the instances +I now put down in my note-book prove the assertion.</p> + +<p>"In one of the field hospitals there are two men in the same tent, and +occupying beds next to each other. One man has had his left leg +amputated above the knee, the other his right leg. Both are recovering +and are as happy as sand boys. 'Good job, sir,' says one, 'it isn't +the same leg with both of us. One pair of boots will do between us +when we are allowed to get up.'</p> + +<p>"In another tent lies a 'Jock' shot in the back in two places, and +with his left arm shattered by shrapnel. He, too, is mending and +developing an alarming appetite for theological argument. Pluck, the +doctor says, is a miracle-worker here.</p> + +<p>"In a third tent is a lad with paralysis, the result of a bullet wound +in the region of the spine. He believes he will recover and says he +must hurry up, as no other fellow in the regiment can valet the +Colonel as he can....</p> + +<p>"As a rule the wounded are eager for the chaplain's visit. They want a +talk, and very often the talk turns steadily to the thing that counts. +Men are not ashamed to discuss religion, and get to the subject often +without much man[oe]uvring. That is not surprising. Very many have +been in the Valley of the Shadow, and they tell you that they found +God there. 'One' was with them—they cannot explain it, but they +remember it. And a soldier is a strong partisan. The hard fact is that +God was with them, and now they want to tell you what God is to them.</p> + +<p>"One lad (he is little more than a boy in years) <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>said to me when he +was telling me all about the battle of the Aisne, where he was +wounded:</p> + +<p>"'I never knew before then what it was to pray. Of course, I had +learnt to say my prayers, but I never really prayed till that day at +the Aisne. We all went into the battle singing "You made me do it, I +didn't want to do it," but when we got in the trenches it was like +hell. You should have seen some men dropping on their knees and +praying. Why, the whole regiment seemed to be praying. I know I was +praying, and somehow I felt better, and I've prayed every night +running since.'</p> + +<p>"That plain tale is the parable of many an awakening. It is the +parable of the soldiers' need and vision and faith. They have seen +something, and that something which is responsible for the question +they so frequently ask, 'What is it like at home? Are the people at +home praying? Are they praying for us doing our bit out here, or are +they still going on the old way?'...</p> + +<p>"The other day I was acting chaplain at the funeral of a 'Jock,' aged +twenty-eight, who leaves a widow and three little children amongst +that great company at home weeping for their beloved dead.</p> + +<p>"The night before he died I said, 'Good-night, boy, I'll be in to see +you early to-morrow morning.'</p> + +<p>"The poor fellow knew he might not last till morning; and as I turned +away he tried to raise himself and salute, and then he said:</p> + +<p>"'Good-night, sir, and God bless you! and if I'm gone, sir, remember +I'm all right—all right. Send my love to Janet and the bairns, and +tell them I'll be waiting for them.'</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. These men are our heroes and God's +own children."</p> + +<p>Yes, that is the universal testimony—"brave in suffering as they have +been brave in service." Grand lads these, and we shall never forget +what they have done for us.</p> + +<p>My difficulty in this chapter is to select out of the mass of material +to hand stories which will best illustrate the work which is being +done. Much will necessarily have to be put upon one side.</p> + +<p>I will turn next to the Rev. Richard Hall. For many years he had been +at the head of the Welcome Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Chatham, and +in this position had done most effective service for the men. The +Chatham Wesleyan Central Hall is also his creation, and in it he had +led hundreds of sailors and soldiers to Christ. No truer friend of the +soldier and no more efficient worker is to be found with the men.</p> + +<p>He, too, tells us something of hospital work at the fighting base. I +quote from the <i>Methodist Times</i>.</p> + +<p>"One night," he says, "as I was going my rounds, my attention was +directed to a man who was in delirium. I knelt down to hear what he +was saying. His mind was dwelling on his boyish days. He was +repeating—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'Hark, hark, hark, while infant voices sing<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Loud hosannas to our King.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">And then he uttered a name—it was the name of 'Peter Thompson.' This +man had evidently when a boy attended our East End Mission, and had +known Peter Thompson. I buried him in the little cemetery close by.</p> + +<p>"It was All Saints' Day, a great festival in France, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>the time when +friends visit the graves of their departed loved ones, and place +thereon flowers. It was a beautiful morning, scores of people were +there, and by invitation of the Mayor, as many officers from the +hospital as could be spared were present also. The funeral service was +combined with the celebration. I conducted the funeral first. At the +close the Mayor made the speech, a copy of which I enclose.</p> + +<p>"'Ladies and Gentlemen,—Often have I been proud to state that many of +you have considered it a duty and a patriotic devotion to accompany to +their last resting-place the glorious remains of our Allies who have +fallen on the field of honour, and to show your fraternal friendship +in bringing flowers, a spontaneous testimonial, but ephemeral, which +we will confirm later by a commemorative monument, and we shall put it +up together on this ground of supreme rest.</p> + +<p>"'In the name of the Municipal Council of Boisguillaume, ladies and +gentlemen, I thank you one and all.</p> + +<p>"'English officers and soldiers,—Be assured we shall never forget +here your brothers in arms. The people of Boisguillaume will make it +their duty to watch over these glorious remains you trust to their +care, and they will regard it as a perpetual honour.</p> + +<p>"'When later they bring the younger generation to bow to these graves, +they will ask them to remember for ever that the men who rest here +have shed their blood for France and England, in union of heart with +the civilised nations, in order to fight against the invasion of our +land by the barbarian hordes who are desirous of exterminating justice +and right, our genius and our civilisation.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>"'Glory to you, noble heroes, who for the sake of a sacred cause have +sworn to defend France unto death! Carry away with you into eternity +this confidence that you will live for ever in the memory of the +French, who have at present only one heart, one soul, whose gratitude +to you will never fade.</p> + +<p>"'Glory to England!</p> + +<p>"'Farewell.'"</p> + +<p>I have given the Mayor's speech in full, not because such a speech was +exceptional, but because it gathers up into itself the sentiments of +the French nation, and eloquently expresses the reverence felt for our +British dead.</p> + +<p>But not only do British soldiers know how to die, but German soldiers +also. They are our enemies, but it is a pleasure to record that many +of the captured German soldiers have their Bibles with them. Mr. Hall +tells of one who died suddenly. His open Bible was found on his bed; +and John iii. 16—"For God so loved the world "—were the words he had +been reading as he passed into the presence of his Saviour.</p> + +<p>Mr. Hall also tells of a graceful act of kindness on the part of the +Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese. In company with Father +Bradley and the Church of England chaplain, he waited upon the +Archbishop to ask permission to hold Protestant services in the small +but beautiful Roman Catholic church. The Archbishop received them most +kindly and readily gave consent. By the by, Mr. Hall pays a beautiful +tribute to that same Roman Catholic chaplain whose tent he +shared—Father Bradley. He says: "I never met a more gentle and +refined Christian character. His one thought was to serve others, and +he cared nothing for his own discomfort as long as he was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>helping +someone else." When they parted—for Father Bradley was the first to +go to the front—the Father's last words were, "Hall, don't forget to +pray for me, underneath and round about both of us are the Everlasting +Arms."</p> + +<p>Differing as we do so much from the Roman Catholic Church, it is a +pleasure to record this testimony.</p> + +<p>The services in the Roman Catholic church were conducted by the Church +of England chaplain and Mr. Hall. They were united services, for in +face of danger and death all are one in Christ Jesus.</p> + +<p>The services were fruitful in results as such services must always be. +Not only did large numbers attend, but doubtless the Great Day will +declare that many received the pardon of sin.</p> + +<p>"Padre, did you see me at the service last night?" asked one young +officer of Mr. Hall.</p> + +<p>"I did."</p> + +<p>"Well, do you know that is the first <i>voluntary</i> service I ever +remember attending, and I have made up my mind that from to-day God +shall have the first place in my life?" A fortnight after he said, "I +thank God that I have been a new man since that day I spoke to you."</p> + +<p>That is it—"a new man." God is making "new men" by the hundred, if +not by the thousand, in France and Belgium, and the chaplains are +reverently looking on and praising Him.</p> + +<p>The Rev. W.H. Sarchet tells quite a different, but not less striking, +class of story. It is his privilege to record an old-fashioned +"Revival" at the fighting base. Mr. Sarchet has seen much work among +soldiers and sailors. For eight years he was Wesleyan chaplain at +Gibraltar; for another seven he was chaplain at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>Devonport; for the +last four he has served in the same capacity at Portsmouth, having +charge of the Duchess of Albany's Soldiers' and Sailors' Home there, +and the services in the Town Hall.</p> + +<p>In a letter to the Rev. John Bell, Mr. Sarchet tells the story of this +remarkable spiritual movement which has been taking place at the +General Hospital, with which he has been serving at the fighting base. +I give the story in his own words as printed in the weekly article by +the Rev. J.H. Bateson in the <i>Methodist Recorder</i>. Mr. Bateson is +Secretary of the Wesleyan Army and Navy Board and Ex-Secretary of the +British Army Temperance Association in India. His weekly article is +replete with first-hand information, and that and its corresponding +article in the <i>Methodist Times</i> are a gold mine in which students of +the war may well dig.</p> + +<p>Mr. Sarchet, after referring to the wounded "fresh from the trenches +in all their grime and dirt, torn clothes, broken limbs, and ghastly +wounds," goes on to say:</p> + +<p>"In addition to this really distressing work, I am having some most +delightful camp work experiences. Last Sunday week at my second Parade +service—my first was at 8 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> three miles away—I +discovered by the very hearty responses in the prayers that there were +some out-and-out Christian men present. I asked them if they would +like a voluntary service at night. They said they would very much, so +we fixed it up for 6.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> We had a delightful service just at +setting sun. I think that 'Abide with me,' as that crowd of R.F.A. +men, waiting to go up to the fighting line, sang it, never sounded so +beautiful.</p> + +<p>"At the close of the service, we had an after-meeting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>by moonlight, +and three sought and found Christ. I announced a meeting for Monday +night, and so we have gone on right through the week, and there have +been seekers every night. At the close of this meeting we enlarge the +ring in the centre, and then invite those who have decided to serve +Christ to come right out into the ring before their comrades.</p> + +<p>"It is beautiful clear moonlight, just like day, and out they come one +after another. One never-to-be-forgotten evening we had twenty out. +They kneel down and we pray with them, then close the meeting with +'God be with you till we meet again,' and prayer. Then we take the +names and talk with the soldiers individually. We have enrolled the +names of over eighty men who have come out in this way in the last ten +days.</p> + +<p>"The meetings are having this good effect—finding the Christian men +in the camps around. There are several camps and thousands of +men—reinforcements just waiting for orders to move forward. Night and +day men are coming and going. A Christian officer too heard us singing +and has come and joined us. He has been with us every night when not +on duty."</p> + +<p>Supplementing this story Mr. Sarchet tells of another series of +meetings still proceeding as he wrote. He says:</p> + +<p>"A large number of our mounted men have recently gone forward, so this +week we started in the infantry camp, which is about three miles away. +We had our first open-air service there on October 26. We were only +two when we started, but a great crowd before we finished, with eleven +men out in the ring seeking Christ. This is grand work. The weather +has turned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>very wintry and wet this week, but the Camp Commandant has +promised me a store tent for our meetings, so we shall go on."</p> + +<p>What wonderful scenes these are when you think of their setting and +the men who were the chief actors! As Mr. Bateson says: "In the Nile +Expedition, in the South African Campaign, in the frontier work in +India, there have been many soldiers who, here and there, have +surrendered their lives to Christ, but this 'Revival' in the British +Expeditionary Force in France is surely unique in the history of war."</p> + +<p>We picture the scene—not a Salvation Army ring in some country town +in England, but crowds of khaki clad soldiers, supposed to be +trifling, light-hearted, devil-may-care. But here they are out in the +open, in full view of hundreds of their comrades, surrounded by great +camps, humbly kneeling in penitence at the Throne of Grace, "owning +their weakness, their evil behaviour," and pleading "God be merciful +to me a sinner." So strangely, yet so powerfully, stands the Cross +upon the field of war.</p> + +<p>Another beautiful little picture is presented to us by Mr. Sarchet in +another letter—a gathering of twenty-six soldier lads on the +afternoon of the Lord's Day.</p> + +<p>"We had a talk about temptation, and then celebrated Holy Communion. +It was all out in the open in a little wooden dell. I had my portable +camp table. It was a very gracious and never-to-be-forgotten time, as +we knelt there on the grass, with a beautiful clear sky overhead. +There seemed absolutely nothing between us and God, and the presence +of the Risen Christ was a great reality. Before next Sunday some who +were there will be fighting in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>trenches, but they will carry the +memory of this soul-hallowing time with them."</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep058" id="imagep058"></a> +<a href="images/imagep058.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep058.jpg" width="45%" alt="BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH and others" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH, CHAPLAIN-GENERAL.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> + + <div class="centered"> + <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="50%" summary="Chaplins"> + <tr> + <td width="45%" class="tdl"><p class="hang" style="margin-top: .2em;">Rev. E.L. Watson, Senior Baptist Chaplain at the Front.</p></td> + <td width="10%"> </td> + <td width="45%" class="tdl"><p class="hang" style="margin-top: .2em;">Rev. O.S. Watkins, Senior Wesleyan Chaplain at the Front.</p></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><p class="hang" style="margin-top: .2em;">Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C., Presbyterian, Principal Chaplain at the Front.</p></td> + <td> </td> + <td class="tdl"><p class="hang" style="margin-top: .2em;">Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, Senior Church of England Chaplain at the Front.</p></td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + +</div> + +<p>So out there in France our soldier lads "do this" in memory of Him +"until He come."</p> + +<p>Before I pass from the record of the directly spiritual work at the +fighting base, let me tell the story of a unique confirmation—a +confirmation without lawn sleeves. Bishop Taylor-Smith was the chief +actor in this strange scene. A Church of England chaplain represented +to him, during his visit to the front, that there were some men in +hospital, badly wounded, who desired confirmation. The Bishop gladly +consented to confirm them. They could not come to him, and so he went +to them. But it was not in his bishop's robes he went. He was on +military duty and he went in his military uniform as major-general.</p> + +<p>There was no attempt to get a congregation. The Bishop was only +attended by a chaplain and Scripture reader. He first went to a ward +where lay two lads side by side, each with his right leg amputated +above the knee. They were simple country lads and they were crippled +for life. Their hearts had been won for Christ, and they desired to +give their lives to Him. The Bishop spoke words of hope and cheer, and +laid his hands upon them. Then he went to another ward where lay a man +with a terrible shrapnel wound in his arm. Him also the Bishop +confirmed. In the next ward were two men—older men these—who had +known agonising pain. Their beds had been brought together, and upon +these also the Bishop laid confirming hands. Then he passed to the +church where the convalescents who desired confirmation could receive +his Church's rite.</p> + +<p>A simple record this, but I fancy we shall search <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>history in vain for +any other story of a bishop in military uniform administering the rite +of confirmation to wounded soldiers.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>A word about the Y.M.C.A. work at the fighting base. It is being +carried on there much as in England. Wherever possible Camp Homes are +being erected, and the work done in them not only keeps the men out of +temptation, but is the means in many cases of turning their steps +toward Christ and heaven.</p> + +<p>Mr. A.K. Yapp (the General Secretary) has recently paid a visit to +France and reports most cheerily of the work done there. They have +received ready help from both officers and men. In the erection of +Queen Mary's Hut, for instance, every consideration has been +exhibited. Materials have been carted free of charge, and other +important and valuable concessions made, which have proved of the +greatest service.</p> + +<p>The work by the Y.M.C.A. in the Indian hospitals is exceptionally +interesting. Those who are in charge can speak Hindustani, and are +able to render many kindnesses to these brave Eastern fighters. They +cannot, of course, undertake Christian teaching, but they are able to +show the Christian spirit, and the lesson will not be lost on the sick +and wounded Indians.</p> + +<p>The more we study the work of the Y.M.C.A. for our soldiers in this +war, with its branches now grown to nine hundred, the more we shall +agree with the statement of a British officer: "You Y.M.C.A. people +are marvellous."</p> + +<p>And the men—what of the men among whom these chaplains and "Y.M.C.A. +people" and others work? "The men," said General Buller in South +Africa, "are splendid." That is still the verdict—the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>universal +verdict—they are <i>splendid</i>. Everybody loves Thomas Atkins who knows +him; cheerful and kindly, ready to do anyone a good turn, heroic in +action, patient in suffering, tender and chivalrous to women, he has +set us all an example in this war. And he has done with the greatest +ease what some people in this country find it so difficult to +accomplish; he has shown us, as I have already indicated, how to fight +his enemy and to love him too.</p> + +<p>The Rev. Harold J. Chapman, M.A., vouches for the truth of this story +told him in artless fashion by the hero of it. A German sniper was in +a tree some distance from a small company of our men. He wounded one +of our lads, and the pal of the wounded lad, lying not far from him, +said, "I'll have to bring that fellow down, or he'll be hitting <i>me</i> +next." So he took aim and fired, and the German sniper dropped from +the tree wounded. The ambulance that carried to the rear the wounded +British soldier took also the German sniper.</p> + +<p>After some days, to their astonishment they found themselves opposite +each other in the same compartment of the same train.</p> + +<p>"Well, what did you do?" said Mr. Chapman. "Did you hit him?"</p> + +<p>"Oh no! why should I hit him? I couldn't speak his 'lingo,' and he +couldn't speak mine, so I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. Then +I offered him a cigarette, and he offered me one of his, and we were +the best of pals all the journey."</p> + +<p>That is it, the man who had shot the British soldier, and the man who +had been shot by his pal, the best of friends! After all, why should +not nations emulate the example of their soldiers?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>Aye! They have seen suffering—these men—and they have risen superior +to it, and speedily they forget the suffering, but they never forget a +kindness shown. As Private Simmons of the 1st Cameronians says: "I +have seen hell, for I have seen war, and I have seen heaven, for I +have been in hospital."</p> + +<p>They are worth all that is being done for them—these splendid +fellows—and still they go on singing, the words that Mr. Robert +Harkness has recently written for them:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Sometimes the clouds hang heavy and low,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor can we see each step as we go;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No silver lining the cloud doth bestow.<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Are we down-hearted? No!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bravely we march in the battle of life.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fierce is the conflict, the turmoil, and strife;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fraught with such peril, danger so rife,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Are we down-hearted? No! No! No!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER IV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Christian Work during the Fighting—A Monotony of Horrors—A +Brave "Bad Lad"—Strange Places for Worship—No Apples on his +Conscience—Transferred to Flanders—Strangest Spectacle of +the War—Lord Roberts in France—At Dead of Night—A Shell +Stops a Sermon—The University Student.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Sunday, September 6, 1914, will be a memorable date for British +soldiers, for it was the day on which the long and perilous retreat +from Mons came to an end, and they once more turned to meet their foe. +It was a day of great rejoicing. They were not privileged to join +together in the worship of God; instead there was constant marching. +But they were advancing now, not retreating, and there was a spring in +their tread, and a glad light in their eyes, which showed of what +stuff they were made, and pronounced them "ready, aye ready."</p> + +<p>As they marched steadily forward, they passed through village after +village devastated by the German troops. Stories of barbarism were +told them which made them clench their hands and set their teeth. Here +and there, however, it was different, and they passed through villages +on some of the doors of which was the notice, "Only defenceless women +and children <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>are here. Do not molest them." It seemed as though when +the German troops had their commanding officer with them, and were +well under control, they regarded the rules of war; but that when they +were detached from the central command and could do more as they +liked, then all the savage in them was let loose.</p> + +<p>At last the Marne was reached and the battle begun. It is no part of +our purpose in this book to describe that and the following battles. +Our business is with the Christian work done in connexion with them, +and only so far as they help to illustrate the work done have we +anything at all to say about the conflicts. For five long days raged +the battle of the Marne, from September 6 to 10 inclusive. During it +deeds of heroism were performed by the hundred which will never be +recorded.</p> + +<p>While it continued but little of a specifically religious character +could be performed by the chaplains. But they were everywhere—with +their men in the front, with the ambulance and stretcher-bearers, +bending over the wounded with words of Christian hope, and when the +darkness fell, burying the dead. They had the perils of the battle, +but none of the excitement of participation.</p> + +<p>Take this as a tribute from the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins to the work +of the R.A.M.C. I quote from the <i>Methodist Recorder</i>.</p> + +<p>"Then the shrapnel swept the road; the bearers scattered in all +directions; for a moment I thought General Rolt and his staff were +wiped out, but all reached cover in safety. For myself, I leaned close +against the high bank, whilst in the bush just above my head rattled +the bullets like rain, and the leaves <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>and twigs fell round me in a +shower, but the danger was not for long.</p> + +<p>"'Stretcher-bearers!' came the shout down the hill, and Major Richards +sprang to his feet and the first squad followed him. My task was for a +time to direct the bearers, and I was filled with admiration as the +men faced the hillside, and what waited for them in the woods above.</p> + +<p>"Remember these were not fighting men who carried arms, and they could +take no cover, for they had the stretcher to carry with its suffering +load. I never admired the Royal Army Medical Corps as I did that day +on the hills above Pisseloup and Montreuil.</p> + +<p>"'Next squad!' I would shout, and without the slightest hesitation or +sign of fear they would take their stretchers and climb the hill. Now +Major Richards was in the road dressing the wounds of those brought +in, and working with equal bravery and almost a surgeon's skill, good +Sergeant-Major Spowage laboured at his side. Later they were joined by +Lieutenant Tasker, R.A.M.C, and still the wounded streamed down the +hills above.</p> + +<p>"How those doctors and orderlies worked! That day at the cross-roads +near Pisseloup, I saw some of the best work done that has ever been +accomplished in the field, and none seemed to realise that they were +doing anything out of the ordinary."</p> + +<p>When night fell, Rev. D.P. Winnifrith and Rev. O.S. Watkins did work +similar to that which other chaplains were doing elsewhere on the +field. We have their record, but must wait for that of the others. +What a picture it is upon which we gaze! Aye, and not only at night, +but next day following the advancing British troops.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>Here and there is a wounded soldier who has lain for hours in the +rain. Their sufferings must have been horrible. And here and there, +nay, all around, the dead. They buried them in fields, in gardens, in +orchards and vineyards, sometimes singly, sometimes in twos and +threes—in one grave two officers and eighteen men. But we draw a +curtain over the scene. It will soon become a monotony of horrors. Let +us hasten on.</p> + +<p>The Marne won, the next line of battle was the Aisne.</p> + +<p>Here I pause to relate a little incident variously reported in the +papers. I give it as it came to me first, judging that the first +report is probably the most correct. It dates from some of the fierce +fighting near the banks of the Aisne.</p> + +<p>A village was temporarily evacuated by the British under the pressure +of German troops. In the hurried retreat six or eight British soldiers +were left behind. They took shelter in a cottage, knowing that the +Germans were close upon them. There was a hasty council of war. One of +them was the "bad lad" of the regiment—a drunken ne'er-do-well. He +had his own solution of the problem.</p> + +<p>Said he, "I have never been any good. I never shall be any good. Let +me go and I will try to save you lads. The Germans are upon us. I can +hear them in the street. I will rush out of the house and down the +street. They will see me and they will fire. They will never suppose +that one would run and not the others. They will not trouble to +search, and you will be saved."</p> + +<p>His comrades protested and said they would all die together. But there +was no time to argue. In a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>moment he was out of the house and down +the street. Shots rang out and the "bad lad" of the regiment fell, +pierced by many bullets. It was as he said. The Germans passed the +house, and for a moment the rest of that little company were saved.</p> + +<p>But the British had received reinforcements. They advanced to the +attack again and the village was cleared of Germans. Then the little +company came out of their hiding-place, reverently lifted the body of +the dead hero who had died for them, and carried it to the rear. They +dug a grave and buried him. Over the grave they placed a rough wooden +cross, and wrote upon it—"He saved others, himself he <i>would</i> not +save."</p> + +<p>They hoped, they said, they were not guilty of blasphemy in altering +and using the historic words, and we, as we quote them, are quite +certain they were not.</p> + +<p>The battle of the Aisne was long drawn out, if that can be described +as a battle which consisted of many days of fierce fighting +culminating in long continued siege warfare in the trenches. During +its continuance there was the same individual ministry, the constant +hair-breadth escapes of chaplains and doctors—not always, however, +for both chaplains and doctors suffered—the same heroic endeavour to +ameliorate suffering and to point the dying to the Saviour.</p> + +<p>Here and there we get glimpses of brief services held behind the +firing line. A brigade at a time would be withdrawn from the trenches +and then was the chaplain's opportunity. We read of a Sunday spent +among these men who had just been facing death. An early communion, +the men kneeling on the straw of a dimly lit barn, a service in the +open-air among men of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>line regiments and of batteries, a united +service in the evening at which the Rev. D.P. Winnifrith read the +prayers, Colonel Crawford the lessons, and the Rev. O.S. Watkins gave +the address.</p> + +<p>We are told of hurriedly arranged services in the evenings—one in a +cart-shed lit by two hurricane lamps, in which Church of England and +Wesleyan chaplains took part, and Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, a +Wesleyan local preacher, gave the address. Another in a deep cutting, +safe from shell fire, while overhead the guns were booming, but clear +above the noise the music of the hymn—"Blessed assurance, Jesus is +mine." Another, which Lieutenant Grenfell reports, in a farmyard, amid +the neighing of horses and the constant tramp of men.</p> + +<p>Strange places these for the worship of God! But with a heart at rest, +even amid the strife of battle, the Christian turns to God, and there +is a deep longing in the hearts of men who cannot call themselves +Christians for the consolations of religion.</p> + +<p>Corporal Chappell, invalided home with a bullet in his leg, +illustrates this with some touching stories of the battle of the +Aisne. As they advanced to the front the road was for some distance +lined with orchards. The Colonel issued orders that no apples were to +be taken, for, said he, "It would be stealing." One man, however, +could not resist the temptation, and when for a few minutes they +rested, filled his pockets with apples. In a short time they were in +the thick of the battle and shells were falling fast and furious. Out +came the apples from the lad's pockets. He flung them as far from him +as he could. "There, I will not have you on my conscience, anyhow!" he +said.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>Another lad close to Chappell said to him: "Chappell, I have a sort of +feeling I shall not reach home again. I cannot help thinking of my +wife and children."</p> + +<p>"Have you thought of your own soul?" asked Chappell.</p> + +<p>"There is no time for that," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, there is a minute at any rate. Pray, lad, pray! Your wife and +children are in God's hands. Pray for pardon now."</p> + +<p>And so they two went forward praying. A few minutes and a shell almost +annihilated the company, and among the rest the lad who had just been +pleading "God be merciful to me a sinner" was killed. Thank God! no +one ever prays that prayer in vain.</p> + +<p>A few minutes afterwards Corporal Chappell was himself shot in the +leg. As best he could he proceeded to hop into safety. Two men of +another regiment saw him and carried him to the shelter of a cow-shed +and laid him there. It was only some time afterwards that he found +that one of the men who had helped to carry him was only less severely +wounded than himself. The cow-shed was filthy, the pain severe, he +wondered how long he was to lie there alone, and untended.</p> + +<p>"Then," said he, "I remembered that my Lord was born in a stable, and +I just lay still and went to sleep thinking of Him, and I slept on and +on until night fell, and the stretcher-bearers found me and carried me +to the rear."</p> + +<p>Thus these simple lads help their fellows, preach Christ even in the +midst of the battle, and when in sore need themselves, find in the +thought of their Saviour comfort and rest and hope.</p> + +<p>Then came threatenings in Flanders, and the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>daring plan of a German +advance on Calais. This necessitated the withdrawal of our troops from +the lines of the Aisne to the Yser and their replacement by French +troops on the Aisne. The transference of our troops was accomplished +with the greatest secrecy and skill. It is doubtful if the Germans +were acquainted with the transference until it was accomplished. It is +perhaps one of the greatest deeds of the war, and speaks of supreme +skill and daring on the part of our commander.</p> + +<p>The soldiers took it all in good part. "Over incredibly bad roads, +often up to the boot tops in mud, they marched with a swing that would +have done credit to a Royal Review on Laffan's Plain, and as they +marched they chanted their war-song, 'It's a long, long way to +Tipperary.' It seemed hardly possible that for three solid months they +had been fighting without a single day's rest. As they crossed the +Belgian frontier their spirits rose. 'This is better than the last +time we crossed it, isn't it, sir? Then we was on the run, having got +more than we wanted at Mons, but now the boot's on the other leg. Now +if we could only capture 'Kaiser Bill,' or even 'Old one o'clock' +(General von Kluck), we might get home for our Christmas dinners after +all.'"</p> + +<p>Then followed the battle of Ypres, the bloodiest battle of the winter +campaign, and one of the most critical engagements of the war. It was +now cold—bitterly cold. Rain and snow—snow and rain! The trenches +became almost uninhabitable. Frost-bite among the men became common. +Many were invalided to the base suffering from rheumatism. All that +could be done for the men was done. Warm goat-skin coats were served +out, and the men looked more like Teddy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>Bears than soldiers. Charcoal +braziers were sent to the trenches, and, most important of all, the +men were well fed.</p> + +<p>It was only a thin line to keep back the German hosts. How thin a line +no one yet is permitted to tell. But it accomplished its task, and by +November 20 reinforcements arrived and the situation for the British +was somewhat relieved.</p> + +<p>All through the series of battles the chaplains had been busy with +their grim work, caring for the wounded and burying the dead.</p> + +<p>"Bit of an attack on, sir," said the pioneer sergeant, "but they're +firing high, and all the bullets are going well overhead; they don't +matter. But there's a sniper who seems to have a line on that grave. +It's so dark that it's certain he can't see us, but he seems to have a +sort of instinct; as sure as we go near the place he begins firing. +There you are, sir; he's at it again. Lucky he ain't a good shot."</p> + +<p>But notwithstanding the sniper, the chaplain buried his dead, and then +tramped back in the darkness with shells falling all around.</p> + +<p>The battles now developed into a sort of siege, and for long drawn-out +months the British and German armies faced each other in the trenches. +By this time the Indian contingent had arrived and their chaplains +with them.</p> + +<p>Then we had the strangest spectacle of the war—Roman Catholics, +Protestants, Hindus, Mohammedans, in all speaking fifteen different +languages, but fighting side by side in a common cause. The fact that, +notwithstanding the proclamation by the Sultan of a Holy War, our +Indian Mohammedan soldiers stood firm by Old England, was a sign that +no longer could <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>Constantinople be reckoned as the headquarters of +Mohammedanism. The Sheik-ul-Islam might sound forth his proclamation +in great state, but the princes and soldiers of India, Egypt, and the +Sudan heeded not. They knew that under the British flag they had +religious liberty, and they were loyal to the core.</p> + +<p>It was just before the battle of Ypres commenced that Lord Roberts +paid his visit to France. He was over eighty years of age, and it was +dangerous in the extreme for him to attempt such a journey at his time +of life. But he was most wishful to review his much-loved Indian +troops, and they in their turn were anxious to see their "Father," +whom they all revered. When the risks at his age were pointed out to +him, he replied, "We must do what we consider to be our duty; then we +are in God's hands."</p> + +<p>It was bitter weather, but he reviewed the Indian troops, caught cold, +and died on Saturday, November 14, 1914.</p> + +<p>He was the darling of the British Army. When the soldiers knew that +"Our Bobs" was coming to their relief in South Africa, their delight +was unbounded. They had absolute confidence in him; they would follow +him anywhere. And something more—they knew that when they read their +Bibles that was what Lord Roberts did—was there not a message from +him within the cover?—and when they knelt to pray they knew that that +also was what Lord Roberts did. His influence was widespread and was +all for good in the Army.</p> + +<p>In the eloquent tribute which Earl Curzon paid in the House of Lords +to the memory of Earl Roberts, he quoted a letter received from him +only a fortnight before.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>"We have had family prayers for fifty-five years. Our chief reason is +that they bring the household together in a way that nothing else can. +It ensures servants and others who may be in the house joining in +prayers which, for one reason or other, they may have omitted saying +by themselves. Since the war began we usually read a prayer like the +enclosed, and when anything important has occurred I tell those +present about it. In this way I have found that the servants are +taking a great interest in what is going on in France. We have never +given any order about prayers. Attendance is quite optional, but, as a +rule, all the servants, men and women, come when they hear the bell."</p> + +<p>"The man who penned these words," said Lord Curzon, "even to a friend, +was not only a great soldier, a patriot, and a statesman; he was also +a humble-minded and devout Christian, whose name deserves to live, and +will live for ever in the memory of the nation whom he served with +such surpassing fidelity to the last hour of a long and glorious +life."</p> + +<p>The Army bade farewell to the body of the great field-marshal at St. +Omer, then the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. The +route to the Mairie was lined by British and French troops. The +coffin, draped with the Union Jack, was placed upon the gun-carriage +by eight non-commissioned officers selected from regiments of which he +had been colonel. All the British and French courage was represented +in the procession. The Prince of Wales represented the King. The +Indian chiefs who honoured and loved him were there.</p> + +<p>At the service in the Mairie which followed, the Rev. F.I. Anderson, +assisted by the Rev. C. Marshall <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>and the Rev. A. Helps, officiated. +The service, as was fitting, was very simple. The music was led by a +choir of soldiers, accompanied by a harmonium, and the hymns sung were +"Now the labourer's task is o'er," and "O God, our help in ages past."</p> + +<p>At the conclusion of the service, British bugles sounded the "Last +Post." Then the body was reverently borne down the steps and placed in +the motor ambulance which was to convey it to Boulogne. As this was +done the guard of honour once more sprang to the present, French +trumpeters blew a fanfare, and the guns of Lord Roberts' old regiment +thundered a salute.</p> + +<p>Thus the British Army said farewell to its old chief, and will +remember him for ever as a great soldier and a great Christian.</p> + +<p>In the fighting round Ypres fell that distinguished British officer, +General Hamilton. The record of his funeral will show a great contrast +to that of Lord Roberts, but it gives us a weird and pathetic picture +of the circumstances under which our chaplains do their work.</p> + +<p>While standing on a hillock near the village of La Couteau in the +midst of his staff, the commander of our Third Division was struck by +a fragment of shrapnel and killed. They buried him "at dead of night," +and the whole scene recalls the famous lines on the burial of Sir John +Moore.</p> + +<p>It was a sad and silent party of distinguished French and British +officers which followed the coffin up the winding path to the little +churchyard, where the grave had been hastily dug, near the +shell-battered church. The only light was that of the electric flash +lamp used by the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson (the senior Church <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>of England +chaplain) to enable him to read the burial service.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep074" id="imagep074"></a> +<a href="images/imagep074.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep074.jpg" width="42%" alt="BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT.<br /><i>Drawn by D. Macpherson.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>He had scarcely begun to speak its solemn words when the Germans +opened a perfect hurricane of fire. But the chaplain never altered the +measured dignity of his intonation, though shells were bursting all +around and the enemy's bullets were pattering against what remained of +the church walls.</p> + +<p>This weird service over, the officers present had to hurry away to +their respective duties with the rattle of German musketry in their +ears. As General Smith-Dorrien also left, he said to Mr. Macpherson: +"A true soldier's funeral, Padre. We couldn't fire a volley, but the +enemy have given him the last salute for us."</p> + +<p>Aye! a true soldier's funeral, and the one which he would perhaps have +preferred to any other.</p> + +<p>Bishop Taylor-Smith, who tells the story of the funeral, also says +that the very next day the same chaplain (Mr. Macpherson) had gathered +the men of a battery into a musty old barn for a short service, when, +in the midst of the service, the roof of the barn was lifted right off +by a shell which, however, failed to explode. The service came to a +summary conclusion, not because of fear, but because the battery must +stop that sort of thing, and gallop away into action.</p> + +<p>Further stories by Bishop Taylor-Smith of the period to which this +chapter relates show under what weird circumstances the sacrament of +the Lord's Supper is sometimes administered.</p> + +<p>A jute factory near Armentières was being heavily shelled, but down in +the cellar, while the shelling was proceeding, the chaplain calmly +distributed the elements to one hundred and twenty-eight officers and +men of the Monmouth regiment. The only light <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>was that supplied by the +chaplain's flash lamp. The battalion went into action next day, and +several of those who had taken part in the Holy Communion were killed.</p> + +<p>On another occasion a celebration was taking place in a house at +Houplines when shells demolished the houses on either side, and no +sooner was the service over than a shell struck that self-same house. +Close by was the crackling of rifle fire, for a shed in which the +ammunition of the West Yorks was stored had been fired by a German +shell.</p> + +<p>In the same district an ordinary service—lasting about twenty-five +minutes—was held at the O.C.'s request in a barn round which shells +were dropping every moment. And yet so powerful was the singing of the +men that it almost drowned the din of the bombardment. The chaplain, +as he stood there conducting the service, thought how fearful it would +be if a big shell dropped into the midst of that company of praying +men.</p> + +<p>After this who will call parsons cowards? I do not wonder that already +one of them, the Rev. P.W. Guinness (Church of England), has won the +D.S.O., and that Mr. Macpherson was among those "mentioned in +despatches." I shall tell the story of Mr. Guinness' brave deed in +another chapter.</p> + +<p>One more funeral and this chapter shall draw to a close. The scene is +too beautiful to leave out, even if it does mean bringing three +funerals into one chapter. It dates from the battle of the Marne, and +the story is narrated by our old friend the Rev. O.S. Watkins.</p> + +<p>No men are braver, and very few render more important service, than +the motor cycle scouts. They are, many of them, students from Oxford +and Cambridge. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>Their intelligence, knowledge of languages, and +general resource are a great asset to the British Army. Their work, +however, is perilous in the extreme. One of these had lost his way and +had actually ridden through two villages occupied by Germans when, at +Douai, a bullet found its way to his heart.</p> + +<p>When the Germans retired from the village, the villagers carried him +tenderly into a cottage, straightened the fine young limbs, and +covered him with a clean white sheet. They placed a bunch of newly +gathered flowers upon his heart. He was carried to his last long rest +by the old men of the village—the young men had all gone to the +war—and as they passed through the village, the women came from the +houses and laid flowers upon the bier.</p> + +<p>Slowly they climbed the hill, with many a halt to rest the ancient +bearers, while ahead boomed the heavy guns, and at their feet they +could see the infantry advancing to action. At last the hill-top was +reached, crowned by the little church, with "God's acre" all around. +They laid him in the hastily dug grave, the peasants, with uncovered +heads, listening reverently to the reading of the burial service in a +language they could not understand. Before the service was finished +shrapnel shells were bursting over the hilltop, and the peasants +quietly moved to the partial shelter of the wall, still with uncovered +heads.</p> + +<p>When the final "Amen" was said, the chaplain stood for a moment gazing +down into the grave and thinking of all the brilliant possibilities +wrapped up in that splendid young fellow "gone to his death," when one +of the old men, forgetting his fear of the guns, came forward to the +graveside, and cast earth with unconscious dignity upon the body lying +there. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>"You are a brave man," he said, "and our friend. You have +given your life for our country. We thank you. May you sleep well in +the earth of beautiful France!" And the old men under the shelter of +the wall added "Amen."</p> + +<p>Thus they go, the grand old field-marshal 'neath the weight of years, +the brilliant general in the full tide of useful service, and the +young man, his life-work scarce begun! Thus they go and the flower of +our nation's manhood with them. If that were the end, if death ended +all, Britain could hardly lift up her head again. But we cheer +ourselves as we remember that what we call the end is only the +beginning. Goethe draws a picture in <i>Faust</i> of his hero gazing at the +setting sun. As he watches it slowly setting in the west, he longs to +follow it in its course—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">To drink its everlasting light,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The day before him and behind the night.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">But they may and do. There is always—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The day before <i>them</i> and behind the night.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">"There is no night there." And so we comfort ourselves with the +thought that service broken short off here may be continued yonder, +that the old will grow young again, that the o'erthrown fighter will +rise conqueror, and life—eternal life—will crown all.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The best is yet to be.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER V<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">The Original Thomas Atkins—No Infidels in the Trenches—In +the Trenches at Night—A Salvation Army Story, and Others—Man +Who was Digging a Trench—They have "Kept Smiling "—What +Christ is to the Soldier—What a Picture!—Every Place the +"House of the Lord"—The Soldier Spirit—The Gilts from +Home—Courage has never Failed—And the Christian Soldier?</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>"I tell you what it is, sir, God is jolly near you in the trenches." +So spoke Thomas Atkins to a Church of England chaplain. It was just +like him to speak thus. A vigorous utterance suits him.</p> + +<p>But how did he come by the name Thomas Atkins? The story goes that it +dates from the Peninsular War. The Duke of Wellington was directing +some operations in the field. An aide-de-camp rode up to him with the +outline of a new attestation form, or something of that kind sent out +by the War Office of those days.</p> + +<p>It was advisable to fill up the top line in order that those who +filled up the following lines might have an example of how it should +be done. The question was, Whose name should be put in there? The +aide-de-camp thought the Duke would mention the first name that came +into his mind, but not so the Duke. He looked at it a moment, and +said, "I must think. Come back to me in an hour."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>During that hour he turned over in his mind the deeds of bravery he +had seen performed by private soldiers. He thought of the brave deeds +of soldiers in the Peninsular Campaign. And then his mind went back to +India, and at last he said to himself, "Yes, that was the bravest deed +I ever saw performed by a private soldier." And when his aide-de-camp +came back he said, "Put down Thomas Atkins." And "Thomas Atkins" it +has been from that day to this. So the title enshrines the memory of a +brave man, and I wonder if he, too, felt God "jolly near" him in the +trenches.</p> + +<p>"Jolly near!" It is a thought-provoking phrase. "Near!" Ah! yes, we +know that, and if we can look up amidst the bursting shell and see, +not the angry, but the smiling face of God, then the word "jolly," if +not as we should put it, is at any rate expressive.</p> + +<p>The "Eye-witness" with the British Army tells us something of what it +is like in the trenches.</p> + +<p>"After a short outburst of fire lasting perhaps for only three or four +minutes the hostile trenches are obscured by a pall of smoke, in the +midst of which can be seen the flashes of the shrapnel bursts and the +miniature volcanoes of earth where the high explosive common shells +burst in the soft clay soil. Then, if an infantry attack is to be +launched, the cannonade suddenly ceases. There is a moment of +suspense, and a swarm of khaki figures springs from our trenches and +rushes across the fire-swept zone, possibly 100 yards in breadth. +Instantly there breaks out the rattle of machine guns and musketry. +There is some hesitation as the stormers reach the entanglements, and +then, if the assault succeeds, they disappear into the enemy's +trenches, leaving a few or many scattered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>bodies lying in the track +of their advance. Save at such moments as these there is often no +movement whatever in the battle zone, for not a man, horse, or gun is +to be seen, and there are periods of absolute stillness when, except +for the sight of the deserted and ruined hamlets, the scene is one of +peace and agricultural prosperity."</p> + +<p>Yes, it is very quiet in the trenches. Not a head must appear over the +top or death is the result. Quiet, yes; up to the knees, or sometimes +up to the waist, in water, eating there, sleeping there, often dying +there. We read of some trenches where the water was so deep that the +wounded men were drowned. There was no place to put them, and they +just fell into the water, and there they died.</p> + +<p>Quiet, until the artillery has done its preparatory work, and then +charge, charge, charge!</p> + +<p>I do not wonder that a wounded soldier said to the Rev. T.J. Thorpe: +"My mates used to tell me in barracks that they were infidels—they +did not believe in God—but after their experiences in the trenches +they have lost their infidelity. They pray now. <i>There are no infidels +in the trenches.</i>"</p> + +<p>Said another soldier, "We leapt from our trenches singing a rowdy +song, but in a minute I was praying as I never prayed before. My mates +were praying. We were all praying, and I have been praying ever +since."</p> + +<p>I do not wonder that "there are no infidels in the trenches."</p> + +<p>The Rev. Cuthbert J. Maclean (Church of England chaplain), writing +from France on November 3, 1914, tells us that he had been in the +trenches continually under fire for three weeks, and had not even had +a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>rough wash or taken off his boots. He has had several wonderful +escapes from death, even being hit in the neck without, however, +sustaining any injury.</p> + +<p>"Four days ago," he says, "I spent some hours sitting in my +'funk-hole' in a trench, and then I left for a little exercise. About +twenty minutes after I had moved out, a huge shell burst in the exact +spot where I had been sitting for hours, and blew up the trench for +some twenty yards."</p> + +<p>It will be seen from this that the trenches are not always waist-deep +or even knee-deep in water. It depends upon the weather. At first +elaborate precautions were taken to make the trenches as comfortable +as possible. They were deep and comparatively wide. All sorts of +necessaries and, occasionally, luxuries were kept there. They were +drawing-room and dining-room and kitchen.</p> + +<p>But when the long continued rains came they were almost uninhabitable. +Men stood in liquid mud, sometimes covered with frost. They stood day +after day and suffered sorely. Many of them had to be invalided to the +rear with rheumatism, and will never recover from the effect of those +terrible days.</p> + +<p>An elaborate system of network communication trenches was formed, +communicating with the rear, but in the worst of the weather, the +communication trenches became worse than the fire trenches, and in +some cases the water in them was up to the necks of the men.</p> + +<p>It was only when night fell that communication with the fire trenches +was possible. Then it was that rations were conveyed to the men at the +front—only then was it possible—and even in the dark it was a +difficult and dangerous task. No light must <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>be shown; to strike a +match might be death. Says the non-commissioned officer to his men +engaged in this hazardous task: "Whenever a searchlight is turned on +you, or the country is lit up by a flare or a star shell, stand +perfectly still. It's movement wot gives the show away. Keep still, +an' they'll think you're a bush, or a tree, or what not. But as sure +as yer move, you're a deader."</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances, Christian work in the trenches would seem +impossible, but the apparently impossible has been accomplished. The +chaplains are from time to time with their men in the trenches. The +experience of Mr. McLean has already been quoted, and many another +might be added.</p> + +<p>Christian men are there also in ever-increasing numbers, and these are +themselves unofficial chaplains. We hear of at least one Methodist +class meeting regularly held in the trenches, and there is many a +prayer meeting there. Yes, and many a man has found his Saviour there, +for the Lord Jesus is very near those who seek Him in the trenches.</p> + +<p>Here is a sacred little letter scribbled in the trenches by a man who +there gave himself to Christ:</p> + +<p>"To my darling wife and children. Daddy fully surrendered to Jesus +20.11.14 at Ypres. Sudden death—sudden glory. Safe in the arms of +Jesus."</p> + +<p>A soldier, who has recently returned home for a brief rest after many +weeks in the firing line and in the trenches, says that he is quite an +altered man as the result of the war. As a boy he was never taught to +pray; but in the trenches he began to pray, and prayed regularly. +Hundreds of men, he says, are doing the same thing day by day. He also +says that the men at the front expect and reckon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>upon the prayers of +the people at home on their behalf.</p> + +<p>And now a Salvation Army story. One day a man came into a Salvation +Army hall in the East End of London, and when the officers were +speaking to him they found that he had never been to a Salvation Army +service before. They asked him what brought him there.</p> + +<p>"In the trenches," he replied, "I made up my mind that the very first +chance I had I'd come. You see, I was fighting next to a Salvationist. +One morning he was hit and fell fatally wounded. I knelt beside him in +the trench and asked if I could do anything for him.</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' he said. 'In my pocket there is the address of my father and +mother; if you live to get home, tell them how I died, and tell them +that religion was good for me away from home in the trenches, and +death has no terror for me.'</p> + +<p>"I said, 'Yes, I'll tell them.'</p> + +<p>"Then he opened his eyes and pulled me down. 'Supposing a shot came +for you next,' he said, 'how would it be for you?' And although he +only lived five minutes longer, he talked to me all that five minutes +about my soul, trying to get me converted.</p> + +<p>"Then he closed his eyes and died."</p> + +<p>Yet another Salvation Army story. It is told in the <i>War Cry</i> by +"Leaguer" John Coombs of the 1st Gloucester Regiment:</p> + +<p>"The battle of —— was in progress, and our trenches were being raked +by the enemy's fire. We were expecting any moment to be told that the +German guns would have to be silenced, and presently along the line +came the order 'Charge!' We scrambled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>into the open and rushed +forward, met by a perfect hail of bullets. Many of our men bit the +dust, but we who remained came to grips with the enemy. I cannot write +of what happened then. The killing of men is a ghastly business!</p> + +<p>"On the way back to the trenches I saw a poor German soldier trying to +get to his water-bottle. He was in a fearful condition. I knelt down +by his side. Finding his own water-bottle was empty, I gave him water +from mine. Somewhat revived, he opened his eyes and saw my Salvation +Army Leaguer's button.</p> + +<p>"His drawn face lit up with a smile, and he whispered in broken +English: 'Salvation Army? I also am a Salvation Soldier.' Then he felt +for his Army badge. It was still pinned to his coat, though +bespattered with blood.</p> + +<p>"I think we both shed a few tears, and then I picked up his poor, +broken body, and with as much tenderness as possible, for the terrible +hail of death was beginning again, I carried him to the ambulance. But +he was beyond human aid. When I placed him on the waggon he gave a +gentle tug at my coat; thinking he wanted to say something, I bent low +and listened, and he whispered: 'Jesus, safe with Jesus!'"</p> + +<p>Sergeant-Major J. Moore, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, tells us +that he had often spoken to one non-commissioned officer on the claims +of Christ. Three days ago, he says, he was walking from his company +officer's trench to another part of the company, when a bullet struck +through his greatcoat at the right arm, passed through his right +service dress pocket, then over his heart, and out through his left +pocket. He was not touched himself, but as he dropped into the trench +a little bit stunned, and saw <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>how near he had been to death, he then +and there lifted up his heart to the Lord, thanked Him, and gave his +life to Him.</p> + +<p>Sergeant-Major Moore tells another story of a lad brought up in a +Sunday-school. He had had the best mother in the world, he said, but +she was dead. He was sure she had gone to heaven. "Four days ago," +says the sergeant-major, "his home-call came. Inside his war pay-book +was found an envelope from his wife, and he had written the following +while in the trenches:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Jesus! the name that charms <i>my</i> fears,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">That bids <i>my</i> sorrows cease;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Tis music in the sinner's ears,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">'Tis life, and health, and peace.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He breaks the power of cancelled sin,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">He sets the prisoners free;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His blood can make the foulest clean,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">His blood <i>avails</i> for <i>me</i>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">That was the last he was known to write."</p> + +<p>Sunday-school teachers may take heart of cheer. The work that they +were tempted to think was thrown away is taking root and bearing fruit +in the trenches.</p> + +<p>Another sergeant-major writes:</p> + +<p>"We are not able to meet so well, owing to the scattered condition of +the battalions. But we have managed, when things are a bit quiet, to +steal from the trenches this week, and hold prayer, praise, and +testimony meetings, and it would have done your heart good to hear the +dear brothers testify to the saving and keeping power of our adorable +Saviour, and every one felt drawn nearer to each other, and to God."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>What does a charge from the trenches feel like to a Christian "Tommy" +who is taking part in it? Listen to this:</p> + +<p>"We were in the trenches the whole time. Sometimes we had burning sun, +at others pouring rain, and at nights heavy dews soaked you. At the +end the order came to fix bayonets for a charge; then I just put my +hand over my eyes—so—and asked God to help me to do my duty like a +man. We rose up and ran forward a little way, and then fell flat while +the bullets and shrapnel flew over us like hail; then on again. We +hadn't advanced very far before their artillery was cutting us up +badly. Our adjutant and the two mates either side of me were shot +dead. Then I was hit in the leg. It made me go right silly like, and I +didn't know where I was for a bit. When I came to my mates had gone, +so I crawled away as far as I could. I didn't want them Germans to get +at me, sir.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir; I'm just fine now. Doctor says I'm doing marvellous. +It's through living a straight life, 'e says. There's nothing like +keepin' respectable. As you say, sir, the Lord heard my prayer, and He +must have spared me for a purpose. I hope to be back again soon, and +give 'em some more socks."</p> + +<p>And now it is time that we retired from the trenches and saw these men +when they come out. We will not retire far, but just far enough to the +rear to see the men as they retire, and watch others who are just +going in.</p> + +<p>Here is one who has got a trench to dig, and it strikes me as a very +quaint ending to a quaint letter. He has told us in the letter of a +comrade of his who, when wounded in the foot by a shrapnel shell, +exclaimed, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>"Never mind; thank God, I still have one left." And he +concludes by saying, "I could still go on relating my experiences, but +I am just about to dig another trench, so I will close now with 1 +Peter i. 5, 'Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto +salvation.'"</p> + +<p>Evidently he was thinking of divine things all the time, and as he dug +his trench he might truly sing—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">My hands are but engaged below,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">My heart is still with Thee.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">See them as they come out of the trenches! Some of them during the +terrible weather about Christmas time had literally to be dragged out +by their comrades, for they stuck fast in the mud.</p> + +<p>Talk about arctic or antarctic regions! In those regions explorers can +at any rate move forward or move back, but to the men in the trenches +during the worst of the weather there has been no possibility of +movement. They could not even drag one leg out and put it down again. +Many of them beat their feet with their muskets, or anything that came +to hand, to keep <i>some</i> life in them.</p> + +<p>But their relief time has come. Look at them, caked with mud, unshaved +and haggard. A few days in the trenches makes old men of them. March! +How can they march? They just shuffle along as best they may, comrade +helping comrade.</p> + +<p>But actually baths have been provided; and while a good hot bath is +being enjoyed, their clothes are cleaned and sterilised, and then a +hot meal and a good sleep, and you would hardly believe these were the +same men. But they have never been down-hearted—not they. They have +"kept smiling," as they are so fond of saying.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep088" id="imagep088"></a> +<a href="images/imagep088.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep088.jpg" width="40%" alt="COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-left: 30%; margin-right: 30%;">COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN.<br /> +When "Tommy" asked what he could do for his late antagonist, the +latter replied, "Nothing, unless you would be so good as to hold my +hand until all is over."<br /> +<i>Drawn by F. Matania.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>What stories they have of their experiences. Here is one who writes to +the Rev. J.H. Bateson:</p> + +<p>"I want you to praise and thank God with me for sparing my life last +Thursday, when I had a narrow escape from death. The enemy started to +shell our trenches at 3 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> and continued until dark. One +shell burst just outside the trench which I occupied with my section, +blowing the trench right in and burying me in earth and mud. I was +fast suffocating when God heard my prayer, and sent a corporal and +private of my company who dug me out alive. Four of my section were +buried up to the hips, but, praise God, they also were got out safely. +Further along a shell burst right in the trench, blowing two men out +of the trench, who were killed on the spot; a third was buried alive; +a fourth was stunned and wandered out in front of the trench, and was +shot through the head by the enemy and killed. We have had twenty-five +days in the firing line out of the thirty days of November."</p> + +<p>This soldier goes on to say that, when at last relieved from the +trenches, he had held services in barns with some of his comrades, and +had even been called upon to bury the dead. He closes his letter with +the verse:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">All the way my Saviour leads me;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">What have I to ask beside?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Can I doubt His tender mercy,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Who through life has been my Guide?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Here by faith in Him to dwell!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For I <i>know</i>, whate'er befall me,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Jesus doeth all things well.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Mr. Bateson sends to the <i>Methodist Times</i> a letter which he received +from a Christian sergeant at the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>front in January 1915. I quote it in +full because it describes in such vivid detail the experiences of a +Christian soldier in the trenches and during the charge. Only by +listening to the men themselves can we fully realise what Christ is to +the soldier, and how gloriously he is sustained in the most trying +times.</p> + +<p>"We are having some good times in serving the Master, both in the +trenches and during rest periods in billets. It matters not where we +are—we can still laugh and sing the praises of Him Who died that we +might live. During the retirement, at the commencement of the +campaign, when fatigued to the utmost, when drowsing or at least +stumbling along as best I could, halts were given, and officers, +non-commissioned officers and men simply fell down exhausted, you +could notice here and there some kneeling in prayer. I have done the +same, and after a few minutes in silent prayer, thanking our beloved +Saviour for preserving us, I have gone off sound asleep, and have +awakened and gone on again. Then with fresh vigour and a determined +effort have managed to pass up and down the ranks under my command, to +speak a few encouraging words and turn their thoughts heavenwards. At +rest intervals I have managed to get one or two together for a +Christian song and prayer, thank God for keeping us so well, and ask +for strength to endure it all.</p> + +<p>"Now, again, we are in the trenches. It is Sunday morning, my thoughts +are of all in the Homeland, and more so about Him Who died for us, and +as I think of it all out comes my Bible, and those who are near join +in listening to a passage of Scripture; then a few words of prayer, +then a chorus or two that we all know. We sing as heartily as if we +were at home <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>in our churches. Then over comes 'Jack Johnson.' For a +time all is silent, excepting that lips are moving in fervent +prayer—not through fear, but with thankfulness and praise. Glory! +Glory!</p> + +<p>"Another time we are in a different part of the country, and called +upon to go into the attack. As we go, not seeing any danger, suddenly +over us bursts a shrapnel and shells of the 'Jack Johnson' type, +ploughing up the ground, and comrades fall. Some are killed outright; +others are severely wounded. I rush here and there to assist with a +handshake or a 'God bless you.' I pass on to lead those left, and then +right into the thickest of the fray with heavy rifle and machine-gun +fire. But nothing daunts the British soldier, and on we press until at +last the enemy turns and runs in fear. Then we thank God for all His +goodness in protecting and sparing us, and on we go, administering to +the wounded and those whose life is fast ebbing away, and in a few +words get the assurance that they hear the Saviour's welcome voice. I +have felt Him so near at such times as these. Tears of joy and +gladness—maybe of sorrow—well from the eyes. Jehovah is present, and +after the busy day is done and the shades of night are falling, I +again pursue my duties, collecting here and there a few men to +establish a firing line and join up the gap between our regiment and +those on the right. We start to work to dig ourselves in. When all is +complete, we kneel reverently with a heart full of praise and thanks +for being enabled to accomplish a little more for King and country, +and, above all, to do something for others by grace and strength from +on high.</p> + +<p>"One day we had just finished trenching in a wood; it was Sunday +afternoon. All was complete. I had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>been reading to four others in my +'dug-out,' and prayed. We were holding a short service. I had just +finished speaking, and we were heartily singing that beautiful hymn, +'All hail the power of Jesu's Name,' and had got through the third +verse, when we were suddenly called to man our rifles, as the sentry +had seen the enemy approaching and given us the warning. Over us +scream harmlessly the big shells; some fall in front, some behind. +Over comes the shrapnel and bursts over us; then the spurt of +rifle-fire begins. But the beauty of it is we are not troubled with +fear at all—who could be in the presence of the Master?—but go on +singing the chorus 'Crown Him' right on to the finish, although the +enemy is only 150 or 200 yards away."</p> + +<p>"The beauty of it is we are not troubled with fear at all—who could +be in the presence of the Master?" That sentence seems to sum up the +situation. Christ is there and He is all-sufficient. Strong in His +strength the Christian soldier goes anywhere and faces anything. How +grandly old "Diadem" would sound as these Christian soldiers sang it +in the battle charge—"And crown Him, crown Him Lord of all." There +was nothing in the situation incongruous to them. They did not think +of the Germans—only of their Lord and Saviour. And so they went right +on. Some of them were sure to fall, but they did not think of that. +The fact of Christ dominated them. Every other idea was "a grand +impertinence." He was with them here, and He would be with +them—yonder.</p> + +<p>Sergeant-Major Moore gives us a picture of the King's Own Yorkshire +Light Infantry. Writing to Mr. Bateson on December 17, he says:</p> + +<p>"Last Tuesday, that is a week ago, they went into <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>the trenches when +it was pouring with rain. They were wet through to the skin, and then +had to enter trenches where the water was in the majority of cases up +to the knee, and in some as high as the waist. On being relieved some +had to be lifted up with drag ropes, and then they had to be helped to +walk. Others, after taking their boots off, were unable to put them on +again, and I saw several who could not walk at all.</p> + +<p>"I was able to have a few quiet talks with some of the young men and +older ones, who during the past month have surrendered to the claims +of Jesus. Their bright faces told very plainly that they have found +the pearl of great price, and can say, 'What a friend I have in +Jesus.'"</p> + +<p>What a picture!—weary and worn, but not sad. Having to be dragged out +of the trenches, unable to walk, and yet with "bright faces." It +reminds us of what the Rev. R. Winboult Harding says of a wounded man +in hospital at Cambridge: "He is of the Coldstreams and the Glory +Room. He has ten shrapnel wounds in his legs, but he has heaven in his +face."</p> + +<p>Now was the time for services. And if no chaplain were available, the +men held meetings themselves.</p> + +<p>Writes one, a corporal, to his chaplain: "I thank you for your letter, +also for the books for the little services which I hold amongst my +comrades when out of the trenches, and in billets, which is not often +the case, I am sorry to say. However, if our meetings are not +frequent, I praise God my prayers for my comrades are being daily +offered for them, in and out of the trenches, and on the march. What a +privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Now it is Sunday +night, the 20th, and I have just held a nice service among my +comrades, who greatly enjoyed the singing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>and also the address. We +came out of the trenches last night, and go in again on Monday, so far +as we know."</p> + +<p>After one such little service as these a corporal said to his lads +before they lay down to sleep: "If any of you want to lead a Christian +life, do so; I will see that no one interferes with you." Next day +that corporal was killed.</p> + +<p>And now was the opportunity of the chaplains. In the trenches they +could only set an example of patient courage to the men and cheer them +with words of faith and hope and love. But now they could get among +them, hold services for them, and this they did incessantly. Chaplains +of all denominations were thus engaged. We read of many united +services,—a Church of England chaplain reading the prayers, the +colonel of the regiment the lessons, and the Wesleyan chaplain giving +the address, or vice versa. As the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) +says: "In the rush of work a chaplain has little time to inquire <i>re</i> +denomination; he gives his help where most needed; he comes as a +brother man and affords God's own consolation." The Psalmist said, "I +will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." To him all life was +sacred, every place the House of the Lord. It is the same at the front +to-day, every place sacred—trenches, farmyards, cellars, aye, even +pig-sties—the House of the Lord.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, describes one such service where Mr. +Watkins preached his sermon from the door of a pig-sty, while a number +of young porkers slept within. The men illuminated the scene with the +light from an acetylene operating lamp, and so were able to have a +good sing. Those were tender moments. The pigs were forgotten, +everything was forgotten but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>the presence of God, and, wearied but +not discouraged, they were able to say, "Surely goodness and mercy +shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house +of the Lord for ever."</p> + +<p>Here, too, was the opportunity of showing kindness to one's enemy, +which Tommy is always ready to show. Many a trembling German fallen +into the hands of the British, terrified because of the frightful +stories he has been told of British cruelty to prisoners, has been +cheered by the kindly words and acts of British soldiers.</p> + +<p>A young officer writing to the <i>Times</i> says: "We are out to kill, and +kill we do at any and every opportunity. But when all is done and the +battle over, the splendid universal soldier spirit comes over all the +men.... Just to give you some idea of what I mean, the other night +four German snipers were shot on our wire. The next night our men went +out and brought one in who was near and get-at-able, and buried him. +They did it with just the same reverence and sadness as they do to our +own dear fellows. I went to look at the grave the next morning, and +one of the most uncouth-looking men in my company had placed a cross +on the head of the grave, and had written on it:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Here lies a German,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We don't know his name;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He died bravely fighting<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For his fatherland.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"And under that 'Got mitt uns' (<i>sic</i>), that being the highest effort +of all the men at German. Not bad for a blood-thirsty Briton, eh? +Really that shows the spirit."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>It does, and a noble spirit too.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">God bless you, Thomas Atkins; here's your country's love to you.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Now was the opportunity also for the chaplains to dispense the gifts +from home to the war-worn men. How delighted the men were with them, +and how every gift was regarded as the gift of love! Even war has its +bright side, and surely one of the brightest spots on the bright side +of war has been the spontaneous offering of kindly hearts at home to +our soldiers abroad. In almost every home in the land skilled and +unskilled fingers have been at work. Knitting had almost become a lost +art, but now every school-girl knits, and knits not for herself but +for the soldiers.</p> + +<p>And the men who could not knit found the money, and sent their own +special gifts. How they rolled in! What delightful work they gave the +chaplains and those associated with them! Cigars, tobacco, cigarettes, +candles, matches, soap, socks, mittens, body belts, gloves—and so we +might go on quoting almost every article the soldier needs. "You see," +said one Tommy, "I've lost all my shirts but one—the one I'm +wearing—and that's borrowed. Thanks very much, that's just what I +wanted."</p> + +<p>And the Indians, too, how they appreciated their gifts! One of them +wrote this characteristic little letter to his chaplain—the Rev. A.E. +Knott—who had come with them from India.</p> + +<p>"Honourable and most gracious Captain Sahib, Padre Sahib,—We are all +delighted with the things you have sent us. Sir, may God bless you +that you have remembered us. It is very kind of you, and we are very +pleased, and for the ladies, our gratitude, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>who like mothers have +regarded us. May no sorrow befall them. From many men, many, many +thanks and salaams; also from the writer many salaams."</p> + +<p>So hearts were gladdened, and bodies made warm, and our soldiers +thanked God and took courage when they realised that they were not +forgotten by "the old folks at home."</p> + +<p>And now it is time to sum up this chapter. What is the general +impression that it leaves?</p> + +<p>The whole scene is weird in the extreme. Darkness hangs over the +trenches. The work is done for the most part at night. When those of +us at home are sleeping, our brothers and sons at the front are +charging with the bayonet through the deep darkness. Others are +quietly moving backwards and forwards—backward with the wounded, +forward with food and reinforcements. Snow and rain and frost! +Shrapnel, and rifle fire, and "Jack Johnsons"! Day after day, week +after week, even month after month! The monotony of the day must be +fearful, the horrors of the night recall the descriptions of the +<i>Inferno</i>. I do not wonder that, in some cases, nerves have given way, +and men have had to be carried to the rear suffering from complete +nervous collapse.</p> + +<p>But courage has never failed, though nerves have become unstrung. +There used to be a story told in Aldershot of an officer who was about +to take part in his first battle. His legs were trembling so that he +could hardly sit his horse. He looked down at his shaking legs and +said, "You're shaking, are you? and you would shake more if you knew +where <i>I</i> was going to take you to-day, so let us get on." That is the +highest courage, which realises and fears and yet goes.</p> + +<p>This courage our soldiers in the trenches have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>possessed in the +highest degree. The charge brought against them is that they have +exposed themselves to the fire of the enemy. I do not wonder. They +intend to "get on," however much they fear.</p> + +<p>And through it all, as Tommy would say, they have "kept smiling." Wet +through to the skin, or nipped by frost; sleepless for days together, +only getting provisions replenished by night, comrades falling by +their side! But they have "kept smiling."</p> + +<p>And what about the <i>Christian</i> soldier? He has had all these +qualities—for to none of his comrades is he inferior in courage. But +he has had another—an added quality. Something—<i>Someone</i>—who has +given him peace in the midst of privation and danger; Someone who has +enabled him to exult in the battle. He has had a light in the darkness +possessed by none else.</p> + +<p>As I have written this chapter the words of Isaiah have been +continually in my mind,—"But there shall be no gloom to her that was +in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of +Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time hath he made +it glorious.... The people that walked in darkness have seen a great +light, they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them +hath the light shined."</p> + +<p>Our soldiers have been called to walk in darkness but they have seen a +great Light. They, too, have <i>dwelt</i> in the land of the shadow of +death, and upon <i>them</i> also hath the Light shined. And so there is no +"gloom" for them. It may be night all around, but the sun shines upon +<i>them</i>, and it is always day.</p> + +<p>The problem of death has been greatly puzzling us at home—the death +of thousands of our best young <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>manhood. Goethe says, "The spectacle +of nature is always new, for she is always renewing the spectators. +Life is her most exquisite invention; and death is her expert +contrivance to get plenty of life." We probe into his meaning, and +during these months begin to understand.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep098" id="imagep098"></a> +<a href="images/imagep098.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep098.jpg" width="75%" alt="A "PADRE" HOLDING A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD." /></a><br /> +<p class="right3" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>From the drawing by A. Michael.</i></p> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">A "PADRE" HOLDING A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>But the Christian soldier has no difficulty. Death is to him but an +incident. Here and yonder he is in the presence of his King. He +advances to his death singing "Crown Him," and then wakes up +astonished to receive his own crown of life.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER VI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">The Royal Christmas Message—A Christmas Communion—Services +Held Anywhere—Carol Singing—The Soldiers' Christmas +Day—Christmas in the Trenches—The Unofficial Trace—They did +not want to Fight—Strangest Story of All—The Strangest +Service.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Christmas 1914 will ever be remembered in this country. The message of +peace and goodwill spoken from our pulpits, and yet half the world at +war! Christmas carols, Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, and yet +our sons out there in the trenches, and our fleet keeping constant +watch at sea!</p> + +<p>It was indeed a strange Christmas, and yet we could not forgo it, for +the Christmas message was needed more than ever before, and the poor +and needy and the little children must not be forgotten.</p> + +<p>For weeks before Christmas we had been considering what we could do +for our sailors and soldiers on Christmas Day. Our King and Queen had +been busy sending out Christmas cards to their troops, bearing a +Christmas greeting, and the message, reproduced in facsimile from the +King's handwriting, "May God protect you, and bring you home safe."</p> + +<p>All sorts of organisations had arranged for presents—they were sent +from the ends of the earth. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>newspapers made appeals to their +readers, and arranged for the despatch of Christmas hampers and +parcels. Nearly every church remembered its own men at the front, and +sent kindly greetings and appropriate gifts. We were all thinking of +those who were fighting our battles, and we strove to give them a bit +of Christmas in the midst of the war. Not that we took any credit to +ourselves for this—it was the very least that we could do. They were +<i>of</i> us, and they had gone out <i>from</i> us. They were our very own, our +best and noblest, and they were doing all that men could do. They were +laying down their lives for their country—and for us, that we in +peace and plenty might quietly spend our Christmas as of yore, "none +daring to make us afraid."</p> + +<p>And they? What of them? Well, our presents reached them. Not a ship +bearing our gifts was lost. They had our presents on Christmas Day. In +the trenches, in the rear of the firing line, in hospital and in camp +there was the Christmas distribution, and the men looked up and +thanked God that they were not forgotten on Christmas Day.</p> + +<p>My purpose in this chapter is to tell how that strange Christmas at +the front was spent.</p> + +<p>Let us first hear our chaplains' stories, and then listen to the men.</p> + +<p>Bishop Gwynne of Khartoum is again serving as a Church of England +chaplain with our troops. He shall tell, first of all, how he spent +his Christmas.</p> + +<p>"When I woke early on Christmas Day," says he, "the tiny window in my +small room at the farm-house was frosted over, and the rattle of the +ammunition waggon on the road sounded like trolleys over an iron way.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>"Our first Communion was in the mayor's office (the church was denied +us), and was packed to the doors with generals, colonels, and +'Tommies.' We sang 'While shepherds watched their flocks by night.' +The celebration of Holy Communion within the booming of the guns, +where bodies were being broken and blood shed, brought vividly, as +nowhere else on earth, the message and meaning of the sympathy of God +in the sufferings of men, and each one was thrilled with the reality +of it all, as men of all ranks partook of the Holy Sacrament, and +thoughts turned homeward to those who thought and prayed at the same +service, convinced of the reality of the Communion of Saints.</p> + +<p>"My next service was under the shelter of a haystack along the side of +a road, where a congregation of gunners in a semicircle sang the +Christmas hymns with real feeling in the keen frosty air. It was too +cold to keep them long, but I gave them the Christmas message, and +wished them every Christmas blessing.</p> + +<p>"A couple of miles further on, I found a congregation of about two +hundred and fifty men assembled in the small theatre of a country +town. With deep reverence and great heartiness they followed the +service. These men were under orders for the trenches, and every word +in every prayer seemed so suitable—'Defend us thy humble servants in +all assaults of our enemies, that we surely trusting in Thy defence +may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus +Christ our Lord.'</p> + +<p>"As soon as my first lot finished, another lot of two hundred and +fifty filled the room for another service. What struck me most was +that, though the surroundings were strange, the men showed no more +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>signs of emotion than if they were keeping Christmas at home. The +sounds of artillery every now and then accompanied our prayers, but we +all felt we were in our right place.</p> + +<p>"I am convinced they envied not the man who sat down in comfort to his +Christmas dinner at home; they had no wish to change places with those +who, in luxury and ease, chose the easiest part in this time of war. +In a few hours they would be in the forefront nearest their country's +foe, and that was the place of honour this Christmas Day. Their hearts +were warmed as I told them how many were thinking of them and praying +for them to-day, but they needed no pity. They were where they would +be,—where the bravest and best always want to be,—fronting the enemy +who threatened their hearth and home.</p> + +<p>"When the last lot went, I prepared for the Holy Communion on the +theatre stage, and nearly a hundred came back to receive the Blessed +Sacrament—officers, non-commissioned officers, and men kneeling on +the muddy floor, remembering, worshipping, receiving into their hearts +by faith, the vital power to fight, and, if need be, to suffer and die +for the righteous cause. The Cross of Christ seemed to be so real, and +its meaning so clear, to men who are really living away from the +world's conventionalities, and up against death and the other life.</p> + +<p>"On the way back to my billet I found my unit on the road, having +orders to move off, and I had to march along with them until dark, +when we were all crowded into a farm with outbuildings large enough +for our men. We had our goose and plum-pudding at nine <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>, +and after a chat round a wood fire, lay down to rest at midnight."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>I have ventured to quote Bishop Gwynne's letter <i>in extenso</i> from the +<i>Guardian</i>, as it tells us so delightfully how one chaplain spent his +Christmas Day, and how worthily he earned his Christmas dinner. What +an insight it gives us also of the power of religion in our British +Expeditionary Force!</p> + +<p>The Rev. E.R. Day, M.A. one of the senior Church of England chaplains, +has a similar story to tell. He says that on Christmas Day there were +no fewer than seven hundred communicants from one regiment and four +hundred from another, and the service was held in a ploughed field +with a packing-case for the Lord's Table. He adds that during the war +he has conducted these Communion services in the back room of a +public-house, in a stable, in a loft, in a lean-to shed, and in the +open air—anywhere where room could be found.</p> + +<p>Another Church of England chaplain, writing to the <i>Church Times</i>, +describes an attempt he had made to hold "Early Communion" at 6.30 on +Christmas morning. He had done his best, with the assistance of the +Army Service Corps, to provide all the accessories of a High Church +celebration, candles, &c., but that was a failure—no one came. We are +not surprised, for Thomas Atkins, as a rule, does not care for these +accessories. He succeeded better, later in the morning, on the +straw-littered floor of a soldier's billet. As he quaintly says, "It +seemed fitting that as He first came among the straw, He should come +to His soldiers to-day as they knelt on the straw."</p> + +<p>The Rev. J.D. Coutts, Wesleyan Chaplain with the First Division, +describes another service. He says:</p> + +<p>"I preached a Christmas sermon, and the men sang <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>as only men can sing +when they are having a good time. We went through the whole service in +the small red book, the men reciting the responses with enthusiasm. +After the service we held a Communion Service. We took Communion in +the Town Hall of an old French town, and it will remain in my memory +for a long, long time. Two planks on trestles formed our communion +table.... An access of solemnity came upon us, and we knew ourselves +to be standing in the presence of God. Seldom has it been given me to +take part in such a service.</p> + +<p>"This morning in going out to visit the regiment at dressing stations, +I met a regiment returning from the trenches. There were not a hundred +and fifty of them. The rest were put out of action in taking some +trenches; they won their trenches, but were enfiladed. I thought of +our Communion Service, for not one of the men whom I knew did I see."</p> + +<p>I might go on recording many of these Communion services, but these +will serve as specimens of similar services held throughout the +Expeditionary Force. We at home and they abroad were one in this act +of commemoration and communion. We at home thought of them and they of +us, and said "Amen" to the prayer contained in the communion hymn, +part of which I copy from the United Free Church of Scotland <i>Record</i>.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Here with hearts that would be calm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the lifting of the psalm.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hearts that would in quiet prayer<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Cast on Thee their load of care,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All our loved ones o'er the sea<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We remember, Lord, to Thee.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In the trenches, on the field,<br /></span><span class='pn'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Lord, be Thou their Strength and Shield—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And for them the Wine outpour,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give them Bread from out Thy store—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Let us feel while here we pray,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They are one with us to-day.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The Rev. Owen S. Watkins gives us another picture of Christmas at the +front. The 14th Brigade had gone into the trenches, so those who were +left sat disconsolately round the fire on Christmas Eve, and one of +the number said, "Well, one thing's certain, we shan't hear any carol +singers this year," but the words had hardly been spoken, when there +came the sound of singing,—"Hark, the herald angels sing," "While +shepherds watched their flocks by night," and so on through all the +old familiar carols. Some of the musical members of the Ambulance had +formed a carol party and proceeded to serenade the General and the +others who were in the village. It made them all realise that +Christmas was indeed here. Mr. Watkins then proceeds to describe +Christmas Day:</p> + +<p>"Christmas Day dawned bright and frosty, truly seasonable weather, and +welcomed by the troops as far better than the pouring rain. For the +chaplains it was a busy day. In the course of the morning Mr. +Winnifrith held two celebrations of Holy Communion, conducted two +Parade Services in the Brigade, and performed the last sad rites for +three men who had been killed during the night. My work was found in +the 13th Brigade, who were resting in the billets we had just vacated, +and a good deal of my morning was spent in the effort to keep my horse +on his feet, for the roads were like glass, and my journey occupied +twice as long as I had anticipated. I had arranged for the service <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>to +be held in the village school, but the congregation was far too large +for that, and when I arrived I found they had decided to hold the +service in the school-yard, which was packed as close as men could +stand with a congregation which swayed and made a noise like thunder +as they stamped their feet on the stones to keep them warm.</p> + +<p>"On my arrival the stamping ceased, and we at once began the +service—Scottish Borderers and Yorkshire Light Infantry most of them +were—and in spite of the bitter cold, both officers and men joined in +the singing with a zest and heartiness which was most inspiring. My +address was of necessity brief, but throughout the service there was +that influence which it is the preacher's joy to feel.</p> + +<p>"In the afternoon I held a service in the schoolroom of the village +where our ambulance was billeted. It was attended by men of all +denominations who had been unable to attend any of Mr. Winnifrith's +services, and was chiefly composed of our own men and gunners +belonging to some heavy batteries in the neighbourhood, some of whom +had walked a couple of miles to attend the service. Once again I +realised the joy of leading God's people in worship, and felt that, +however unusual the surroundings, the true spirit of Christmas was +resting upon us.</p> + +<p>"In the evening the men feasted, had a singsong, and generally made +merry, whilst in the officers' mess we also tried to celebrate +Christmas in the old-fashioned way, but soon settled down to the +fireside quietly to talk of other days and other scenes, and to think +of those who missed us at this festive season."</p> + +<p>We have seen how the chaplains spent their Christmas Day. How did the +Christian men spend <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>theirs? Perhaps one picture will suffice. Our old +friend Sergeant-Major Moore shall draw it for us. On Christmas Eve he +was occupied nearly all day giving out Christmas presents to the men. +His regiment had come out of the trenches on the 23rd, and the men +were, many of them, in a terrible condition. They had been standing in +the water for days and numbers were frost-bitten. But how they +appreciated their gifts! It was indeed good to see a cart-load of +gifts, all of them sent direct from the homeland to this one Christian +sergeant-major for distribution. Christmas Eve was spent in a barn, +and as the sergeant-major spoke to the men, at least one soldier gave +himself to Christ.</p> + +<p>Christmas morning broke fresh and clear, and the staff-sergeant had a +splendid menu for the day, provided so far as extras were concerned by +friends from the homeland. Breakfast—Tea, sugar, and milk (the last a +great luxury), bread, English butter, ham, tinned sausages, and cake. +Dinner—Roast-beef, potatoes and cabbage, plum-pudding. Tea—Tea, +sugar, <i>milk</i>, bread and butter, ham, honey, sardines, shortbread, +Christmas cake, and chocolates afterwards.</p> + +<p>Not a bad menu that for men fresh from the trenches! Let it not be +supposed, however, that all fared so well. The Rev. A.D. Brown, +chaplain with the Indian Cavalry Division, mournfully records: "We +spent Christmas Day on the trek. My Christmas dinner consisted of +bully beef and bread and butter."</p> + +<p>But these men of the King's Own Yorkshire L.I. fared well, and the +sergeant-major finishes his characteristic letter by saying: "After +tea I had still a few parcels of comforts, chocolates, &c., which you +so kindly sent me, and with a few tracts and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>Christmas letters, I +visited the barns to find out those lonely ones who had not received a +letter or parcel from the homeland, and before I left for my billet +again I had the joy of knowing that, as far as I knew, every lad of +the battalion had received a parcel of cheer, and many were the +thanks, and 'God bless you, sir,' that night. Yesterday being Sunday +we had three services in barns and a few hymns and prayers in a +fourth, there not being time for more. It would cheer many a mother to +hear her boy out here singing the old gospel hymn she taught him in +his childhood days. Again, on the part of the men, thanking you for +your splendid gift. Good-day! 494!"</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep108" id="imagep108"></a> +<a href="images/imagep108.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep108.jpg" width="42%" alt="IN THE TRENCHES." /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">IN THE TRENCHES.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>It is now time we got nearer the firing line and asked how our soldier +lads in the trenches spent their Christmas. It is a strange sight +which meets our gaze. I confess that when I first read the stories of +that Christmas truce I thought that the reporters were romancing. But +there was no romancing after all. Truth is stranger than fiction, and +this was truth.</p> + +<p>The French do not seem to have observed Christmas Day as did the +British. The French <i>Eye-witness</i> records: "On Christmas Day the +Germans left their trenches shouting 'a two days' truce.' Their ruse +did not succeed. All were shot down." It is evident, however, that on +some parts of the field there was fraternisation between even the +French and the Germans.</p> + +<p>The British soldiers took the law into their own hands, and +unofficially themselves proclaimed a truce. In some cases the +initiative lay with the Germans, and in others with the British; but +in nearly every case, all along the line, the informal truce <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>was +accepted, and British and Germans fraternised. The Angels' Song was +heard again, this time over the blood-stained trenches, and the +bursting of the shrapnel ceased, the whizz of the bullets was heard no +more, and, instead, the sound of Christmas carols dominated the firing +zone.</p> + +<p>The period of this truce varied in different parts of the firing line. +One officer states: "The Germans looked upon Christmas Day as a +holiday, and never fired a shot, except a few shells in the early +morning to wish us a happy Christmas, after which there was perfect +peace, and we could hear the Germans singing in their trenches. Later +on in the afternoon my attention was called to a large group of men +standing up half-way between our trenches and the enemy's, on the +right of my trench. So I went out with my sergeant-major to +investigate, and actually found a large party of Germans and our +people hobnobbing together, although an armistice was strictly against +our regulations. The men had taken it upon themselves. I went forward +and asked in German what it was all about and if they had an officer +there, and I was taken up to their officer, who offered me a cigar. I +talked for a short time and then both sides returned to the trenches. +It was the strangest sight I have ever seen. The officer and I saluted +each other gravely, shook hands, and then went back to shoot at each +other. He gave me two cigars, one of which I smoked, and the other I +sent home as a souvenir."</p> + +<p>Corporal T.B. Watson, Royal Scots (Territorials), says: "We were all +standing in the open for about two hours waving to each other and +shouting and not one shot was fired from either side. This took place +in the forenoon. After dinner we were firing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>and dodging as hard as +ever: one could hardly believe that such a thing had taken place."</p> + +<p>Private J. Higham, of the Stalybridge Territorials, tells of a truce +that lasted throughout Christmas Day.</p> + +<p>"On Christmas Day the Germans never fired a shot, and we were walking +about the trenches. In the afternoon about three o'clock the ——, who +were on our right, started whistling and shouting to the Germans whose +trenches were only four hundred yards away. They asked them to come +down.... After about ten minutes two Germans ventured out, and the +—— went to meet them. When they met they shook hands with each +other, and then other Germans came, and so we went up to them.... I +was a bit timid at first, but me and a lad called Starling went up and +I shook hands with about sixteen Germans. They gave us cigars and +cigarettes and toffee, and they told us they didn't want to fight but +they had to.... We were with them about an hour, and everybody was +bursting laughing at this incident, and the officers couldn't make +head or tail of it. The Germans then went back to their trenches, and +we went back to ours, and there was not a single shot fired that day."</p> + +<p>"Elsewhere," says a subaltern writing to the Press Association, "I +hear our fellows played the Germans at football on Christmas Day. Our +own pet enemies remarked that they would like a game, but as the +ground in our part is all root crops, and much cut up by ditches, and +as, moreover, we had not got a football, we had to call it off."</p> + +<p>One incident recorded by the <i>Manchester Guardian</i> from the letter of +an officer is surely the strangest of all—the story of a friendly +haircut.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>"At eleven <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>," says the officer, "on December 24, there +was absolute peace, bar a little sniping and a few rounds from a +machine gun, and then no more. 'The King,' was sung, then you heard +'To-morrow is Christmas; if you don't fight, we won't,' and the answer +came back 'All right!' One officer met a Bavarian, smoked a cigarette, +and had a talk with him about half-way between the lines. Then a few +men fraternised in the same way, and really to-day peace has existed. +Men have been talking together, and they had a football match with a +bully beef tin, and one man went over and cut a German's hair."</p> + +<p>I might multiply these extracts indefinitely, but sufficient has been +said to show the spirit in which our lads and the Germans spent +Christmas Day. I do not wonder that one soldier, after saying that +some German officers took the photographs of our men between the +trenches, adds, "I would not have missed the experience of yesterday +for the most gorgeous Christmas dinner in England."</p> + +<p>If the strangest incident of that strange Christmas Day was the +cutting of a German soldier's hair by one of our lads, surely the +strangest service was that conducted by the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, +Chaplain of the United Free Church of Scotland, of whom I have already +had occasion to write.</p> + +<p>I piece the story together from various reports that have been sent to +Scotland, and then add Mr. Adams' own brief comments. He is attached +to the Gordon Highlanders, and on Christmas morning visited the +trenches to wish his men a happy Christmas. The Gordons had recently +relieved the Scottish Borderers, and there were several dead bodies of +the Borderers lying midway between the British and German trenches, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>the result of the last charge. Only about a hundred yards separated +the trenches.</p> + +<p>On Christmas morning some of the Germans astonished the Gordons by +appearing on the top of their trenches, but the Gordons did not fire +on them, and instead an officer went out to suggest that, as they had +a "Padre" with them, and there were also several German dead, they +should have a truce for a burial service. It was arranged, and the +Germans lined up on one side of the chaplain and the Gordons on the +other. The service began with the hymn "The Lord is my Shepherd," and +then the "Padre" prayed. After the burial of the dead, of whom there +were about a hundred, Mr. Adams gave an address, which was interpreted +sentence by sentence by an interpreter sent forward by a German +officer.</p> + +<p>The service over, the German officer shook hands with Mr. Adams and +offered him a cigar. Mr. Adams begged leave not to smoke it, but to +keep it as a souvenir of that unique occasion. The officer consented, +but said he should like some little memento in return. Hardly knowing +what to give, Mr. Adams took off his cap and gave the officer the +Soldier's Prayer he had carried in its lining since the war began. The +German officer read it, put it in the lining of his helmet, saying, "I +value this because I believe what it says, and when the war is over I +shall take it out and give it as a keepsake to my youngest child."</p> + +<p>Then the men gathered together, exchanged keepsakes, and spent their +Christmas in perfect unity. Not a shot was fired that day, nor on the +next. It seemed as though each side was reluctant to fire again, after +the sacred service of Christmas morning.</p> + +<p>During a brief visit home Mr. Adams occupied the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>pulpit of his own +church—the West U.F. Church, Aberdeen. In the course of a sermon full +of interest he referred to his strange service on the battle-field. +The Aberdeen <i>Daily Journal</i> thus reports what he said:</p> + +<p>"There had been some weird stories told about Christmas Day. He was +not going to deny these stories. He was not even going to deny the +cigar incident, but was going to show the cigar. Christmas Day made +him understand something of the size of God. The day ended for him +with the vision of a great German regiment standing behind their +commanding officer bareheaded, and not so far distant as one gallery +from the other of that church, British officers with their soldiers +bareheaded, and between them a man reading the Twenty-third Psalm. In +the name of the One Christ, these two foes, the most awful the world +had ever seen, held Christmas. It was the fear of God—the need of +God—that did it all."</p> + +<p>I have told the story in the simplest language, without any attempt to +give it colouring, because it seems to me it speaks for itself. It +tells that deep down beneath the uniform, beneath all that makes man +true Briton or true German, there is the bond of brotherhood. They +were Scotchmen, these Gordons, and I wonder if they thought of the +lines of their Scottish poet:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Man to man the warld o'er,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall brithers be for a' that.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Is it not a grim tragedy that men who can thus fraternise on Christmas +Day should a few hours after be sending each other to their death? We +look forward to the day, and pray God it may not be far distant, when +war shall cease.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>Here at home and there on the battle-field, Christian men unite in the +prayer:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Not on this land alone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But be God's mercies known<br /></span> +<span class="i2">From shore to shore:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And may the nations see<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That men should brothers be,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And form one family<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The wide world o'er.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER VII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>CHRISTIAN HEROISM</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">A Picture in "Punch"—Tommy's Deep-rooted Religion—Courage of +Chaplains—A Shell in His Back—Stories of Christian +Soldiers—First Clergyman Soldier to Die—Driver Osborne—A +Church Parade of Four—"Tell My Wife I am Ready "—Duty +overcomes Fear.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>There was a time when men thought that the reckless devil-may-care man +made the finest soldier; that the hard drinker, the hard swearer, the +riotous liver came out best in a fight. Wellington wrote of his +"collection of ruffians" in the Peninsula: "It is impossible to +describe to you the irregularities and excesses committed by the +troops. We are an excellent army on parade, an excellent one to fight, +but we are worse than an enemy in the country." How greatly times have +changed since then!</p> + +<p>Sir George White once said that recklessness and lawlessness will +carry men a certain distance, but when men are half fed, when nights +are wet and cold, and when nerves are broken down by shot and shell, +then the lawless man disappears. It is when he is called upon to take +the place of a comrade shot on a lonely picket that the man who has +disciplined himself proves the true soldier.</p> + +<p>General Nogi, who commanded the Japanese forces <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>at Port Arthur, held +the same view. His words may well be borne in mind at this time:</p> + +<p>"Only he who has conquered himself in time of peace can aspire to be a +fighting man under the Sun flag. The brilliant and faithful deeds of +the soldier on the battle-field are nothing but the flowering and +fruition of the work and training of his daily life in time of peace. +A man whose life is in disorder in time of peace would have a rather +difficult task if he tried to perform with correctness and success the +duties of a true soldier on the field of battle."</p> + +<p>If we carry these statements on to their issue, then surely the +Christian soldier should fight best of all. He has not only the +discipline and training of the Army, but moral discipline and training +as well. And he has something more—the spiritual fact which dominates +his being and transfigures and transforms him. To him death is not +death, he lives and will live, and in the worst of all fiery furnaces +there is always with him "the form of the fourth, like unto the Son of +God."</p> + +<p>Such men as these are unconquerable. They remind us of <i>Punch's</i> +famous cartoon, "Unconquerable"; for <i>Punch</i> is not only a humorist, +he is a preacher too.</p> + +<p><i>The Kaiser</i>: "So you see—you've lost everything."</p> + +<p><i>The King of the Belgians</i>: "Not my soul!"</p> + +<p>The Kaiser has gained his victory and sheathed his sword. Belgium is +his; there is nothing in that country left for him to conquer. A +ruined building is behind him, on his left is the broken wheel of a +gun-carriage. In the distance is a Belgian family—an aged man, a +woman, a child. The woman's husband is not there—most likely he is +dead.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>The King of the Belgians has lost his helmet. His uniform is war-worn, +his hair untidy. His scabbard is empty, but he has not parted with his +sword. He still grasps it in his strong right hand.</p> + +<p>"You have lost everything," says the Kaiser—"Liège, Namur, Brussels, +Antwerp." "No, not everything. Not my soul."</p> + +<p>But the King of the Belgians was not alone in the claim which <i>Punch</i> +puts into his life. Every Christian man fighting for his country, and +many another, wounded, frost-bitten, dying, can answer "Not my soul." +You cannot take that from him, it is his own sacred possession, and +the consciousness that he possesses it still nerves him to do and +dare.</p> + +<p>As the Rev. E.R. Day, Church of England chaplain at the front, says: +"There were men to whom we might almost kneel down in reverence. The +bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience of our men at the front are +such that French people could not understand it."</p> + +<p>It is not necessary to claim that these qualities are the sole +possession of the Christian man. It is, indeed, far otherwise. But the +Christian graces produce them best of all. Mr. Day is right when he +says, "Though apparently careless and light-hearted, one realised that +there was a deep-rooted religion in our soldiers, and that it was +indeed a fool's game to judge a man by his outward appearance." It is +largely because of that "deep-rooted religion" that the qualities of +"bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience" are produced.</p> + +<p>We must remember that our Army at the front is made up in no small +degree of men from homes in which God is honoured, many of them old +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>Sunday-school boys. They have been trained in religion, they have been +taught to pray. Some have forgotten much that they were taught, but +they have not forgotten the old hymns and prayers, and in their time +of need that "deep-rooted" religious instinct has asserted itself. As +one of them said to me, "I grew too old for Sunday-school, and I +wandered far away from God. For years I never prayed; but in the +battle of the Marne I began to pray again, and I have kept on praying. +I tell you what it is, sir, most men out there are praying now." Yes, +there is felt the need for God and so there is prayer. My point is +that, all things being equal, the man who prays is the best soldier, +because he possesses spiritual power as well as material.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep118" id="imagep118"></a> +<a href="images/imagep118.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep118.jpg" width="75%" alt="THE BISHOP OF LONDON" /></a><br /> +<p class="right3" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Central News Photo.</i></p> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">THE BISHOP OF LONDON AT THE FRONT AT EASTER.<br /> +Addressing men of the Army Service Corps from a transport cart<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>I purpose therefore telling in this chapter of the heroism of the men +who pray, while at the same time I do not overlook the heroism of the +Army as a whole. My purpose will be answered if I convince my readers +that, instead of religion impairing the courage of our soldiers, it is +increased and intensified thereby.</p> + +<p>May I first speak of the courage of our chaplains? Not every one +expects a "parson" to be brave. The pulpit has been spoken of by the +ill-informed as "The Coward's Castle," but hundreds of these parsons +have been transferred to the forefront of the fight. As I write this, +many of them are already fighting in the ranks, and many more will +soon be there.</p> + +<p>But the chaplain is not a fighting man. Not a shot does he fire, not a +bayonet thrust does he give. He sees the shot and shell bursting round +him, but he has not the stimulus of the fight. How have they borne +themselves—these men who have been transferred from the pulpit to the +battle-field? Two hundred <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>of them are there. Has there been one +lacking in courage? I doubt it. The stories I have already told are +stories of conspicuous bravery. Let me add one or two more.</p> + +<p>I have already mentioned the name of the Rev. Percy Wyndham Guinness, +Church of England chaplain, 3rd Cavalry Brigade. He has been appointed +by the King a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, in +recognition of his services with the Expeditionary Force. The official +statement is: "On the 5th November at Kruistraat when Major Dixon, +16th Lancers, was mortally wounded, he went on his own initiative into +the trenches under heavy fire and brought him to the ambulance, and on +the afternoon of the same day, being the only individual with a horse +in the shelled area, took a message under heavy fire from the 4th +Hussars to the headquarters of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade."</p> + +<p>That is the bare official statement, but it is enough. We may read +between the lines bravery pre-eminent, and right worthily does he wear +the D.S.O.</p> + +<p>"T.P.'s" <i>Great Deeds of the Great War</i> tells another story. "Some of +the ministers at the front are doing great deeds of sacrifice. As I +was coming away from the hospital, I met one of them accompanied by a +corporal. The minister stopped and inquired from me the way to the +hospital. Naturally enough, I asked the corporal what was the matter +with him. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, the minister +turned round,—and I don't think I could describe the admiration I had +for that man. He had walked about a mile and a half with a great lump +of shell in his back, the size of a man's hand." That was endurance if +you like, and it was the endurance of a Padre.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>I cannot better sum up the heroism of the chaplains at the front than +in the words of Field-Marshal Sir John French in his despatch +published on February 17, 1915. "In a quiet and unostentatious manner +the chaplains of all denominations have worked with devotion and +energy in their respective spheres. The number with the forces in the +field at the commencement of the war was comparatively small, but +towards the end of last year, the Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C, +principal chaplain, assisted by his secretary, the Rev. W. Drury, +reorganised the branch, and placed the spiritual welfare of the +soldiers on a more satisfactory footing. It is hoped that a further +increase of personnel may be found possible. I cannot speak too highly +of the devoted manner in which all chaplains, whether with troops in +the trenches, or in attendance on the sick and wounded in casualty +clearing stations and hospitals on the line of communications, have +worked throughout the campaign."</p> + +<p>The day after this statement was published came the despatches +mentioning the names of those noted for distinguished conduct in the +field, and in this—the second list—we find the names of no fewer +than sixteen chaplains, while the Hon. and Rev. Maurice Peel (brother +of Lord Peel) has received the new Military Cross.</p> + +<p>The stories, however, that I most want to tell are the stories of the +soldiers, officers and men. They were all alike, but my stories are +confined to the definitely Christian soldiers. Their spirit is +indicated in the following letter from Captain Norman Leslie of the +Rifle Brigade, who has since died for his country.</p> + +<p>"Try not to worry too much about the war, anyway. Units, individuals +cannot count. Remember we are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>writing a new page of history. Future +generations cannot be allowed to read the decline of the British +Empire and attribute it to us. We live our little lives and die. To +some are given chances of proving themselves men and to others no +chance comes. Whatever our individual faults, virtues, or qualities +may be it matters not, but when we are up against big things let us +forget individuals, and let us act as one great British unit, united +and fearless. It is better far to go out with honour than survive with +shame."</p> + +<p>That is the true spirit of the Christian soldier—"Better far to go +out with honour than survive with shame."</p> + +<p>But again I am oppressed with a superabundance of riches. The stories +of Christian heroism which could be told would fill this book. The +Church's Roll of Honour lengthens rapidly. I choose at random.</p> + +<p>There is, for example, Captain James Fergus Mackain, 34th Sikh +Pioneers, a zealous member of the Church of England Men's Society, and +before the war Honorary Secretary of its Union in the diocese of +Lahore. "Always bright and hopeful, brave and zealous, ever ready to +help anyone in any way he could, and yet so humble and retiring that +it was always his beautiful Christian character rather than himself +that seemed to stand forward. The quality of his handshake won all +hearts, and even now one seems to feel his vigorous grasp so +characteristic of his thoroughness. A great gentle plaything with the +children, a pacifying, controlling influence with boys and lads, a +quiet sure leadership with men, is it any wonder that such a man was +loved and honoured?" He, too, laid down his life for his country.</p> + +<p>There was Lieutenant David Scott Dodgson, R.G.A., <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>who was killed in +action ten days before his thirtieth birthday. Since his death his +promotion to a captaincy had been gazetted. He was laying out a +telephone cable for the battery—a particularly dangerous and +important piece of work—and while doing so was shot. His father +served through the Indian Mutiny and saved the life of Havelock at +Lucknow. Like father, like son.</p> + +<p>There was Second Lieutenant H. Arnold Hosegood, 5th Royal Fusiliers, +who was killed in action near Ypres on February 24. A fine upstanding +man, six feet three inches in height, a daring rider, a good shot. +"Generous, chivalrous, and modest, he had a great gift of +friendliness." Before the war he was for a time Superintendent of the +Westbury Park Wesleyan Sunday-school, Bristol, and Secretary of the +Trinity Guild. He was only twenty-three years of age.</p> + +<p>There was Private Paul Holman of the H.A.C. He was killed while on +sentry duty on February 17. A comrade writes: "His first thought was +evidently that he must warn the guard; this he did, becoming +unconscious immediately afterwards." His colonel says of him: "He was +a splendid type of young Englishman and a fine soldier, greatly +beloved by us all—officers and men." He had just begun to practise as +a barrister before the war broke out.</p> + +<p>There were Second Lieutenant J.C. Baptist Crozier, Royal Munster +Fusiliers, nephew of the Archbishop of Armagh, and Captain L.A.F. +Cane, East Lancashire Regiment, who died leading his men to capture a +trench, and Lieutenant Compton, Royal Scots Greys, son of the late +Lord Alwyne Compton, and scores of other officers, of whom we may say +as was said of those of old, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, +wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>of +lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from +weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight +armies of aliens."</p> + +<p>We expect, however, that officers will set an example of bravery to +their men, and though we mourn the large percentage of officers who +have fallen in the field, we would not have it otherwise. It is the +tradition of the Army, and a noble tradition too.</p> + +<p>Perhaps this is the place to record the death of the first +clergyman-soldier who has been killed in this war. The combination of +minister of the Gospel and soldier of the line is so remarkable that +the death of the first of these marks an epoch in the Church's +history.</p> + +<p>Captain Lionel Fairfax Studd, of the Rangers, 12th County of London +Regiment, died of wounds received in action on February 14, 1915. He +was the son of Mr. J.E.K. Studd, of the Polytechnic, and nephew of Mr. +C.T. Studd. He had been ordained by the Bishop of London to a curacy +at St. James, Holloway, at Trinity, 1914. But, on the outbreak of war, +he felt it to be his duty, after very grave reflection, to take his +place with his old regiment. Devoted to Christ, he was devoted also to +his country.</p> + +<p>The deeds, however, upon which I wish to dwell in this chapter are the +deeds of Christian non-commissioned officers and men. I must choose +with care, and the stories I tell will, I hope, show different phases +of Christian courage.</p> + +<p>Let me first tell how Driver F.A. Osborne won the French V.C. For +years Driver Osborne has been associated with the Wesley Hall +Brotherhood, Leicester, and although now on the field still counts +himself a member.</p> + +<p>I quote from the <i>Methodist Times</i>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>"The story has been slowly imparted to us. In September the gloom of +the long and terrible retreat from Mons was lifted by the announcement +of the capture of ten German guns by the English. Then fugitive +paragraphs made reference to three men who had fought alone, wounded, +but undaunted. Only now can the whole story be pieced together, and it +is a veritable romance—tragic, heroic, glorious.</p> + +<p>"It was on September 1, 1914, in a village near Compiègne, that the L +Battery of six guns limbered up on reveille at 2.30, waiting for a +missing order to retire. The French cavalry they were supporting +retired unnoticed in the mist, and at 4.25, as the light grew, the +Germans were perceived, but were thought to be the French. At 4.57 +their battery of eleven guns and two maxims opened fire. The first +shell killed Driver Osborne's horse, and in three minutes the gun +teams were destroyed, only six horses being left.</p> + +<p>"Men fell in droves, but Captain Bradbury and the men available strove +to unlimber the guns, and in five minutes three were ready for action. +One was instantly disabled by a German shell, and Driver Osborne was +thrice wounded. A shrapnel bullet deeply grazed his cheek, another +caught his shoulder, a third grazed his ribs and inflicted a nasty +chest wound. The second gun was shattered in ten minutes, and then for +another hour and a quarter one gun fought the German battery. It was +an inferno. The screaming dying horses, the shattered groaning men, +the shells in hundreds digging holes of four to five feet deep, and +shrapnel bullets by thousands searching the ground made it a Gehenna.</p> + +<p>"Men fell fast. The officers were killed or wounded, but the one gun +fought on. Driver Osborne, thrice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>wounded, fetched the ammunition +from fifty yards away amidst showers of shrapnel. One shell dropped +within six feet, but did not burst; another hit a gun muzzle, but the +fragments missed him. He was running behind a shattered gun for +ammunition when a shell hit the wheel, and the concussion of the +broken wheel knocked his knee up, and he could go no more. An officer +started for ammunition instead and was instantly killed.</p> + +<p>"Osborne holds Captain Bradbury in high honour. 'He was a hero and a +gentleman.' His courage, promptitude, and resource inspired his men. +One by one the German guns were hit, shattered, silenced, and their +gunners fell, under the terrible accuracy of that one British gun. Ten +guns ceased fire, and the Germans fled from the other. The Middlesex +Regiment of infantry arrived at this point and found three men +wounded, covered with blood from horses and men, but working their one +gun with their ebbing strength.</p> + +<p>"Dashing forward, they captured the German guns, brought out the +English battery and rescued the wounded men. The three men, with their +fallen comrades, had saved the battery, destroyed the German attack, +saved the village beyond, and secured the English rear."</p> + +<p>For this splendid service Driver Osborne was rewarded with the +Médaille Militaire for distinguished conduct. This is the French V.C. +It is equivalent to the Legion of Honour in France, and carries with +it a pension of a hundred francs a year.</p> + +<p>Driver Osborne was also recommended for the British V.C., but it does +not yet appear to have been given.</p> + +<p>The first Wesleyan soldier in this war to receive <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>the V.C. was +Bandsman Thomas Edward Rendle, 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. +The reward was, according to the official notification, conferred—</p> + +<p>"For conspicuous bravery on November 20, near Wulverghem, when he +attended to the wounded under very heavy shell and rifle fire, and +rescued men from the trenches in which they had been buried by the +blowing in of the parapets by the fire of the enemy's howitzers."</p> + +<p>Still another story of Christian heroism, the hero of this being a +member of the Salvation Army. I quote from the <i>War Cry</i> of October +17, 1914.</p> + +<p>"Jumping into a carriage of an already moving train the other day +(writes a <i>War Cry</i> representative) I was seized by a soldier in +war-stained khaki, who gave me a tight hand-grip and said, 'Good luck +to you! God bless you and your people!'</p> + +<p>"'I'm afraid I don't know you,' I replied.</p> + +<p>"'Perhaps not,' he responded, 'but I know some of your people, and the +one I met in the firing line was one of the pluckiest fellows I know +of. We had been lying in the trenches firing for all we were worth. On +my right, shoulder to shoulder, were two Salvationists. I remembered +them as having held a meeting with some of us chaps about a week +before. As we lay there with the bullets whistling round us these two +were the coolest of the whole cool lot!</p> + +<p>"'After we had been fighting some time we had orders to fall back, and +as we were getting away from the trenches one of the Salvationists was +hit and fell. His chum didn't miss him until we had gone several +hundred yards, and then he says, "Where's ——?" calling him by name. +"I must go back and fetch him!" and off he hurried, braving the hail +of shot and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>shell. I admired his bravery so much that I offered to go +with him, but he said, "No, the Lord will protect me; I'll manage it!"</p> + +<p>"'So I threw myself on the ground and waited. I saw him creep along +for some yards, then run to cover; creep along, and take shelter +again; and, finally, having found his chum, he picked him up and made +a dash for safety.</p> + +<p>"'How the bullets fell around him! Into the shelter of some trees he +went; out again and in once more; and when he did get into the last +piece of clearing I couldn't wait any longer, so rushed forward to +help him.</p> + +<p>"'Then I got hit, and was, of course, bowled over. But your man +quickly came to me.</p> + +<p>"'What do you think the brave fellow did? He just put his other arm +round me and carried us both off! Darkness was fast coming on, and +presently he laid us down and bound the wounds, which he bandaged up +with strips which he tore from his shirt. I shall never forget that +terrible night!</p> + +<p>"'The three of us struggled on, we two getting weaker and weaker, +until just as dawn was breaking we all collapsed.</p> + +<p>"'How far we had gone I don't know, for the next I remember was that I +was in a field hospital. I could find no trace of my brave rescuer nor +his chum, and have heard nothing of them since. But he's a brave boy, +and if ever I chance to meet him again I'll ask his name, and the <i>War +Cry</i> shall know it as soon as word can reach you.'"</p> + +<p>The next story is one altogether different. I quote it from the United +Free Church of Scotland <i>Record</i>. It speaks for itself.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>"It was a Sunday morning in Belgium. There had been a sharp +engagement, and the British troops holding a village had been +hurriedly forced by great masses of the enemy to retire. In the +confusion three Scottish privates and a corporal had been cut off in +the streets and had backed into the first open door they came to. The +occupants had fled, and they made their way up a long staircase, +intending to find the roof and watch events from there. But it ended +in an empty loft, where there was only a skylight beyond their reach.</p> + +<p>"'Better lie low for a while,' suggested the corporal as they stood +listening to the terrible sounds outside. The Germans were evidently +burning, looting, and killing. Now and again they heard screams and +the discharge of rifles: sometimes an explosion would shake the +building, showing that houses were being blown up; while the smell of +burning wood penetrated to their retreat. This went on for hours. The +soldiers knew they would be discovered sooner or later, and expected +no mercy, as the enemy would be sure to invent some excuse for putting +them to death.</p> + +<p>"Suddenly the corporal said: 'Lads, it's time for church parade: let's +hae a wee bit service here; it may be oor last.' The soldiers looked a +little astonished, but they piled their rifles in a corner and came +and stood at attention. The corporal took out a small Testament from +his breast pocket and turned over the pages.</p> + +<p>"'Canna we sing something first? Try ye're hand at the 23rd Psalm. +Quiet noo—very quiet.'</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Yet will I fear none ill:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For thou art with me; and thy rod<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And staff me comfort still."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>"There wasn't much melody about the tune, but the words came from the +heart.</p> + +<p>"Then the corporal began:</p> + +<p>"'Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the +soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body +in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them +shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs +of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value +than many sparrows.'</p> + +<p>"As he read there were loud shouts below: doors banged, and glass was +smashed. But he went on:</p> + +<p>"'He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life +for my sake shall find it.'</p> + +<p>"He ended, and his grave face took on a wry smile.</p> + +<p>"'I'm no' a gude hand at this job,' he said, 'but we maun finish it +off. Let us pray.'</p> + +<p>"He stood, with the book in his hand, and the others knelt and bowed +their heads. His memory went back to the days of family worship in his +father's cottage, and he tried to remember the phrases he had heard. A +little haltingly, but very simply, he committed their way to God and +asked for strength to meet their coming fate like men.</p> + +<p>"While he prayed a heavy hand thrust open the door and they heard an +exultant exclamation and then a gasp of surprise. Not a man moved, and +the corporal went calmly on. After a pause he began, with great +reverence, to repeat the Lord's Prayer.</p> + +<p>"That a German officer or private was standing there they realised: +they did not see, but they felt, what was taking place. They heard the +click of his heels, and they knew that he also was standing at +attention. For a moment the suspense lasted, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>then came the soft +closing of the door and his footsteps dying away.</p> + +<p>"The tumult in the house gradually ceased, and soon afterwards the +storm of war retreated like the ebb of the tide, and quiet fell upon +the village and remained upon it. At dusk the four men ventured forth, +and by making a wide detour worked round the flank of the enemy and +reached the British outposts in safety."</p> + +<p>One other story will suffice. Sergeant William Taylor of the 1st Royal +Berkshire Regiment died of wounds in the Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, +on Thursday, December 10. A beautiful character, a devoted Christian +soldier, he was promoted on the field from the rank of lance-corporal +to sergeant for conspicuous bravery. On one occasion he stood over a +fallen comrade with bullets whizzing all around, until eventually the +comrade was carried to a place of safety. On another occasion Sergeant +Taylor volunteered with others to attack a position held by a strong +force of the enemy. The Berkshires lost heavily until reinforced, and +then the position was carried. He was the ideal soldier—the +"righteous man" who is "brave as a lion."</p> + +<p>The late Rev. T.J. Thorpe, who cared for him while he was in hospital +at Woolwich, says: "The Lord Jesus was very precious to him amidst the +agony of his last days, and he died more than conqueror." This grand +Christian hero was only twenty-four years old.</p> + +<p>Before I close this chapter, let me give extracts from two letters +sent home by two Baptist chaplains and published in the <i>Baptist Times +and Freeman</i>.</p> + +<p>The Rev. T.N. Tattersall writes:</p> + +<p>"I have made inquiries as to how the men behave in the trenches. What +effect has the imminence of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>death upon the character of the men? Some +use language more forcible than polite. Some find the Black Marias and +shells a source of entertainment. Some turn their feelings into the +songs of Zion. Many vows to God are made on the field of battle, and a +Christian soldier has a great opportunity of which he is not slow to +make use. In a chat with one such, Private J. Downs, of the Welsh +Regiment, a good Baptist, whom I found in hospital recovering from a +wound, he told me how he lost his chum. They were sharing a dug-out +together, and had agreed, should either fall, to write home the +terrible news. His friend said, 'You will tell my wife I am ready, +that to God I have given my trust.' Just before he fell he sang 'Jesus +is tenderly calling thee home.' Little did he realise how near was his +own call. A bullet struck him in the head. Last Thursday the letter +was written."</p> + +<p>The second is from the Rev. E.L. Watson, and forcibly depicts to us +the highest form of courage—courage that triumphs in spite of fear +and triumphs through Christ. Such courage is the possession of every +Christian soldier.</p> + +<p>"At another farm-house in absolute darkness and silence we reached our +second dressing station. The regimental medical officer was absent, +but the sergeant in charge was ready to deliver over his charge. I +stepped into what appeared to be a large living room covered with +straw, upon which some fifteen men were lying in absolute silence. No +groans, no word of complaint escaped the lips of a single man, no +asking for drink, nor claiming first assistance. I felt my way over +several, and was able to whisper a word of cheer here and there. One +badly wounded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>man guided my hand to that of a lad near by with the +words, 'Speak a word to that lad, chaplain, he must need his mother.' +Out of that darkness one by one they were carefully lifted on to +stretchers and put into the ambulances.</p> + +<p>"One incident impressed me very much that night in that chamber of +agony. Just as the last man was being carried out I heard a sob near +by me, and putting out my hand touched a stretcher-bearer who had +become jumpy. Poor boy, and no wonder. Only seventeen years of age, +and away from home for the first time. Empty stomach and soaked +clothes, bringing in and remaining with the wounded till relieved, +with death outside at every step. This first night of his experience +with war was trying his strength and testing his nerve. I took his +hand, and whispered a message, and I heard him go out with his little +company again towards the trenches over a fire-swept area.</p> + +<p>"Men claim that heroism always comes to the front in a crisis, and so +it does, but I have learned too that the heroic soul is not always the +fearless one. In the case of this lad the sense of duty overcame his +sense of fear, and away he went to face death, brave and heroic, in +spite of a trembling heart and unsteady hand."</p> + +<p>Yet one more picture of heroism, and it is, indeed, a strange one. +There is a touch of unconscious humour in it, but for all that it is +grandly heroic.</p> + +<p>Six Royal Field Artillery men, soldiers of the King and of the +Salvation Army too, have been holding daily prayer meetings just +behind the guns, and have succeeded in capturing several of their +comrades as "trophies." There was no "penitent rail" to which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>to +invite them, and so, notwithstanding the cold, they piled their +overcoats together, and kneeling at this improvised "rail" their +comrades gave themselves to Christ.</p> + +<p>What a picture it presents of absolute devotion and of the highest +Christian courage! The guns hardly cool from their deadly fire, soon +to belch out death again, the men in the depth of winter caring naught +for the cold or for the enemy's shot and shell, using their brief +interval to lead their comrades to Christ. Pray on, Salvation Army +lads! You will fight all the better for your country because of your +fight for the King of Kings, and if death stares you in the face you +will know that you have spent your last moments in pointing your +comrades to the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep134" id="imagep134"></a> +<a href="images/imagep134.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep134.jpg" width="40%" alt="A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS WORK" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-right: 30%; margin-left: 30%;">A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS WORK.<br /> +The Red-Cross Motor Field Kitchen, under the direction of Miss Jessica +Borthwick, dispenses hot soup to the wounded on the battlefield.<br /> +<i>Drawn by S. Begg.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER VIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Regimental Aid Posts—What Night Fighting is Like—The Young +Doctor—Making the Grave Bigger—Field Dressing +Stations—Where Caution is Required—Where Pluck is +Shown—When Does the Doctor Sleep?—Nothing but Tragedy—Those +Grand Tommies—Winning a V.C. Clasp—A Dreadful Scene—A +Kitchener's Train—Devoted Nurses—The Healthiest +War—Preventive Measures—Hospital Ships.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>So complete is the organisation of the Red Cross at the front that it +is possible to indicate its work in four terms—Regimental Aid Posts, +Field Dressing Stations, Clearing Hospitals, Base Hospitals. Add to +these the Home Hospitals, to which the men are finally transferred, +and you have the work of the Army Medical Organisation at a glance.</p> + +<p>During this war the cryptic letters R.A.M.C. and M.S.C. have +interpreted themselves into actual glorious service which the British +public will ever delight to honour, and it will be borne in mind that +most of the Christian ministers who have enlisted during this war, +have enlisted into this branch of the service. They bear no arms, but +theirs is the highest of all service, that of ministering to the +wounded and dying. Such work as this requires heroism of the highest +order.</p> + +<p>Let us glance at each branch of the work, that the service of the Red +Cross may live before us.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>1. <i>Regimental Aid Posts.</i>—Just a little behind the firing line, as +near to it as possible, often exposed to shell and rifle fire, is the +Regimental Aid Post. It may be in a cottage, possibly in a cow-shed, +perhaps only under the partial shelter of a hill, with a doctor and a +few men of the R.A.M.C. in charge. To it are brought as quickly as +possible the men wounded in the firing line. During recent months, +however, it has been impossible to bring the wounded even this short +distance during the day. It has only been at night that the men in the +trenches could remove their wounded hither, or the stretcher-bearers +could go out to seek for them. The fire has been so terrible that no +one could venture into the open. The men have had to lie where they +fell, often in agony, waiting until they could be carried to the aid +post to receive first aid from the doctor waiting for them. But the +doctor does not always wait; he goes where he is needed most, right +into the trenches, risking his life at every step, and there ministers +to those who cannot wait to be brought to him.</p> + +<p>The Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) vividly describes one such +outpost as I have indicated.</p> + +<p>"In the vicinity of the trenches star bombs were constantly being +thrown up, causing whole lines of trenches to be under the weird +flare. German search-lights swept the whole of the surrounding +country, bringing to light every movement of the troops not under +cover.</p> + +<p>"For one brief moment the shaft of light rested on me as I stood +watching the scene of battle. The experience is equal to an unexpected +cold douche. Night fighting under modern science is, I should +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>imagine, hell let loose, and the surprise to me is that so many should +survive the inferno.</p> + +<p>"From 8 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> to 8 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> the rush was terrific. In one +of the field hospitals no less than seventy odd wounded were treated, +about twenty of these requiring chloroform.</p> + +<p>"Be it remembered that each case is hastily but carefully dressed by +the regimental doctor at the Regimental Aid Post before coming in to +the field hospital for more thorough treatment, then one realises the +enormous amount of work that often falls to the men occupying these +positions of grave risk and tough work.</p> + +<p>"These gentlemen are night and day at the call of the man in the +trenches, and gladly make any and every sacrifice to render needed +medical and surgical assistance. Each trip they make to the line of +fire means that they carry their lives in their hands; for there is +more danger getting into the trenches than actually exists in the +trenches, because most of the fire passes over our trenches and sweeps +the approaches night and day.</p> + +<p>"Some few days ago, I had occasion to spend some time with a young +regimental doctor in his lonely outpost. We were drawn together by +common interests and promised ourselves a smoke night together. The +first case that met my gaze in the field hospital was my friend the +young regimental doctor, fatally wounded whilst going in the rush of +work to render help to the wounded.</p> + +<p>"Perfectly conscious, he said as he took my hand, 'You see, Padre, +they have claimed me at last. I always felt it would come.'</p> + +<p>"Calmly he dictated a brief message to his young <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>wife and child, then +bravely waited for the end. He knew exactly the nature of his wound +and was quite prepared for the surrender of his soul to God. He +accepted his end as nobly as he had striven to do his God-inspired +work. The real tragedy of this is in the house yonder in England made +desolate by this cruel war."</p> + +<p>So does the Regimental Aid Post doctor give his life for his country.</p> + +<p>The Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins (Wesleyan) gives us another picture of a +Regimental Aid Post.</p> + +<p>"Near the trenches in a deserted farm by the roadside is the +Regimental Aid Post which last I visited. Two regimental doctors have +made it their headquarters—Captain Brown and Lieutenant Eccles—and +thither are gathered the sick and wounded belonging to the Manchester +Regiment and the East Surreys. I had been sent for to bury the dead. +As usual on such occasions, I went out with the bearers and ambulance +waggons after dark, and when I arrived I found three men waiting +burial. Two as they stood side by side had been killed by the same +bullet, the other had been shot whilst issuing rations to his comrades +in the trenches.</p> + +<p>"'You've timed your visit well, Padre,' said Captain Brown. 'There's +been a bit of an attack on. Enemy evidently got the wind up badly, and +have been loosing off wildly in the air. Bullets have been falling +around the house like hail; half an hour ago you couldn't have got to +us. One comfort is that if the bullets were falling here, they must +have been going high over the heads of our fellows.'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, we're ready for you as soon as ever the waggons are loaded, but +Eccles has a man of the East <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>Surreys; perhaps the grave had better be +made bigger, and then you can make one job of it.'</p> + +<p>"A few minutes later we were passing through the farm-yard at the back +of the house, mud over our boot tops, into a field, in the corner of +which a little cemetery had sprung up. 'Twenty officers and men, most +of them Manchesters,' Brown said in an undertone. 'Winnifrith buried +three here last night, and two the night before. No, you need not be +afraid to use a light to-night. The weather is too thick for it to be +seen by the enemy, and in any case they're busy, for our fellows are +attacking. Listen.' Again the angry voice of the machine-gun, the +noise of rifle fire, so heavy that it sounded like the bubbling of +water boiling in some gigantic cauldron."</p> + +<p>2. We pass now to the <i>Field Dressing Stations</i>. It appears to be only +when the fighting is severe that these are needed in addition to the +Regimental Aid Posts. Sometimes the wounded are taken direct to the +clearing hospital from the Regimental Aid Posts; but when the wounded +crowd in upon the latter, they can only receive rough first aid +treatment there, and are passed back as quickly as possible to the +Dressing Station.</p> + +<p>This is carefully explained in a letter by Staff-Sergeant Barlow, +R.A.M.C., to the Vicar of Prestwich. "Perhaps it would be well to +explain where our work as a field ambulance comes in. We are not in +the sense of the word a hospital. In the first place a regiment is in +the trenches, and in close proximity to the trenches, the regimental +bearers carry their wounded to some place of cover or comparative +safety, such as a barn or farm-house, or in the case of a town being +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>shelled, cellars are used. These are called Regimental Aid Posts.</p> + +<p>"As a Field Ambulance we follow from one to two miles in the rear of +the firing line and form dressing stations, using schools or barns for +the purpose. Our ambulance waggons and stretcher-bearers go out under +cover of darkness to collect from the Aid Posts the wounded soldiers, +the waggons halting perhaps half a mile away, while the bearers cross +fields and roads to the Aid Posts where the wounded soldiers are.</p> + +<p>"This is very dangerous and requires much caution; lights are +prohibited, as even the flare of a cigarette becomes a good mark for +the enemy's snipers, of whom they appear to have many.</p> + +<p>"Each regiment forms its own Aid Post. One ambulance unit attends a +brigade. After the wounded are brought to the dressing station, the +wounds are redressed, and the soldiers are as soon as possible +despatched to the clearing hospitals at the base."</p> + +<p>Staff-Sergeant Barlow proceeds to describe his first impressions of +this awful work:</p> + +<p>"What were my first impressions? you may ask. They were such as I can +never forget. We were halted near a farm-house, the tenants of which +had cleared out, leaving fowls and pigs unattended. The pigs could not +have been fed for several days, as they were shrieking for food; we +called it crying. The pigs were fed with food from the lofts. Dinner +was served to the men (army biscuits and jam), in the midst of which +an order came for an ambulance waggon for a wounded man.</p> + +<p>"We were all astir, and it was the first casualty we had had to deal +with. The waggon went out, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>later several stretcher squads and +other waggons. The remainder had to fall back about half a mile to a +small village to prepare a school and church for the receipt of the +wounded.</p> + +<p>"My first thoughts were: What is it like; shall I be able to stand the +sight of it? In the evening our waggons began to return, bringing many +wounded. The medical officers rolled their sleeves up and set to work. +My duty fell to assisting by taking off the dressings from the wounds, +the first one being that of a soldier with part of his elbow blown +away. It looked awful, but I got over it very well. Why? Because we +had not time to think of it. There were others to attend to, most +patiently waiting—and I think it is in such circumstances as these +that one can see the true pluck and courage of the British +soldier,—with here and there one pleading for attention.</p> + +<p>"Everyone worked hard; the hours passed as minutes, and when all were +attended and we looked in solemn silence around, I turned to a comrade +and asked the time. He answered it was after 4 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> I thought +it was midnight. We had dealt with 134 wounded, among whom were +several Germans. Under a shed in the school-yard lay five men who had +died after being brought in; they were reverently buried in the local +cemetery. Since this we have had worse and much of a similar nature, +but they have become a conglomeration of events. It is the first night +with the wounded that lives, and through it all a voice within me +continually saying: 'And this is war.'"</p> + +<p>3. Away behind the firing line, in some quiet spot unreached by shell +or rifle fire, is the <i>Clearing Hospital</i>. To this spot come the +ambulance waggons bearing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>their ghastly freight of broken bodies +gathered from Regimental Aid Posts and Dressing Stations.</p> + +<p>The doctors are busily at work. Night is their busiest time. We wonder +when the doctor at the front sleeps. We wonder with how little sleep +it is possible to support life. These men seem tireless. Hour after +hour through the night they toil on, probing here, amputating there.</p> + +<p>This is where we see in all its horror the meaning of that new word +"frightfulness." I cannot describe the scenes that may be witnessed. I +have before me, as I write, copies of <i>Guy's Hospital Gazette</i> from +the beginning of the war, kindly supplied me by the Editor. It is +necessary that descriptions of the horrors should be written for +professional eyes, but I will not harrow the feelings of my readers. I +turn away from their perusal echoing the words of Staff-Sergeant +Barlow—"And this is war."</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep142" id="imagep142"></a> +<a href="images/imagep142.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep142.jpg" width="40%" alt="A RESCUE PARTY" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-right: 30%; margin-left: 30%;">A RESCUE PARTY.<br /> +Systematic search is made for the wounded, who often crawl away in the +hope of reaching their own lines.<br /> +<i>Drawn by Sydney Adamson.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>I will rather let the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) describe to +us, as he saw it, the work at such a Clearing Hospital.</p> + +<p>"In the same ward were many wounded upon the floor stretchers, lying +still in their soaked and muddy clothes just as they had fallen, with +bloody bandages showing up in dreadful contrast against their poor +soiled bodies. Some delirious, others lying in profound silence, but +noble fortitude. In a ward like this one sees nothing but tragedy.</p> + +<p>"In the receiving room the R.A.M.C. officers were working at highest +pressure to save life and limb, by steady hand and cheery manner +imparting confidence and hope to every patient in turn.</p> + +<p>"I could not help expressing admiration for the way in which each +piece of work was carried out, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>but the officer commanding simply +said, 'You know, Padre, we cannot sacrifice enough for the man who is +standing up to this hail of hell for us.'</p> + +<p>"I was surprised to see such a large percentage of officers among the +wounded. No wonder our men are proud of their leaders; where risks +must be taken, the officer claims this as his privilege and thus shows +the way in every undertaking. One brave major leading his men into the +German trenches, when hit, simply shouted "Go on!" as he fell wounded +in the head. He is being buried to-day, as every brave soldier +desires, in his uniform and blanket."</p> + +<p>It will be perhaps as well to look at a similar scene through a +doctor's eyes, and I therefore quote a letter from a medical officer +at a receiving base in France published in the <i>Scotsman</i>.</p> + +<p>"We get the wounded here at practically first-hand. They are brought +in with all possible speed, dealt with at once, and sent out to other +hospitals as soon as we can send them, to make room for the others who +may (and who invariably do) come. They're wonderful chaps, those +Tommies. Great stuff; too good to lose! They are brought to us at all +hours. Exhausted, covered with mud, hastily but well bandaged on +common-sense principles; and aye the quiet, plucky grin, or the +patient, enduring set of the jaw.</p> + +<p>"'What price this little lot, doctor? '—and the querist indicates +where the bullet entered his thigh. 'And me futball leg, too!' growled +another one, brought in dripping one night. 'And who will do the +schorin' fur the ould tame now? All the same, sir, I schored ag'in' +the man that did this, or wan av his side.' Man, they're wonderful! +They tell us, under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>the nervous stress in which we usually find them, +some things that have made me wish to lay my eye to the sights of a +rifle, despite my bay windows. They tell them in such a +matter-of-course fashion, too, that they simply sink in.</p> + +<p>"'When did you get this?' I asked a man wounded in both thighs.</p> + +<p>"'Yesterday morning, at eight, sir; chargin'. Dropped between their +trenches an' ours. Half a dozen of others there too, all wounded, lay +there all day. Those snipers poured lead into anything that showed +signs of life. Chap next to me was badly hit, and inclined to move. I +warned him twice to lie flat an' not squirm, as the Germans were +watchin' for every move, an' would plug him, wounded or not. He stuck +it steady for four hours. Then he tried to roll over, an' showed a +shoulder. Got it. Soon's the snipers couldn't see me after dark, I +started to drag myself back, an' met some of the boys out to look for +us. It was more than seven to one against us that day.' And so it goes +on.</p> + +<p>"It's a great experience this. As a surgeon, I know its value. But I +wish it was over. It's awful. The stream of wounded seems unceasing, +and sometimes I ask myself, when I've time to realise it at all, how +long I will be able to meet this strain. We must do our work, however, +and I'm proud to do it for those grand men the Tommies."</p> + +<p>It is, of course, difficult to single out for mention the names of +doctors who are doing this heroic work at Regimental Aid Posts and +Dressing Stations. Where all are heroic particular mention would be +invidious. There is, however, one outstanding name—Lieutenant Arthur +Martin Leake, R.A.M.C. I mention him <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>because he has been the +recipient of a unique distinction. He served through the South African +War and there won the V.C. for conspicuous bravery. Having won the +V.C. it could not be given to him again, and so a clasp has been added +to the Cross.</p> + +<p>The brief official record is as follows:</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Arthur Martin Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was +awarded the Victoria Cross on May 13, 1902, is granted a clasp for +conspicuous bravery in the present campaign.</p> + +<p>"For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty throughout the +campaign, especially during the period October 29 to November 8, 1914, +near Zonnebeke, in rescuing while exposed to constant fire a large +number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy's trenches."</p> + +<p>So far as I know this honour is unique. Probably Lieutenant Leake +would say that he is no braver than scores of other doctors who are +nobly doing their work at the front, but he has had his opportunity +and he has used it, and by so doing has brought honour upon the whole +medical profession. Great is the man who fearlessly "takes occasion by +the hand" in the cause of humanity.</p> + +<p>When all that can be done for the men at the clearing hospitals is +accomplished, they are despatched to the rear. Those who, in the +opinion of the medical staff, can bear the journey to this country are +despatched thither direct via hospital train and hospital ship. The +majority, however, are taken to the base hospitals, where they lie +until they are well enough to be sent home, or death eases them of +their pain.</p> + +<p>In the early days of the war this transit to the base was difficult in +the extreme, and the wounded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>arrived there in a shocking condition. +It is as well, perhaps, that we should know what really happened, so I +copy a paragraph from <i>Guy's Hospital Gazette</i> of November 7, 1914. It +is from a letter signed "G.H.F.G."</p> + +<p>"The train has just arrived and even now some few wounded are being +removed from the waggons, the gravest of all being given treatment in +an improvised hospital by the sidings, others less serious, though bad +enough in all conscience, are carried on stretchers to the central +goods shed, where the commandant, aided by a large staff of excitable, +bearded assistants, directs to what hospital they are to be sent.</p> + +<p>"For some minutes we watch the unloading of these waggons. Preceded by +orderlies the officer passes from door to door, entering some, and +questioning briefly the men lying full length or sitting in what +comfort they can upon the straw-covered boards. As the panel slides +back a fetid odour of pus reaches the nostrils; startled by the +unexpected brightness a couple of horses tethered at one end of the +truck stamp and whinney. Carrying an acetylene flare, which makes +weird effects of chiaroscuro on the bare walls and floor, an orderly +comes in and collects the histories of the men. One man, wounded in +the head, persists in taking him for a German, the others laugh and +point to their foreheads. A little further on, in second and +third-class carriages, men with arms in slings, and less serious body +wounds, crowd in the corridors and clamour for food and drink."</p> + +<p>What wonder after this that we are told that most of the wounds +received in those early days were septic on their arrival at the base +hospital?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>How different it all is at the present time! Now well-appointed +hospital trains move backwards and forwards from the clearing +hospitals to the base. For the first time we enter the nurse's sphere. +Everything changes when the nurse appears upon the scene. She loves +order. Cleanliness is her life. She is trained in all the little arts +of nursing which bring comfort and peace. She can do what no man can +do. The doctor is splendid at his own special work, the +stretcher-bearer, the ambulance man, and the hospital orderly at his. +But it remains for women to do what man can never do, and with her +light touch, and tender sympathy, to soothe and comfort and bless.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">When pain and anguish wring the brow<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A ministering angel thou.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The hospital trains are called "Kitchener's trains"—another tribute +to the great man who, from his room at the War Office, seems to +overlook everything and forget nothing.</p> + +<p>Miss Beardshaw, writing to her old hospital—Guy's—gives a +description of one of these hospital trains well worth reproduction +here.</p> + +<p>"Ours is known as the 'Khaki Train '—a Kitchener's Train; it is half +Great Eastern and half L.N.W. There are 220 beds, stretcher ones, two +layers. In between each carriage is a little department, a place for +plates, mugs, dressings, &c. The officers' and sisters' part is at one +end with their kitchen. Dispensary in the middle. Patients' kitchen +and orderlies' quarters at the other end. There are three medical +officers, one army sister in charge of wards A and B and the general +run of all our work. I have C, D, and E wards, and Miss Wilson has F, +G, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>H; a 'London' nurse has the three others. The army sister is an +old Guy's, so I think we shall be very happy together. There are +forty-five orderlies. The paint of the train white, bed frames dark +red, curtains green, and blankets dark brown, so the general effect is +very pretty. It is kept most beautifully clean, and the orderlies are +very proud of their train—the best on the line, they say. We go up +and down to the clearing station, so I am greatly looking forward to +seeing Sisters Kiddle and Ames. I do hope they will not be moved +before we get there. We often take convalescent patients about, often +to Havre. Have been between Havre and Rouen twice these last few +days."</p> + +<p>What a picture this gives us of organisation at its best! "Beautifully +clean!" Surely this is just what is needed, and we cannot wonder that +over sixty per cent. of the wounded are able ere long to return to the +firing line.</p> + +<p>4. And then after the journey in the hospital train <i>de luxe</i>, there +is the <i>Base Hospital</i>, with everything in perfect order, and all that +can be done for the wounded men. I have written about the work in the +base hospitals in the chapter on "Work at the Fighting Base." It is +not necessary, therefore, that I should linger here. I will, however, +add a tribute which the Rev. R. Hall (Wesleyan) pays to the nursing +sisters. Says Mr. Hall:</p> + +<p>"I must say a word about the nursing sisters. No braver and truer +women ever lived, kind and gentle and brave in the face of disease and +death. By day and night they watch and care for our comrades; many a +lad's dying hours are made more comfortable by the gentle touch and +loving word of these devoted women.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>"I heard one day that in another hospital seven miles away one of our +own men was dying. I went over and found that he was isolated; he was +dying of an infectious disease. He was in great agony. A sister stood +beside him, and was trying to comfort him and ease his pain, at the +same time the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.</p> + +<p>"I have been profoundly impressed by the work of this branch of the +Service. We forget sometimes that it is easier to face the shell and +the bullet in the excitement of battle than it is to watch hour by +hour and tend to those who are suffering from some deadly infectious +disease, or from some ghastly wound received in battle."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hall's tribute is surely well earned. In this war woman has been +as brave as man or braver. She has given of her best and dearest, she +has worked and prayed and endured. And away out there among our +wounded and dying, far from the excitement of battle, by day and by +night she has given herself—all she is and all she has—to the +service of her country. And in doing so she has earned the undying +gratitude of those to whom she has ministered, and of the land she +loves so well.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>I turn now to consider another branch of Red Cross work at the +front—the treatment and prevention of disease.</p> + +<p>This has been the "healthiest" war ever undertaken by the British +Army. The great problem of all armies is how to keep out infectious +disease, and never before has the problem been solved. If still not +completely solved, it is certainly in the fair way to solution.</p> + +<p>In the campaigns of the forty years previous to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>this war the +proportion of sick to wounded was twenty-five to one, and of deaths +through disease to death by shot, shell, or bayonet, five to one. In +the South African War the proportion of sick to wounded was over four +to one. We all remember the terrible share that enteric had in the +wastage of that campaign. How the soldiers dreaded it. "Better," they +used to say, "three wounds then one enteric."</p> + +<p>Now enteric has almost entirely disappeared. Speaking in February 1915 +the Under Secretary of State for War said that so far during the +campaign there had been only six hundred and twenty-five cases in the +British Expeditionary Force and of these only forty-nine had died—a +percentage of deaths less than half as great as that among the victims +of typhoid in the forces still in this country.</p> + +<p>Of typhus and cholera there had not been a single case. Strange to +say, one hundred and seventy-five of the men had had measles, and +among these there had been two deaths. One hundred and ninety-six men +had had scarlet-fever and there had been four deaths. How far the +healthiness of the climate affects these figures it is difficult to +say, but it must be remembered that it has been a terribly wet winter.</p> + +<p>How far inoculation against typhoid has prevented the disease is also +an interesting question. The doctors have a note of victory in all +their statements on this subject, and the figures seem to justify +their satisfaction.</p> + +<p>Certainly preventive measures have counted for much. Early in the war +the medical officers of the various ambulances acted, so far as time +permitted, as sanitary officers, and in later days a well-organised +Sanitary Section has accomplished great things. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>cleansing of +camps, the appointments of sanitary offices, the provision of baths, +and, generally, every possible attention to hygiene, have kept our men +exceptionally free from sickness, and no praise can be too high for +the men who have accomplished so much for the British soldier.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep150" id="imagep150"></a> +<a href="images/imagep150.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep150.jpg" width="40%" alt="ON THE MARNE" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-right: 30%; margin-left: 30%;">ON THE MARNE.<br /> +The pet dog of a French regiment finds wounded soldiers and brings the +stretcher-bearers to them. This dog has learnt to dig himself a hole +when firing is going on.<br /> +<i>Drawn by E. Matania.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>On the other hand, of frost-bite there have been over nine thousand +cases. It is questionable, however, if the vast majority of these +cases are really cases of frost-bite. Medical opinion inclines to the +view that most of these are a new disease known as trench foot, caused +by standing in the trenches with putties too tight and boots too +small.</p> + +<p><i>Guy's Hospital Gazette</i> publishes some remarkable figures. "On one +occasion a rifle brigade after marching fifteen miles went at once +into the trenches, and within forty-eight hours, over four hundred +were incapacitated through the foot trouble described in this report. +One hundred and eighty men of the Cameron Highlanders were in the +trenches without being relieved for eight days and only three suffered +from slight frost-bite. None of them wore anything upon their legs and +feet, except boots, which may explain the sparsity of cases."</p> + +<p>If this be so, then frost-bite of this description is also largely +preventable, and the recommendation of the doctors as to large, easy +fitting, and water-tight boots, less tightly bound putties, &c., will +prevent most of this trouble in future.</p> + +<p>On the whole, the country can congratulate itself very heartily on the +noble and successful work of the various Red Cross departments. The +doctors who have sacrificed their lives will not be forgotten, and +will be regarded as heroic as any officers who have led a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>charge from +the trenches. The nurses have earned a debt of gratitude we can never +repay. Nursing efficiency has gone far since "Our Lady of the Lamp" +moved with such tender dignity up and down the wards in the hospital +at Scutari. We would pay our tribute of admiration to the work of our +nurses in this war, and say, "Many daughters have done virtuously, but +thou—thou modern lady of the lamp—excellest them all."</p> + +<p>I must not close this chapter without a word about the well-appointed +hospital ships which ply backwards and forwards between the French and +British coasts, each with its doctors, nurses, and chaplains on board, +bearing a freight of suffering humanity, such as our coasts have never +seen before. Everything in order, everything in the way of comfort and +ease provided. It was a dastardly act to aim a German torpedo against +the <i>Asturias</i>. Fortunately the attempt failed, but what profit would +it have been if this life-giving ship had been sunk? Enough surely has +been done to take life. The object of such ships as these—ships which +cannot be mistaken for any others—is to woo back to life, until their +suffering humanity can be tenderly placed in the care of loving hands +and hearts at home. Here we are waiting for them, and here we have a +right to expect them, that, nursed back to health in the hospitals of +our land, they may, by and by, greet wife, and mother, and child, and +sweetheart in their own homes once more.</p> + +<p>But oh the cruel work of war! The legacy of broken bodies and broken +hearts! We look on, and look up to the City of God even now coming +down from God out of heaven. <i>Sursum corda!</i> The hour of redemption +draweth nigh.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER IX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>WITH THE GRAND FLEET</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Always "Ready, Aye Ready"—The Deciding Factor—One Hundred +and Fifty Chaplains—On the "Bulwark"—"The Church Pennant" +Postponed—Sunday on a Battleship—The Sailor and the Thought +of Death—Stories from the Fleet—From a Torpedo-boat—The +Shore Chaplain's Opportunity—Christian Bravery—"Save +Yourself; I'll let go."</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Everybody is asking, Where is the Grand Fleet? And that is just what +the Germans would like to know. It has a marvellous facility for +appearing and disappearing. Occasionally we receive letters bearing +the address, "In the North Sea or elsewhere," and sometimes we think +it is more elsewhere than there. No postmark gives its location away, +no newspaper paragraph lets us into the secret. And then suddenly it +appears:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Out of the everywhere into the here,<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin">and the Germans find to their dismay a part of it off the Dogger Bank, +and the sleepy Turk wakes up to find another part in the Dardanelles.</p> + +<p>It is like one of the mysterious powers of nature—unseen, but ever +exercising a powerful influence. Its existence is always felt—felt by +our foes with ever-increasing pressure, and felt by us with influences +always beneficial.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>It sleeps not and rests not. It is always "ready, aye ready." From +Admiral Sir John Jellicoe to the grimiest stoker, it is one in purpose +and in action. And because it is <i>there</i>, we sleep well in our beds at +night, and there are few of us, as we lie down to rest, but breathe a +prayer for those who seem never to rest—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"God bless our sons upon the sea."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>We have always been proud of our fleet, but never so proud as to-day. +It expresses the genius of our nation. Our way has always been "in +great waters." We talk of ourselves as "safe circled by the silver +sea," but the sea would not save us without our fleet.</p> + +<p>When the war broke out, we found ourselves asking, "How will it be +with us now?" With forty million mouths to feed and only six weeks' +supply of food in the country, how will it be with us now?</p> + +<p>Our fleet has solved that problem, and food has poured into the +country in plenty and everyone has been fed. It has been in every sea, +chasing our enemies off the ocean, protecting trade routes, convoying +troop-ships, and at the same time bottling up our enemies in their +harbours.</p> + +<p>Never was such a herculean task undertaken and never so well +performed. Battleships and cruisers, torpedo boats, and submarines, +all in their turn have done their work, and done it well. They are +waiting they tell us for "the day" of which the enemy boasted so much, +and when the day dawns they will be there.</p> + +<p>We realise that our fleet will be the deciding fact in this war. Our +soldiers have done splendidly and will continue so to do, but without +our ships they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>would be helpless, and if once we lose command of the +sea, the glory of our country will pass away. But we have no doubts +and no fears. They are <i>there</i>—and <i>here</i>—<i>everywhere</i>.</p> + +<p>The nation's gratitude has been shown in many ways during the war. +Busy hands have worked for it, and numberless prayers have risen to +God's throne on its behalf. As an instance of what has been done, I +quote the figures of "comforts" sent from <i>one</i> girls' school to <i>one</i> +ship—the <i>Ajax</i>. The school is the Girls' Grammar School, Bury, whose +headmistress is Miss J.P. Kitchener (a relative of Lord Kitchener). +Wristlets, 137; mufflers, 118; body bands, 120; socks and stockings, +35; sea boot stockings, 16; mittens, 142; jersey, 1; books and +magazines, 500. Of course all the articles, except the books, have +been made by the girls. In addition to these they have sent 1673 +articles to the soldiers. I wonder if this is a record for such an +institution? This, however, is only a specimen of what has been done.</p> + +<p>Somewhere with that mysterious fleet are a hundred and fifty +chaplains. No Free Church chaplains are afloat. It would be difficult +to carry more than one chaplain on a ship, and, of course, many of the +ships of war carry no chaplain at all. Where there is no chaplain the +commanding officer conducts the ship's service. Nonconformists at sea +have to lose for the time the ministry of their several churches, but +when in port landing parties redress this inequality. Some ships, +especially those belonging to Devonport, have a strong Nonconformist +element in their crews.</p> + +<p>The naval chaplain as a rule is an entirely different type of man from +his brother in the Army. He is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>monarch of all he surveys. He has to +face no competition in his work. He partakes of the freedom of the +sea. For the most part he is a right down good fellow, but, so far as +I can judge, he has not the type of spirituality of which we see so +much in the Army. He is all sorts of things rolled into +one—sea-lawyer, letter-writer, story-teller, lecturer, schoolmaster, +game-director, and a host of other things beside. He must be +absolutely sincere if he is to be any good at all, for he never gets +away from the busy life of the ship, and he of all men "cannot be +hid." Often he is the friend and counsellor of the men, sharing their +joys and sorrows. He is the go-between for officers and men, and if he +be efficient—and an inefficient man could hardly remain long on +board—he makes himself indispensable.</p> + +<p>Of course he shares all the dangers of the ship, and to-day if a ship +be beaten it is also sunk. Never were the dangers of the sea so great. +Dangers <i>on</i> the sea, <i>under</i> the sea, <i>over</i> the sea, crowd around. +He never knows when or how suddenly the end may come, and it behoves +him to be ready, and brave. We are told that, when the three cruisers +were torpedoed in the North Sea, the Rev. E.G. Uphill Robson, chaplain +of the <i>Aboukir</i>, went down cheering the men he loved so well. The +Rev. A.H.J. Pitts, the chaplain of the <i>Good Hope</i>, died bravely with +Sir Christopher Cradock. A petty officer who knew him in another ship +says, "With him compulsory church was quite unnecessary. Nobody in the +ship would be absent from the service if he could possibly manage to +get there."</p> + +<p>One of the most terrible catastrophes of the war was the blowing up of +the <i>Bulwark</i> in Sheerness Harbour. The Rev. G.H. Hewetson, the +chaplain, was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>on board and perished with the rest. He had only been +married a few months.</p> + +<p>"Only the other week," wrote a correspondent of the <i>Church Family +Newspaper</i>, "I met a stoker, who told me he, Mr. Hewetson, held +meetings for men every evening in his cabin, and he was constantly at +their elbow when spells from duty would permit, guiding them in 'the +things that matter.' It was also my privilege to know him as chaplain +to the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth, during his stay of nearly +three years, which terminated with his taking up duties on the +<i>Bulwark</i> at the outbreak of war. He was a man of God, also a +sportsman of the highest tone, being an expert fencer, a runner-up in +the Army and Navy championships at Olympia two seasons ago. He was a +man of some literary ability, for which the Chaplain of the Fleet made +him editor of the <i>Church Pennant</i>, <i>i.e.</i> the Church magazine of the +Navy. Mr. Hewetson was an earnest believer in individual methods, and +invariably worked sixteen hours a day, visiting all recruits, +detention quarters, sick bay, and held no fewer than five services on +Sundays."</p> + +<p>I suppose we include our chaplains when we pray for those who "go down +to the sea in ships"; but surely these men who are there, not to +fight, but to preach and pray, claim a special interest in our +prayers.</p> + +<p>Prayers are read every morning on every large war-ship, and this is, +of course, the chaplain's duty, if one is carried in the ship. The +life and work of the day depends very largely on how this is done.</p> + +<p>On Sunday there is a sermon—just a quiet, homely talk from heart to +heart, and in these days we may well believe that men are thrilled by +the message as never before. Of course, during the winter storms +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>morning prayers on deck or Sunday parades are impossible, for many a +great green sea will break over the decks even of a super-Dreadnought. +At these times service is held below and men attend in relays. On some +of the super-Dreadnoughts there are little churches. The <i>Queen Mary</i>, +for instance, has one.</p> + +<p>I have asked a few representative chaplains to tell me something of +the spiritual work on board their ships.</p> + +<p>The Rev. C.W. Lydall, chaplain of the <i>Lion</i>, which took part in the +North Sea battle, says: "I can only tell you that in this ship our +religious motto has been 'business as usual.' I mean the war routine +has interfered as little as possible with our services, which have +been attended well. There has been a decided increase in the number of +communicants, and in many small ways the men have shown a fuller +consciousness of their dependence upon God."</p> + +<p>The Rev. Arthur C. Moreton, chaplain of the <i>Invincible</i>, which was +engaged in the battle off the Falkland Islands, writes: "The usual +services are held when practicable, and on Sunday and Wednesday nights +I have a prayer meeting with Bible-reading in my cabin."</p> + +<p>The Rev. M.T. Hainsselin, chaplain of the <i>Ajax</i>, writes: "The war has +made little or no difference to my routine of church work on this +ship. The only service I have added has been a second celebration of +Holy Communion in addition to the usual 7.40 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> one, to +enable men to come who could not be present earlier; and the +opportunity has been much valued. The other services of Morning and +Evening Prayer are continued as usual.</p> + +<p>"As you probably know, sailors do not as a general <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>rule care much +about the Parade Service at 10.30 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>, but I think I may +truly say that since the outbreak of the war they have come far more +to realise it as an act of worship due from them, and it has become a +deep reality instead of—as it was to many—a formality.</p> + +<p>"In the men's letters which I have had to censor, I have noticed a +very strong current of devout religious sentiment, hitherto +unsuspected, which encouraged me to think that one's ordinary teaching +is not so much wasted effort, as one is sometimes faithless enough to +think it is."</p> + +<p>How heavy the veil of secrecy hanging over the fleet really is, will +be seen from the fact that only one copy of the <i>Church Pennant</i>, +which lost its editor in the <i>Bulwark</i>, was issued between the +outbreak of war and Easter, and that in February last. The <i>Church +Pennant</i> is the organ of the Naval Church Society, and records the +Christian work on board H.M. ships. Several reports of Christian work +are given in this solitary issue, but the names of the ships are only +indicated by initials.</p> + +<p>One report states that the place ordinarily used for celebrations and +evening service had to be given up to the doctors, but that Holy +Communion has been celebrated in the chaplain's cabin every Sunday. On +Christmas Day there were two communions and the number of communicants +was thirty-four. "The men in general are pleased to read religious +papers, and readily accept prayer cards."</p> + +<p>Another report says: "On board this ship we were able, in spite of now +and then roughish weather, to keep up our regular daily prayers and +Sunday services. On Sundays we had stand-up church and two hymns from +the hymn cards, and all the responses of Matins <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>with one lesson and +one of the Canticles sung. We had the harmonium to sing to. These +services were brief, but very heartily joined in. After stand-up +Matins we were able always to have our celebration in the captain's +cabin—there being no other place in the ship available. The +attendance was very good and showed that the old prejudice against +coming so far aft is at any rate moribund. Sometimes the weather made +it a little difficult both for the priest and worshippers, but we soon +got used to the necessary balancing.... Everyone throughout the ship +was merry and bright; we only regretted not having a chance of meeting +an opposite number of the enemy."</p> + +<p>A third report is as follows:</p> + +<p>"First of all, nightly Evensong has been held by the chaplain ever +since the war broke out. On account of the smallness of our numbers, +we meet in the chaplain's cabin, and there the service is performed. +Every Sunday morning, at 7 o'clock, we have a celebration of the Holy +Communion; and on the second Sunday in the month this service is +repeated after morning service. Our flotilla forms rather a large +parish for the chaplain, and to supply its wants we have a service +specially arranged whenever it is convenient. After our usual 7 +<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> service, we sometimes proceed on board another ship, and +have a celebration, to which all communicants from the other vessels +in our company are invited by signal.</p> + +<p>"The place allotted to us in each instance is the captain's forecabin, +which in this ship is as suitable a place as service conditions will +allow. On Sunday evenings we have Evensong at 8.30, followed by +hymn-singing, and occasionally we get a good attendance. But this, +like other services, suffers for want of good <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>space, which is not +always easy to find on board ship....</p> + +<p>"Conditions on board ship render any efforts with regard to church +work very difficult, and this is most marked during these trying +times. No doubt many more would join in our united devotions did their +duty allow. But we may well be content to go ahead and do the best we +can, even if it should be rather disheartening at times. And it will +be acknowledged that there has been at least some effort made to +continue our duty towards the Church of which we are so proud to +consider ourselves loyal members. Our daily evening service closes +with a prayer, in which all are remembered, and this is a means by +which all may help. We feel and know that those who are on shore are +doing the same, and praying for guidance and protection for us from +Him Who is above all this turmoil and strife, and Who alone is able to +preserve us from peril."</p> + +<p>Here is yet one more report:</p> + +<p>"Owing to the outbreak of the war the Temperance and Bible classes in +this ship have been discontinued, but the Daily Prayer Meeting has +been kept going in almost unbroken line.</p> + +<p>"The voluntary services on Sunday evenings have been well attended, +also the weekly celebration of the Holy Communion is very +encouraging."</p> + +<p>Putting the chaplains' letters and these various reports to the +<i>Church Pennant</i> together, it is evident that the "business" of the +Church has been, so far as possible, carried on "as usual," and that +from a Church of England point of view it has been satisfactory.</p> + +<p>It does not, however, satisfy us. We want to get into the men's hearts +and minds and find out <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>what they are feeling and thinking in these +strenuous times. Does the thought of death affect them? Have the +things of eternity become more real? Are they conscious of sin within, +and of their need of a Saviour? Light-hearted and merry as ever, have +they the joy of the Lord?</p> + +<p>All around them are terrible armaments. We are told that the 15-inch +guns of the new <i>Queen Elizabeth</i> can send a shell weighing a ton for +a distance of more than twenty miles. The destruction which can be +wrought by one of these shells can be imagined when we read of the +havoc wrought by one such shell in one of the great forts of Antwerp. +It was not, of course, from a man-of-war, but its destructive force +would be the same. Says Sir Cecil Hertslet, our late Consul-General at +Antwerp:</p> + +<p>"Another of these great shells, weighing nearly a ton, fired from a +distance of about ten miles, rising three miles into the air, fell +upon the cupola of another of the great outer forts of Antwerp. It +went through the concrete roof of the fort, passed through the great +hall where the garrison of the fort was assembled; it went down to the +floor and lower still, and at last exploded, and with the explosion +swept away everything—forts, guns, garrison, disappearing."</p> + +<p>Are they conscious that they have such terrible engines of destruction +on board which on occasion they will use? Does the thought of it ever +appal them? Do they think that all around them are mines strewing the +North Sea, and that submarines are lurking here and there waiting to +launch the terrible torpedo? Do these thoughts ever come to a Jack +Tar, and how do they affect him?</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep162" id="imagep162"></a> +<a href="images/imagep162.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep162.jpg" width="75%" alt="A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP" /></a><br /> +<p class="right3" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Photo Credit, Southsea.</i></p> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP.<br /> +The church is "rigged" on the leeward side of a pair of 13.5 guns. A +most impressive service.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>To the real Christian death has, of course, no terror. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>He swings +himself into his hammock at night, knowing that to him sudden death +will be sudden glory. But to the ordinary man-of-war's man has there +come an accession of seriousness, such as has come to the men in the +sister service?</p> + +<p>We can as yet only answer this question in part, and must wait for a +full answer until the veil of secrecy is lifted.</p> + +<p>And in order to get as full an answer as is possible we must turn to +the men themselves, and as we do so, we offer for all of them the +beautiful prayer which the Archbishop of Canterbury has put into our +lips:</p> + +<p>"O Thou that slumberest not nor sleepest, protect, we pray Thee, our +sailors from the hidden perils of the sea, from the snares and +assaults of the enemy. Steady and support those upon whom the burdens +of responsibility lie heavily, and grant that in dangers often, in +watchings often, in weariness often, they may serve Thee with a quiet +mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."</p> + +<p>We must remember that just as every regiment in our Army is to-day +leavened by Christian men, so is practically every ship in our fleet. +The work of our sailors' homes has been successfully done,—such +Homes, for instance, as those of Miss Agnes Weston, and the Homes of +the Wesleyan Church at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Devonport.</p> + +<p>The previous work of the Sunday-schools and of the Salvation Army has +also told, and the men have, many of them, become out-and-out +Christians.</p> + +<p><i>They</i> have no difficulty in speaking:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What they have felt and seen<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With confidence they tell.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noin"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>And theirs is indeed a fascinating story. They have a way of making +their presence felt. They cannot keep to themselves the love that has +been shed abroad in their hearts, and so they gather their comrades +round them, and have "good times" together, while God's blessing rests +upon their work. Sometimes they meet in the chaplain's cabin, +sometimes elsewhere, but night by night they meet, and in their own +way worship God.</p> + +<p>Let us listen to a few of their stories. They are most of them +Methodists or Salvationists, so we will turn to the Rev. J.H. +Bateson's reports in the <i>Methodist Recorder</i> or <i>Methodist Times</i>, +and to the <i>War Cry</i>.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bateson says:</p> + +<p>"It is little that we know of our battleships in the North Sea. We +know that they are there, because the havoc of war is kept away from +our island home. The men, all Nelson's men, are doing their duty. A +letter from one of them will be read with interest:</p> + +<p>"'I must tell you we had a grand meeting last Sunday. We had thirty +present. More would have been there only we were rolling and pitching +heavily in a full gale, which lasted five days—the worst I have +experienced for many a year. Can you just try to picture us trying to +keep our feet and clutching at the piano (oh yes, we have one on +board), occasionally. We started off with, "All hail the power of +Jesu's Name," had prayer from our Blue Books, reading from Isaiah +xlii. 1-7, and a talk on the same, then "Rock of Ages," prayers, +"Nearer, my God, to Thee," Benediction, and Doxology. You should have +heard us sing! I'm afraid some of the home praise and prayer meetings +would be envious! This was our first attempt. I expect ere long we +shall have to have the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>meeting on the upper deck, for the numbers +will be too many for our enclosed reading-room. However, we intend to +keep the flag flying. 'Tis little we feel able to do, but we will do +our little best. It may, and should, have good results.'"</p> + +<p>Here is the account of another service sent home by an engine-room +artificer on one of H.M. battleships.</p> + +<p>"It is Sunday evening, the time about 7.30, when upwards of seventy +men may be seen sitting about the deck, under the fo'castle of one of +His Majesty's cruisers. Outside all is dark, one watch of men are +standing by the guns, trying to penetrate the darkness, in case of the +approach of the enemy. A watch of stokers and engineers is below, +humping the ship along. Another is resting, waiting for the time for +their next trick to come round. What do we see in the gathering of men +under the fo'castle? They have Sankey's hymn-books, kindly presented +by Miss Weston. In one corner is an harmonium, assisted by a couple of +violins. These supply the music. Presently a voice cries out, 'What +hymn will you have, men?' and the chorus of replies makes it difficult +to select one. This goes on for a while. Then all heads are bowed +whilst prayer is made. Our quartette party renders a few pieces, after +which —— gives the address, and right fine it is. He has some +splendid topics, and, being a worthy Methodist local preacher, he is +listened to with rapt attention. Another suitable hymn, and the +benediction brings the service to a close. The roughness and +simplicity of the service would cause some people surprise. Yet the +shots get home. To hear the men sing is a treat not easily forgotten. +The writer was much impressed by the singing of the hymn, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>'Some one +will enter the pearly gates by and by,' one side taking the question +and the other the answer. Once during the week about eight gather in a +cabin for Bible study and to talk of the things of God."</p> + +<p>What a picture these letters present of Christian life upon a +battleship! We could multiply them indefinitely, but must condense +instead.</p> + +<p>One young Christian sailor on a battleship tells of a Bible-class and +prayer-meeting, held every Thursday, conducted by a naval lieutenant. +Another tells of a Methodist class meeting on board conducted <i>twice</i> +weekly. A third sends home the minutes of a meeting held by several of +the men, at which it was resolved to hold a meeting every evening to +be devoted to Bible study, except on Saturdays, when the hour would be +spent in prayer. The Bible study, it was resolved, should begin with +the Epistle to the Romans. We wonder if these sailor lads found any +difficulty in that difficult Epistle. It was further resolved that +every Sunday evening a Gospel meeting should be held, and that every +Christian brother should be expected to take part. And, finally, the +men's correspondent asks that Christian people at home will pray that +he and his comrades may witness a good confession, and that they may +tell forth "God's wonderful story of Christ's redeeming love."</p> + +<p>A naval officer who is a Wesleyan local preacher says: "We are still +going on well—class meetings in the cabin and meetings on the Sunday +night. Wouldn't it be fine to have all the Service local preachers you +could get for a service in the Central Hall after the war and the +platform full of Methodist sailors and soldiers?"</p> + +<p>Here is a touching little letter from a torpedo boat. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>It is full of a +simple trust in Christ, and pulsates with sweetest fellowship in Him.</p> + +<p>"The winter has been rather a trying one for us in this tiny little +craft, but really I never knew the companionship of a present Saviour +so thoroughly as I have since hostilities began. It would seem almost +as if I were His only care, and that He made me a special study. The +wonder of it all is the more marked when I remember how poor has been +my service to Him, compared with all the great benefits with which He +daily loads me. In answering my prayers, in subduing the storms just +when they were at their worst, in giving me a thorough victory over my +usual weakness, and in a thousand other ways He makes me to lie down +in green pastures, satisfied and at rest, contrary to all the seeming +laws of warfare. These things I tell you, not from any conventional +compulsion, but because they really are so, and because I should be +thrice unworthy of His name if I forebore to tell out what great +things He has done."</p> + +<p>I will quote one or two sentences, this time with reference to +Salvation Army work. A lance-corporal on board the <i>Centurion</i> writes:</p> + +<p>"The chaps on board H.M.S. <i>Centurion</i> expect much from us +Salvationists these youthful days. There are five of us on this ship, +and we are not only engaged in cheering up each other, but we are +distributing as much cheer as possible. Our ship is called the +'Hallelujah Ship.'"</p> + +<p>Another writes from the same ship: "We have had some glorious +soul-saving times."</p> + +<p>A Salvation Army sailor has been given permission by the commander to +conduct meetings on the upper deck of the <i>Majestic</i>. He tells us that +he is the only <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>Salvationist on board that ship, but that there are +fifty Christian men there, and that others are giving themselves to +Christ.</p> + +<p>We hear of stokers coming up from the stoke-hole grimed with dirt, so +anxious to attend the services that they do not stop to wash, lest +they should miss the precious hour; of men praying in public who have +never prayed before; of heartfelt addresses delivered by men who had +no idea they could speak in public for their Master.</p> + +<p>There is no need, however, to multiply instances. We may take it for +granted that, in most ships, there is a little band of out-and-out +Christian men eagerly longing for spiritual fellowship, and finding it +in services to which they invite their fellows, and in which they have +the joy of leading many of their comrades to Christ.</p> + +<p>When a ship comes into port for a few hours there is the opportunity +for the shore chaplain. He holds services on board, distributes +"comforts," leaves behind him books and magazines, cheers the +Christian workers, and in his quiet way works wonders. And when the +men are permitted to come on shore what a welcome they receive at the +various Sailors' Homes, and hearts are gladdened and resolutions +strengthened, for the return to sea. The work at sea must be trying in +the extreme—the constant watchfulness, the eager waiting for the +enemy who never comes, the patrolling in the midst of winter tempests, +enough to try the nerves of the strongest—but all the time the +certainty that the old-time message will receive fresh illustration +each day—"England expects that every man will do his duty."</p> + +<p>The wooden walls have passed away, and steel <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>walls have taken their +place, but the men are brave as of old—only better far and nobler. No +longer the scum of our seaport towns, pressed into the service against +their will, but men who are there because they choose and dare, and +who are willing any day to die for their native land.</p> + +<p>Christian bravery, too, is as much in evidence on sea as on land. Take +this little story as an evidence of that fact. It is full of the joy +of glad surrender for another.</p> + +<p>"A sailor who had just got converted at the Sheerness Hall, when he +rose from his knees at the mercy-seat, with the joy of salvation in +his face, said, 'I am glad to be saved. I was on the —— (one of the +cruisers torpedoed) when she sank. I and another member of the crew, a +Salvationist, had been swimming about in the water for two hours or +more, and were almost exhausted, when just as we were about to give up +we saw a spar, made for it, and took hold. But, alas! it was not big +enough to keep us both afloat. We looked at each other. For a time, +one took hold while the other swam, and then we changed over.</p> + +<p>"'We kept this up for a bit, but it was evident we were getting +weaker. Neither of us spoke for a while, and then presently the +Salvationist said, "Mate, death means life to me; you are not +converted, you hold on to the spar and save yourself; I'll let go. +Good-bye!"</p> + +<p>"'And he let go and went down!'"</p> + +<p>When we have Christian men like that on our men-of-war, we need not +fear for our country, nor for the Kingdom of Christ. And so not only +now, but when the war is over let us pray:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O! hear us when we cry to Thee<br /></span><span class='pn'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +<span class="i0">For those in peril on the sea."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I close this chapter with one more quotation. It is from the +<i>Methodist Recorder</i>. It may be a comfort to some who lost dear ones +in the <i>Hawke</i>, or in some of the other ships which have met a similar +fate.</p> + +<p>"On the Sunday before the <i>Hawke</i> met her doom, one of our chaplains +conducted Divine service on the cruiser. As soon as he went on board +he was taken to the cabin of one of the warrant officers—a local +preacher—who is one of the few survivors of the disaster. About +thirty men gathered together. A few hymns were sung from the little +blue books, which have quite captured the sailors' hearts. The +chaplain read the latter part of Romans viii.—that great message of +inseparable love and glowing assurance. He then spoke from the words, +'All things work together for good to them that love God.' The men +listened most earnestly to the message. One of them asked that the +hymn—which has such sad but heroic associations,—'Nearer, my God, to +Thee' might be sung. The little service closed with prayer by the +warrant officer. As the chaplain shook hands with each man, one and +another said, 'Thank you, sir.' Arrangements were made to have another +service when the <i>Hawke</i> next came into port. But that will never be. +To those whose hearts ache for the brave dead of the <i>Hawke</i>, there is +no sweeter message than that which was given to the men on their last +Sunday morning, 'All things work together for good to them that love +God.'"</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER X<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Church of England Army Chaplains' Work at the +Front—Permanently Commissioned Chaplains—Hospital +Ministrations—Six Parade Services on one Day—Holy Communion +in Strange Places—Services under Shell Fire—Tonic Effect of +Difficulties—The Work of the Free Churches—The Salvation +Army and the War—One Hundred and Thirty Best Rooms—A +General's Testimony—He Plunged down on his Knees—In +Belgium—At Hadleigh—Send them to the Salvation Army—S.A. +Patrols.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>Readers of this book will be glad to have first-hand reports of +Christian work among our soldiers. I have therefore asked +representatives of the different churches and religious organisations +to give their own statements of the work attempted and accomplished. I +do not purpose, therefore, in this chapter doing more than presenting +to my readers the statements received, merely introducing them with a +few explanatory words.</p> + +<p>The first is the Church of England report. It is written by the Rev. +J.G. Tuckey, one of the senior Church of England chaplains at the +front, and has been prepared for me at the request of the Rev. E.G.F. +Macpherson, the senior Church of England chaplain. Mr. Tuckey has had +long experience of army work. He served through the South African War +with distinction, and has served throughout the present war. Few know +the British soldiers better than he.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>I preface his report with a brief extract from a letter received from +the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson and dated March 8, 1915. He says: "We are +kept very busy. In addition to my work in Boulogne, I have to keep in +touch with Church of England chaplains at the front, and on the lines +of communications. I went up to Ypres the other day, they were +shelling the place, and I nearly got a shell in my car.</p> + +<p>"The Church of England has a large number of chaplains at the front, +and they are doing splendid work for God. Their number, though, makes +it difficult for me to keep in touch with them all."</p> + +<p>But now for Mr. Tuckey's report.</p> + +<p>"You ask me about the Church of England work. Where am I to begin? How +tackle it? It is so vast. As to number of chaplains, all details can +be seen by reference to the <i>Army List</i>. It will be noticed that the +very vast majority of permanently commissioned chaplains belong to the +Church of England. The Presbyterians are now the only other body which +has permanent commissions. The Roman Catholics do not now allow their +men to accept them. They are only appointed temporarily for five +years, and even if re-appointed can never rise above the rank of +captain. This, of course, makes no difference to the Roman Catholic +chaplains appointed before the new regulations, but they will +gradually die out. As no doubt you know, the Wesleyans were offered +four commissions and refused. But though we have such a relatively +large number of chaplains to the forces, the work is so great that it +has to be supplemented by a very considerable and increasing body of +acting chaplains.</p> + +<p>"Permanently commissioned chaplains are divided <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>into four classes, +the chaplains therein ranking as colonels, lieutenant-colonels, +majors, and captains respectively.</p> + +<p>"Now as to the distribution of Church of England chaplains on active +service. They may be roughly divided into two classes:</p> + +<p>"(1) Those with hospitals at the Base or on lines of +communication—these hospitals being of three kinds, namely, general +hospitals, the largest which are not moved; stationary hospitals, +which are supposed to be mobile; and casualty clearing stations for +receiving the sick and wounded from the front and forwarding them to +stationary or general hospitals, whence they can, if necessary, be +conveyed to England in hospital ships.</p> + +<p>"(2) Those with Field Ambulances. By this term we should understand +Field hospitals which receive the sick and wounded from their advanced +dressing stations, which in their turn receive them from the First-Aid +Posts just behind the firing line.</p> + +<p>"To these two classes have recently been added another, namely, Senior +Chaplains of Army Corps, whose duty it is to advise and direct +chaplains of the divisions composing the corps in their work. For +instance, I am now senior chaplain of the Third Army Corps.</p> + +<p>"I have now been in each one of these three classes, for I came out +with number four general hospital, though I was with them subsequently +for only a very short time.</p> + +<p>"The work of class (1) consists principally of ministering to the sick +and wounded, holding services when possible, especially on Sundays, +and giving the patients and staff frequent opportunities of the Holy +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>Communion and other ministrations. It may often happen that chaplains +of this class may find troops near to them, who are away from their +own chaplain. It will then be their duty to minister to them so far as +they possibly can. They, of course, also have to conduct many +funerals.</p> + +<p>"As to the chaplains of class (2), the Field Ambulance will be the +centre from which the chaplain should work in his brigade, and such +divisional troops (R.A., R.E., &c.) as are included in the brigade +area.</p> + +<p>"I was for some time with the Eleventh Field Ambulance in the Fourth +Division, and as I was the senior chaplain in that division, the +general asked me to take over the arrangement of things. My plan was +that each chaplain in his area should endeavour to hold five or six +large central parade and other services on Sundays, with perhaps +celebrations of the Holy Communion after two of the ordinary services.</p> + +<p>"Then, chaplains give special attention to particular units on +weekdays. Here all days are alike and so are all times. So I would +arrange with the commanding officer, and would set out on horseback +carrying the requisites for the Holy Communion, for I always, when +possible, had a celebration after the ordinary service. My servant +would ride behind me with the service books. In this way it was +possible to cover the ground in the division fairly well, and to see +that each unit had its due.</p> + +<p>"The ordinary services were taken usually in the open air, though +sometimes some large building, a barn, schoolroom, or shed was +available. Whenever it was practicable I had the Holy Communion +indoors, and for this service I invariably put on my surplice. I have +had to celebrate in many strange places—in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>lofts, kitchens of +farm-houses, engine sheds, stables, and even in a slaughter-house. But +there has been a devotion and a spiritual uplifting in these most +unwonted surroundings which have been good to see, and officers and +men have come to the Holy Communion in large numbers with a reverence +and an evident longing for communion with God which one does not +always see, even in the most splendid churches at home.</p> + +<p>"When my stay in the Fourth Division was drawing to a close, Mr. Hall, +whom you probably know, the Wesleyan chaplain at Chatham, was posted +to the Eleventh Field Ambulance, and came to live with me at my +billet. He and I did a great deal of work together, and he would tell +you about it, for he is at home now. I shall never forget how we went +together one night to a certain battalion which was going into the +trenches the following day. We first had the ordinary evening service +in an underground place, and afterwards there was the Holy Communion, +to which came 122 officers and men. The room in which we were gathered +was very dim, and we felt very deeply the immense solemnity of the +hour.</p> + +<p>"It was all very wonderful and very beautiful. During the actual +administration, the commanding officer walked behind me with a +lantern, up and down the rows of kneeling men, so as to make sure that +all were cared for.</p> + +<p>"We did not reach our billet until after eleven o'clock that night. +The next day some of those who had made their communion on the +previous night were killed in action.</p> + +<p>"Very often our service had to be conducted under shell fire. I recall +one amongst many instances. I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>was taking a service one weekday +morning for a battery in the garden of a house at Houplines. A great +number of shells went over us while the service was proceeding. +Afterwards we had the Holy Communion in the house. During the service +the houses on either side of ours were struck, and, finally, at the +close there was a deafening crash and we found that the house in which +we were had been hit, though not much damage was done.</p> + +<p>"These circumstances of difficulty and danger seem to bring out the +very best that is in men, and I have been immensely impressed by the +craving for spiritual help shown by both officers and men, and their +gratitude for anything I could do for them, as well as by the humble +reverence and real devotion of all ranks.</p> + +<p>"There are, of course, many other sides of a chaplain's work: the +ministrations to the wounded and dying in the hospitals, and advanced +dressing stations of the Field Ambulance, the burial of the +dead—often at night and in strange weird circumstances—the visiting +of men in the trenches when feasible, the writing of letters to +relatives, the censoring of letters, and a number of other duties.</p> + +<p>"It is often in a strange sort of place that one witnesses a poor +fellow's last dying testimony, in some cellar possibly, where a +wounded man has had to be conveyed so as to be safe from shell fire.</p> + +<p>"In times of comparative quiet, and when troops are resting, I +consider it most important that chaplains should try to organise some +directly spiritual work, and also recreation daily during the trying +hours after dark, until men have to be in their billets. For instance, +in this place we have a room and a hall; in the room we <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>have a +Bible-class each evening, while in the hall there are papers and +games, coffee can be procured, and there is an impromptu concert every +evening. We have a stage with footlights, and a serviceable piano. On +Sunday evenings there is a well-attended voluntary service there. Both +places are well warmed and well lighted, with plenty of seats and +chairs. This is most important.</p> + +<p>"One great difficulty under which the Church of England has to labour +in this country is that, with very few exceptions, the Roman Catholic +ecclesiastical authorities will not allow us to use their churches. +This is, I think, to be deplored, and I cannot understand how people +can worship comfortably in their churches, while they know that +fellow-Christians are obliged to hold their service in the open air, +in cold discomfort, or in some quite unsuitable and mean building.</p> + +<p>"Possibly, however, it is for our good that we should have these +difficulties. These difficulties and trials are perhaps a tonic for +our spiritual life. And after all we learn what every campaign has to +teach us, and what I was first taught in South Africa, that often the +truest worship can be offered in most uncongenial surroundings; and I +have been myself strengthened and helped, and I have marked the +reverence and devotion of officers and men at some service beneath the +sombre skies of Flanders, or it may be in some comfortless or even +squalid building.</p> + +<p>"Out here one realises more what things really matter, and how to +distinguish the essential from the unessential. One has so much to be +thankful for and so much to help, strengthen, and inspire."</p> + +<p>Hitherto I have given Mr. Tuckey's statement in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>his own words. Nearly +all the rest does not concern the public, but ere he closes he +acknowledges gratefully the kindness of the Archbishop of Rouen in +allowing him the use of two churches or chapels, and speaks most +appreciatively of the hospitality of some of the <i>curés</i>. We may hope +and pray that he may be long spared to do such glorious work as his +statement indicates.</p> + +<p>Our next report is from the pen of the Rev. E.L. Watson.</p> + +<p>Mr. Watson is the senior chaplain at the front representing the United +Army and Navy Board. This Board, recently formed, comprises the +Baptist and Congregational Unions, and the Conferences of the +Primitive Methodist and United Methodist denominations. Until the +outbreak of the war, Mr. Watson was minister of the Baptist Church at +West End, Hammersmith. His report has been written at the request of +the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland. I omit from it a few sentences covering +ground already dealt with.</p> + +<p>"The task that Great Britain has in hand is of such magnitude that the +demand for fighting men is without parallel. Proud we are of the fact +that every individual man now in the greatest army that Great Britain +has ever raised is serving of his own free choice, and happy indeed to +be of service to his King and country in the hour of need.</p> + +<p>"This great body of men is necessarily composed of many types, drawn +as it is from all quarters of the British Empire, and representing +every political opinion and all religious denominations, but +co-operating in perfect unity.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep178" id="imagep178"></a> +<a href="images/imagep178.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep178.jpg" width="42%" alt="A FIGHT IN THE AIR" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">A FIGHT IN THE AIR.<br /> +<i>Drawn by Christopher Clark.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>"Every provision has been made for the material comfort of the men, +especially those in the firing line. Transport arrangements are in +themselves a marvel, every modern appliance being requisitioned for +the purpose. Letters and parcels can be received and posted every day +if necessary. In like manner, also, is fresh food supplied, thus +saving any unnecessary privation.</p> + +<p>"Equipment is also as perfect as British science and common sense can +make it. In these and many particulars the British Army has the +reputation of being one of the best fed and equipped armies in the +field, whilst the spirit of the men is recognised as second to none.</p> + +<p>"Not only has the War Office spared neither expense nor pains to place +everything that is essential within the reach of the average soldier, +but it has also recognised the necessity of keeping the men in touch +with those spiritual influences that count for most in the British +soldier.</p> + +<p>"To meet this spiritual need a new army of chaplains, in addition to +those already in the regular list, has been appointed and sent forth +with befitting rank to minister to their respective denominations. The +field is a wide one and unreservedly open to the individual chaplain +simply to care for his men as he may see best. Where desired and +possible every facility is given to the men to attend the means of +grace. It is also placed on record in the King's Regulations that, +without distinction, every assistance is to be given to the chaplains +in the performance of their duties.</p> + +<p>"Regimental work where possible is always a satisfactory task, for the +fortunate chaplain is then <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>always identified with the men of his +regiment, thus getting to know each individual as in a regular +congregation.</p> + +<p>"Brigade work is more difficult because of the number of regiments and +width of operations, but even in this the work is within the reach of +the brigade chaplain. The most difficult and almost impossible task +falls to the lot of a Nonconformist chaplain who has charge of the +whole of a division. Besides the three brigades there are the masses +of men in the divisional troops. Under some circumstances the division +may have an area of some three miles of front and reaching back some +ten miles to the rear.</p> + +<p>"To cover this ground and get into touch with my men scattered +throughout the whole of the division and keep in touch with them is my +task. The demands are so great upon time and capacity that I simply +have to shoulder as much of the work as strength allows and pray God +that my very best may count for most.</p> + +<p>"For instance, there are three large and active field ambulances +operating in the division, where it will be remembered that most of +the collecting of the wounded is done under cover of darkness. +Consequently the dressing and operations are carried out immediately +upon their arrival, the cases rarely remaining more than a few hours +in a field hospital, being of necessity hurried away to the base +hospitals. Thus the time for visiting the sick and the wounded is +limited.</p> + +<p>"There are letters to be written for the badly hit men to the loved +ones at home. There are the dying to be comforted and pointed to the +Saviour. A word of cheer to be spoken to all. It is indeed in the +field <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>ambulance where valuable service is rendered to men and staff +in a hundred ways.</p> + +<p>"To keep in touch with most of our men thus passing through the +ambulances, each ambulance operating in a different centre, +necessitates from four to six hours' duty each night.</p> + +<p>"Besides the work of the hospitals there are pressing day duties to be +performed. Burials must receive attention. Regiments must be visited. +Many calls are received from anxious and troubled men. Even the firing +line claims attention at times in the performance of duty. Wherever +the men are standing to their duty and where the greatest service +could be rendered there I have striven to be. Identification with the +men is the key-note of a chaplain's work. He shares in the +recreations, pleasures, dangers, and sorrows of his men, and is looked +upon as the soldier's best friend.</p> + +<p>"The strain is incessant, but the work is most encouraging and filled +with unequalled opportunities.</p> + +<p>"The men prove responsive to the spiritual touch and take full +advantage of the means of grace and communion afforded.</p> + +<p>"The circumstances of the front bring one into closest touch with the +men in such a way as is not possible at home, and it is indeed a joy +and a reward to feel that one is helping to keep the men in touch with +the faith and spirit of their fathers."</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>The public imagination has been touched by the part the Salvation Army +has played in this great struggle. Its contribution to the fighting +line and to organised works of mercy has been striking. I am grateful, +therefore, to General Booth for the opportunity of including in this +volume an authorised <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>account of the Salvation Army's war work, +prepared by Brigadier Carpenter.</p> + +<p>"It is impossible to give in the brief space available anything +approaching a comprehensive idea of the work the Salvation Army is +accomplishing in the various new situations created by the war. The +more outstanding features of its activities can be summarised, but +such a statement appears—as do statistics to a lay mind—cold, +lifeless, uninteresting, whereas the tangible facts which they +represent glow with life and beauty and inestimable worth.</p> + +<p>"On the outbreak of hostilities General Booth held conferences with +his chief officers at headquarters in London, to determine upon what +lines of action Salvationists would be of most service to the +authorities and the people in the national crisis.</p> + +<p>"Our naval and military homes at Harwich, Chatham, Plymouth, and +Dover, and as many of our social institutions and halls as might be +found necessary, were placed at the disposal of the government; those +not taken for military requirements were offered to local governments +for use as relief and industrial centres.</p> + +<p>"With the formation of the Expeditionary Forces, General Booth +dispatched to the continent a contingent of officers to minister to +the troops in any way that might be found possible. These officers +were placed under the direction of Brigadier Mary Murray, Secretary of +our Naval and Military League. It might be mentioned that the +Brigadier is a daughter of the late General Sir John Murray. Miss +Murray went through the South African war at the head of a Salvation +Army Red Cross contingent, and for her services was awarded the South +African medal.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>"When the Prince of Wales Fund was inaugurated, Salvation Army +officers were appointed to most of the local committees formed in the +country, their close touch with the poor and their willingness and +practicality rendering them of great assistance in the wise +administration of the funds. In many centres, Leagues were formed for +looking out and caring for the wives and families of soldiers and +sailors. The women are visited in their homes, difficulties concerning +their allowances and other matters are straightened out; they are +invited to cheerful meetings held at regular intervals at the Army +halls, and when the sad news of disaster or death comes with its +paralysing sorrow into their homes, the Salvationist is at hand with +words of comfort and deeds of helpfulness.</p> + +<p>"One of our first calls to serve the troops of the new Army was in +Wales, when the men poured in from the valleys to enlist. Until these +men passed the final attestment and had been enrolled, they were not +under government responsibility, and arriving in such numbers as they +did they could not be immediately dealt with. The Military Commander +at Cardiff, explaining the difficulty in an evening paper, requested +help. Within an hour of the edition leaving the press the Salvation +Army had offered to cope with the emergency, and by six o'clock the +next morning had actually commenced operations. The Council Cookery +schools were handed over to us, and during the following days hundreds +of men were suitably provided for. Not only were their temporal needs +supplied, but our officers did much in the direction of advising and +helping the men in an endless variety of ways. New Testaments and +religious literature were distributed amongst them and their letters +despatched to friends at home.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>"More than 13,000 Salvationists have rallied to the Colours. Knowledge +of the temptations and discomforts to which these men, in company with +hundreds of thousands of their comrades in arms, are likely to be +exposed in camp strongly appealed to General Booth, who determined +upon providing as far as possible 'home away from home' for them. Thus +there are over 150 halls and rest rooms provided for the use of the +troops.</p> + +<p>"During the warm weather the work was carried on under canvas, but +with the approach of winter the marquees were replaced by wooden +buildings. The men may procure wholesome refreshments, read good +helpful literature, write and converse with the officers in charge; +and in the evenings bright, interesting meetings are conducted. +Attached to many of these rest houses is an authorised post office. At +some of our huts bathing accommodation has been provided. The rest +centres are in charge of experienced married men, and the presence of +a good sympathetic, practical woman amongst the troops is of untold +value. The wife, ready for any emergency, 'mothers' the men, +corresponds for them with wives, parents, and sweethearts, advises +them on a multitude of questions. She prescribes for their minor +ailments, does bits of mending and various other little kindnesses, +which all appeal to the best side of the men. These officers, as a +rule, have some knowledge of First Aid, and cases of slight mishap are +frequently ordered to the Salvation huts.</p> + +<p>"The troops bear hearty testimony to the blessings these havens of +rest and happiness have proved to be. Lord Kitchener himself has +expressed appreciation, and there have been many other most generous +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>expressions from highly placed officers regarding the Army's efforts +on behalf of the men. A general commanding one of the great camps +said, 'Please do not thank me for arranging sites for your buildings; +it is for me to thank General Booth and the Salvation Army for +rendering us such service. I know the value of the spiritual and moral +influence which the workers of the Salvation Army exercise over the +men.' The senior chaplain of a great camp applied for Salvation Army +officers to go and work amongst the troops, and himself defrayed the +cost of supplying and equipping a marquee for the purpose. 'Your men +go for the soldier's soul; that's why I want them,' he said.</p> + +<p>"The value of over 13,000 Salvationists scattered amongst the troops +and the fleet can only be faintly suggested here. A Salvationist is +trained, from the moment he kneels at the penitent form, to confess +Christ by his life and testimony; and never has he taken a braver +stand than he is doing to-day in the barrack-room, on ship deck, and +in trench.</p> + +<p>"The following incident, which has been multiplied a thousandfold, +illustrates the power of example. A rough, illiterate Salvationist +found himself in a barrack dormitory for the first time. Cursing, +swearing, and ribaldry were going on all around him amongst a crowd of +half-drunken, hilarious men. He knew he should kneel and pray, but +never before did he understand the full significance of the Salvation +Army song he had so often lustily sung: 'I'll stand for Christ, for +Christ alone.' Surely it would be easier to go into action than to +kneel and pray in such company! He turned hot and cold by turns, then +decided: 'Here goes,' and plumped down upon his knees. A few whistles +and jeers, a boot, a pillow followed, but he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>did not move. The +cursing gradually died away and there was silence in the room.</p> + +<p>"Next day several men sought him out to confess that they, too, were +Christians, but had not dared to face that fire alone. Next night +several of them knelt to pray unmolested, and by degrees the +Salvationist became the conscience of the company. A military officer +of high rank remarked to one of our leading men the other day: 'I +really did not know the Salvation Army until the war, but I have +watched your men. Now I deliberately place Salvationists with the +wilder of our spirits, and invariably find that after a week or two +the tone of the company has noticeably risen.'</p> + +<p>"During rest time at the front, Salvationists hold meetings behind +their guns and at their trenches. These 'unofficial chaplains' have +won many souls for Christ. During the coldest weather of this winter +some took off their greatcoats for their mates to kneel upon, and +there, within sound of the enemy's fire, they pleaded with their +comrades to turn from sin and seek the Saviour. One night twenty-two +men responded to this invitation.</p> + +<p>"The authorities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have appointed +Salvation Army officers as regular chaplains to the troops and +conferred military rank upon them. These officers are serving with the +Expeditionary Forces in Egypt and elsewhere.</p> + +<p>"In this country and at the base on the continent special facilities +have been granted to us for visiting the wounded in hospitals and also +the prisoners of war. Services are conducted in the German language, +and literature of that tongue is distributed amongst the German +prisoners by Salvation Army officers who have been engaged in our work +in the Fatherland.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>"It is an interesting fact that sufficient men to form an entire +battalion were recruited from our social institutions. Without +exception, these men came to us in a state of complete physical +unfitness. Drink and exposure, and in many cases other vices, had +robbed them of all the spring and confidence so necessary in the +soldier. After several months of good food, steady occupation, and the +message of cheer which our homes bring to their inmates, these men, so +recently the country's waste, marched out to serve their King and +country. Two of the number from one Home formerly held commissions in +the regular Army, but lost them through intemperance. Both were +Reinstated. One clever fellow, speaking several languages, was +attached to the Intelligence Department.</p> + +<p>"To our home-loving nation one of the saddest circumstances of the war +is the depopulation of Belgium. General Booth with his officers was +among the first to come forward with offers of help when the destitute +and stricken people poured into our country. Three of our homes in +London were at once thrown open to receive them, and at port towns, +such as Folkestone and Cardiff, where the refugees arrived in such +numbers that they could not be distributed, accommodation was provided +for thousands in buildings adapted by the Salvation Army officers. The +refugees sheltered in one of our London homes despatched a message in +French to His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace, expressing +profound thanks for the kindly reception they had been given in +England, and for the way the 'Armée du Salut' was caring for them.</p> + +<p>"The value of this effort has been fully recognised by the government, +and a communication from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>Local Government Board on the subject of +the Army's work was expressed in the following terms: 'I am directed +by the Local Government Board to express the Board's appreciation of +the action of the Salvation Army, and its officers, which has been of +great assistance to them in dealing with the situation, which for a +time presented considerable difficulties.'</p> + +<p>"The assistance to the Belgian people was not confined to those in +England. General Booth despatched an experienced officer to Belgium +with orders to visit every centre of Salvation Army work in that +country. He succeeded in his mission and placed financial help with +the brave officers who had refused to leave their posts, though many +of them were right in the battle area, and had been exposed to the +utmost personal danger. Thus assisted, they were enabled to succour +hundreds of most deserving and starving people, and to continue their +spiritual ministrations to the people who clung to them for comfort +and support in their terrible experiences.</p> + +<p>"A work of first importance was also undertaken by the Salvation Army +at the request of the Belgian government, viz. the care of the wounded +Belgian soldiers in this country. When fit to leave the hospital ward, +the hospital authorities in whatever part of the country the soldiers +were being nursed—from Aberdeen to Plymouth—communicated with our +headquarters in London. The men were brought to the Metropolis under +Salvation Army escort and provided for by our officers until they were +fit to return to military service, or to civil life should they be +permanently incapacitated. Our land and industrial colony at Hadleigh +in Essex has proved to be a veritable boon as a convalescent depot for +these brave men. More than 8000 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>Belgian soldiers in this way have +passed through our hands. The efficiency of the arrangements for the +comfort and well-being of these men has earned unstinted praise from +the officials concerned of both the Belgian and our own governments.</p> + +<p>"On one of the worst nights of this winter a party of 200 Canadians, +Belgians, and a number of Russians arrived from across the Atlantic to +join the forces. They had no place to go to. 'Send them to the +Salvation Army' said the military authorities, and to the Salvation +Army they came. Coming in such an unexpected number in addition to the +hundreds of Belgians already under the Army's roof, they presented +something of a problem, but a little rearrangement soon enabled us to +warmly house and feed them all. The next night seventy more arrived +and were similarly cared for.</p> + +<p>"Salvationists are a poor people. Their only riches consist in love +and power to serve. Nevertheless, out of their scant means they +contributed between three and four thousand pounds to the Prince of +Wales Relief Fund, and also raised a further £2500 for the purchase +and equipment of a Motor Ambulance Unit consisting of five cars. The +unit is manned by Salvationists. It is no new thing to send ambulance +brigades to the front at war time, but it <i>is</i> a new thing to see that +they are all conducted by Christian men.</p> + +<p>"The cars have splendidly stood the severe tests imposed upon them, +and the men in charge have borne themselves so well that they have +become known as 'The White Brigade.' No drinking, no smoking, no +swearing amongst them; always on time and carrying out the orders of +the medical staff with the utmost satisfaction, it is not to be +wondered at that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>our officer in command of the unit was promoted to +the charge of a section—with the management of twenty-five cars. A +second unit of six cars was despatched to France in February, with +which Her Majesty Queen Alexandra was pleased to identify herself by +personally dedicating the cars—now known as the 'Queen Alexandra +Unit.'</p> + +<p>"Apart from the work of the ambulance party, Salvation Army officers +are exerting themselves for the comfort of the troops in the battle +area and at the base hospitals. At Boulogne, Rouen, and Paris our +women officers are continually visiting the wounded. In Paris alone, +they visit seven hospitals for the British wounded. Hundreds upon +hundreds of letters have been written to anxious relatives and +friends, and where husbands have been in distress about their wives in +ill-health or poverty at home, a swift message across the channel has +been sent to our officer in the town mentioned, who has gladly gone to +comfort and assist the distressed ones concerned, and our Army sisters +have received scores of 'last messages' to wives and children as the +brave fellows have been passing away. Testaments, papers, stationery, +and chocolates are distributed, and a thousand and one of those gentle +heart ministries peculiar alone to women, whose hearts are filled with +love to Christ, are performed. Every week two large sacks of clothing +made by Salvationists in England are sent to the visiting officers in +France for distribution amongst the men.</p> + +<p>"At Boulogne, Le Havre, and Abbeville rest rooms, similar to those in +Great Britain, have been established.</p> + +<p>"Passing mention must be made of the patrols of Salvation Army +officers at the great London railway stations, such as Waterloo, +Victoria, &c. The special <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>work of these officers is to care for men +stranded on Saturday and Sunday nights. Rooms have been opened in the +neighbourhood where the men are provided with blankets and +refreshments. Some of the men, whose troubles have resulted from +drink, have been led to renounce their drinking habits.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep190" id="imagep190"></a> +<a href="images/imagep190.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep190.jpg" width="40%" alt="IN THE FORÉT DE LA NIEPPE." /></a><br /> +<p class="right2" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Drawn by Paul Thiriat.</i></p> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em; margin-left: 25%; margin-right: 25%;">IN THE FORÉT DE LA NIEPPE.<br /> +An English private and a French sergeant bind each other's wounds, and +then faint from loss of blood. Both were rescued, being discovered by +a dog.<span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>"In this brief review reference has largely been confined to the +Salvationists in Great Britain in connexion with the war. This serves +as an index of similar efforts which are being actively carried +forward by Salvationists in every part of the world, especially in +France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and +even in Germany. They are caring for those reduced to poverty as a +result of the war, caring for the wounded, succouring the refugees, +and lending the hand of help in many other ways.</p> + +<p>"We are unable to more than mention the splendid service rendered by +Salvationists in the United States, who organised what was termed an +'Old Linen Campaign'; 300,000 articles for the wounded—comprising +bandages, pads, &c.—in a large variety have already been made up, and +after being sterilised and labelled, sent forward to France, Belgium, +and Germany."</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER XI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF WORK AT THE FRONT</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Church of Scotland Commissioned Chaplains—One Hundred +Civilian Ministers of Scotland Offered Their Services—The +Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray's Report—Many Forms of Service at +the Front—From No. 10 General Hospital, Rouen—The French +Decorate Our Soldiers' Graves—Report of the 1st Echelon +General Headquarters—A Chaplain's First Lesson—After Neuve +Chapelle—The Work of the Y.M.C.A.—A Breathlessly Summoned +Council—Six Hundred Centres—A Glorious Nine Months.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>I am indebted to the Rev. J.A. McClymont, D.D., V.D., Convener of the +Church of Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains, for the following account of Presbyterian work at the +front. It will supplement and bring up to date references to the work +of this great Church in the earlier chapters of this book.</p> + +<p>"Before the outbreak of the war six ministers of the Church of +Scotland held commissions as regular military chaplains, and all of +them, along with four of our Indian chaplains, who accompanied their +regiments from the East, are now serving with the Expeditionary Force. +The names of the former are Revs. W.S. Jaffray (1st Class), J.T. Bird +(1st Class), F.W. Stewart (3rd Class), A.R. Yeoman (3rd Class), J. +Campbell (3rd Class), and D.A. Morrison (3rd Class); of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>latter +the names are Revs. G.E. Dodd, Andrew Macfarlane, G.C. Macpherson, and +J.H. Horton McNeill. In addition to these, about two hundred civilian +ministers of the Church have offered their services as chaplains at +the front. Among them are many eloquent preachers, many distinguished +scholars, and not a few accomplished athletes. Some have had valuable +experience as chaplains in the Territorial Force, or have served as +combatants in that force or in the Officers' Training Corps, while +others can produce evidence of experience and skill in connexion with +the Red Cross Society, the Boys' Brigade, or the Boy Scouts. Some of +them can preach in Gaelic, others have a knowledge of French and +German and other continental languages, and a personal acquaintance +with the countries in which the war is going on. Some have served with +acceptance in the Boer War or at a military station at home or abroad. +Keen sportsmen are to be found among them who can shoot, ride, cycle, +or drive a motor.</p> + +<p>"Until lately the number of additional Presbyterian chaplains allowed +by the War Office has been much smaller than was generally expected, +considering the many thousands of Territorials who have volunteered +for foreign service, and the immense multitude of recruits who have +enlisted in Kitchener's Army. The ideal arrangement would have been to +assign a chaplain to every battalion; but, instead of this, the +appointments were at first made to <i>divisions</i> and <i>hospitals</i>, the +result being that after eight months of the war only eighteen +additional chaplains had been appointed for service at the front. +Recently the number has been increased to thirty-eight, making +fifty-four Presbyterian chaplains in all; and further additions will +soon be made.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>In the partitioning of these thirty-eight new chaplaincies among the +several Presbyterian churches, the War Office has been guided by the +Advisory Committee on the appointment and distribution of Presbyterian +chaplains. This Committee was created by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane some +years ago, and consists of a representative of the Church of Scotland, +the United Free Church, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the +Presbyterian Church of Ireland, respectively, with Lord Balfour of +Burleigh, a trusted elder of the Church of Scotland, as chairman. The +Convener of the Church of Scotland Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains was asked by Lord Balfour to nominate eighteen of the new +chaplains, bringing the number of Church of Scotland chaplains on +foreign service up to twenty-eight. The Revs. H.Y. Arnott, B.D. +(Newburgh), H. Brown B.D. (Strathmiglo), Geo. Donald, B.D. (Aberdeen), +A.S.G. Gilchrist, B.D. (Applegarth), Professor Kay, D.D., James Kirk, +M.A. (Dunbar), Oswald B. Milligan (Ayr), A.M. Maclean, B.D. (Paisley), +A. Macdonald (Glassary), D. Macfarlane (Kingussie), J. Campbell +McGregor, V.D. (Edinburgh), C.G. Mackenzie, B.D. (Methlick), James +MacGibbon, B.D. (Hamilton), J.J. Pryde (Penpont), D.A. Cameron Reid, +B.D. (Glasgow), Thos. Scott, M.A., T.D. (Laurencekirk), Patrick +Sinclair B.D. (Urquhart), and Geo. Thompson, B.D. (Carnbee), were so +nominated. All of these and the other Presbyterian chaplains above +referred to, with the exception of three who have gone to the East, +are serving in France and Belgium under the direction of the Rev. Dr. +Simms, K.H.C., a minister of the Irish Presbyterian Church, who, but +for the war, would have retired on account of the age limit before the +end of last year, but is now the responsible and honoured Head of all +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>the chaplains of every denomination at the western seat of war.</p> + +<p>Many grateful tributes have been paid to the faithful services +rendered to their countrymen by Presbyterian chaplains in this war, +and four of them have had the honour of being mentioned in despatches, +two of whom are ministers of the Church of Scotland, namely, the Rev. +J.T. Bird and the Rev. A.R. Yeoman. So far, only two chaplains have +been wounded, namely, Mr. Yeoman and Mr. J.H.H. McNeill, who are both +ministers of the National Church. Before giving a few extracts from +letters and reports received from chaplains at the front, it may be +well to mention that upwards of twenty ministers of the Church of +Scotland and about fifty University students who were studying, or +about to study, in the Divinity Hall have joined the Army as +combatants—some of them as officers and some of them as private +soldiers—while others are serving with the R.A.M.C. Several have done +excellent work in connexion with the Y.M.C.A., notably the Rev. L. +McLean Watt (Edinburgh), who was unable to accept a chaplaincy for the +period required by the War Office, and the Rev. Hugh Brown +(Strathmiglo), before his appointment to a chaplaincy.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>"Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray, senior Chaplain to the Forces, writes as +follows:</p> + +<p>"'On the evening of October 2, 1914, I received telegraphic +instructions from the War Office to join the 7th Division, British +Expeditionary Force and reported myself for duty next day. On Sunday, +October 4—the last day and Sunday so many hundreds were ever to spend +in England—the Division was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>suddenly ordered to proceed to embark. +Few who were present at the open-air Parade Service that day are +likely to forget the scene of the great square, composed of such +famous units as the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, 2nd Battalion Royal +Scots Fusiliers, and 2nd Battalion The Gordon Highlanders, gathered +together for divine worship. The Division—the first British force to +land in Belgium—was, within a few hours of disembarking, holding in +check no less than five German Army Corps. How the various units added +fresh lustre to their glorious traditions is known to all who have +read the story of Ypres.</p> + +<p>"'The chaplain's work at the front is thrillingly interesting, +frequently dangerous, and often pathetic, and may be briefly described +under four heads.</p> + +<p>"'1. <i>Visiting men in billets.</i></p> + +<p>"'The first duty of a chaplain is to get into intimate touch with his +men. He can hope to be useful and influence the men when, and only +when, by constant visiting he wins their confidence and goodwill. The +shyness, stiffness, and indifference so familiar to chaplains visiting +barrack rooms in peace time is altogether unknown at the front. On +active service the chaplain is welcomed as a comrade and friend. The +men are in billets for a fixed number of days, after which they return +to the trenches. Every endeavour is made to get into personal touch +with the men during the periods of rest, and to become acquainted with +their difficulties and needs.</p> + +<p>"'2. <i>Visiting wounded and dying.</i></p> + +<p>"'The wounded are removed from the trenches immediately it becomes +dark and are brought to the Field Ambulance. The hospital work extends +far into the night—at times all night, for nights in succession, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>particularly when a big fight is in progress. This is the most +important and impressive part of our work. After the patient has been +dressed by the medical officer, the chaplain kneels beside the +stretcher and gives whatever comfort and cheer he can. The heroic and +patient suffering of our men, their thankfulness and eagerness for +spiritual help and consolation, their thought for wives and little +ones, their absolute selflessness make one grateful and proud to +minister to such noble souls. Many messages are entrusted to the +chaplains. The wounded request a line to be written to allay the fears +of loved ones at home. The dying whisper such noble words as these: +(actual message) "Tell my wife I have merely done my duty." "I have a +wife and five little ones, God help them. I never thought I would come +to this, but I have done my best for my country."</p> + +<p>"'3. <i>Divine Service.</i></p> + +<p>"'Sunday services are held whenever possible. When the men are in the +trenches on Sunday, arrangements are made to conduct service as soon +as they return to billets. These services are held in barns or, when +weather permits, in the open air. At each service I have endeavoured +to give the men a text or thought to strengthen and help them +throughout the week. The intense interest taken by all ranks in these +services renders them very impressive.</p> + +<p>"'4. <i>Soldiers' Clubs.</i></p> + +<p>"'The comfort of men at the front has not been lost sight of. I was +requested by Divisional Headquarters to establish clubs in every +brigade area to break the monotony of life during the quiet winter +months. These clubs contain reading, writing, and game rooms and a +refreshment bar, where the men can <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>obtain hot coffee. My thanks are +due to the Convener of the Army and Navy Chaplains' Committee, who +kindly sent me cases of general literature which proved most useful +and interesting to the men. Friends at home supplied games of various +kinds, as well as stationery, pencils, and such useful articles. +Lectures and concerts have been given, and everything possible has +been done to brighten the soldier's life.'"</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>"The Rev. J.T. Bird, M.A., C.F., writing from No. 10 General Hospital, +Rouen, says:</p> + +<p>"'In accordance with instructions from the principal chaplain I do +what I can to minister to Presbyterian troops within reach, where no +Presbyterian chaplain is available. This has usually meant, on +Sundays, holding a service in a Reinforcements Camp (infantry or +cavalry) in the morning, and two services in hospital: one in the +forenoon and one in the evening. One of the hospitals here is the +Scottish Red Cross Hospital—excellently equipped. I did what I could +for this hospital in the way of visitation and Sunday evening services +up till lately, when the Rev. A.M. Maclean of Paisley Abbey was able +to undertake these duties in addition to his work at a neighbouring +Infantry Camp. The attendance at my service held at the Reinforcements +Camp, at St. Nazaire and here, has varied from about 50 to 600, +according to circumstances. I have found the Church of Scotland Psalm +leaflets and the little blue booklet <i>With the Colours</i> very useful +for all services. During the week one is kept busy visiting sick and +wounded in four hospitals; holding occasional week-night services for +convalescents and assisting to get up concerts for them; writing +letters for patients too ill to write themselves; and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>distributing +gifts of all descriptions (literature, cigarettes; woollen comforts, +&c., &c.) sent by kind people at home.</p> + +<p>"'The Sunday evening service has always been a united one (Church of +England and Presbyterian), and the Church of England chaplains I have +found very willing to co-operate in this way.</p> + +<p>"'I am glad to state that the number of Presbyterians who have died in +hospital has not been at all large, considering the large number of +patients treated, and this fact I think bears eloquent testimony to +the excellent equipment and comfort of the hospitals, as well as to +the skill of the medical officers and the great devotion of the +nursing staff. The mother of a wounded Seaforth Highlander, who was +lying in this hospital, came recently all the way from Inverness with +two other friends to see her son, and they all seemed deeply gratified +and impressed by the excellence and efficiency of the hospital. All +funerals of soldiers are announced beforehand in the French local +journal, and here, as at St. Nazaire, French ladies attend and +reverently place flowers on the grave after the burial service. They +specially decorated the graves for Easter. Such attention must, I +think, be gratifying to the sorrowing relatives. The Sacrament of the +Lord's Supper has frequently been dispensed, and the number of +communicants is always much larger than in time of peace at home +stations.'"</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>"The Rev. Professor Kay, D.D., A.C.F., writes from 1st Echelon General +Headquarters, France:</p> + +<p>"'A chaplain's first lesson, as I have learned it, is to give due +honour to the men he serves. All combatants have offered the supreme +sacrifice a man <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>can make for any object; how can anyone not of their +consecrated number be worthy to say anything at all to them? Their +great vow is too sacred for words; the loss of comrades and the +uncertain future are felt but not discussed. The example of Christ +which made martyrdom an easy and a right thing for the apostles, the +new Covenant in His blood, the grace of His redeeming sacrifice—these +acquire fresh power and interest. The combatant understands them, if a +chaplain be an adequate minister of Christ's Evangel.</p> + +<p>"'An army on active service cannot guarantee food and shelter with +certain regularity; far less can it provide fixed routine for common +worship. Buildings, organs, choirs, Sabbaths are often unavailable. +The army must be always ready to move and to act; it is not possible +to set everybody free at one time. Hence one has to discover at what +times there will be leisure among the various units. Recreation in +clubs and reading-rooms is often easy to contrive, and hours for +worship can also be arranged. In hospitals periodic services are +possible. In any regiment there are likely to be various denominations +of Christians, and minorities must sometimes do without their own type +of chaplain. Hymns and Holy Scripture serve as uniting influences, and +the fair and friendly feeling among the chaplains in this vicinity +makes work easy. Work here makes it evident that the Church of +Scotland as by law established is only one of a wide Sisterhood of +Presbyterian churches. Canadian, English, Irish, Welsh Presbyterians +have been nearly as numerous as those from Scotland, and one +representative from South Africa appeared on the list.</p> + +<p>"'The battle of Neuve Chapelle caused a stream of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>casualties to flow +past this point for a week. Some died and were laid to rest beside +their comrades, their last messages being sent to their startled +kinsfolk at home. Some who were weary and willing to die took heart +again through sympathy and skilful nursing. One boy of seventeen in +sore torture was heard half-consciously crying: "Ah! bonnie Scotland, +what I'm suffering for you now"; he slowly recovered and did not +grudge his pains. Those at home for whom brave men are suffering and +dying should be done with tippling and trifling.</p> + +<p>"'The work at this point includes attendance at three hospitals and +the conducting of services for troops as required. During last week +there were only four cases "seriously and dangerously ill" and about +thirty men sick and wounded. At a Rest Depot a class was formed to +prepare for First Communion, and at a special service on Good Friday +eleven soldiers were admitted. The Sacrament was administered on +Easter Sunday morning, and there were about sixty communicants. These +included a few Baptists, Congregationalists, and others, who, if +members of their own churches, were admitted and invited to this +Communion. A Church Parade with an Irish cavalry regiment followed at +11 o'clock. In the twilight the largest soldiers' club in the district +was crowded for Evening Service. There the Bishop of London—candid as +King Alfred and persuasive as Alfred Tennyson—encouraged and blessed +us all, and his inspiring words hallowed the great enterprise which +brings us here.'"</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>The following statement of the work of the Young Men's Christian +Association at the front and at home <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>has been written by the Rev. W. +Kingscote Greenland, at the request of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp.</p> + +<p>"No branch of the religious and social work among our soldiers during +the war, both at the front and in the home camps, has been so well +known and universally acknowledged and appreciated as that +accomplished by the Young Men's Christian Association. The press has +spread the fame of it far and wide and devoted leaders and columns of +details to it. Any exhaustive story therefore is as unnecessary as it +would be disproportionally large. What makes it imperative, however, +that at least a brief summary of its widespread and manifold +activities should be included, is that it has been a work of quite +interdenominational character—all churches equally contributing both +workers and money—and therefore the credit, if credit there is to be, +must be shared among all. The fact of it is that the Y.M.C.A. has +acted throughout as a species of central bureau or clearing-house, by +the ready and available means of which anybody and everybody desirous +of assisting in the moral and spiritual welfare of our troops could do +so without calling into existence new organisation and machinery.</p> + +<p>"And here it must be mentioned that two facts were, humanly speaking, +responsible for the striking emergence of the Y.M.C.A. into this +unique position. The first fact is that for fifteen years past the +Association has had great experience of this sort of work by reason of +its tents in all the Territorial camps every summer, so that the war +only meant an extension, though an immense extension, of activities to +which it was no stranger. And, secondly, the courageous spiritual +statesmanship and moral daring <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp, who on the outbreak of war, and in the holiday season too, +launched this policy.</p> + +<p>"The story of that breathlessly summoned council meeting in the +Headquarters of the National Council in Russell Square on August 5 is +a veritable romance. Telegrams brought holiday-making secretaries +hurrying from the seaside, and in a few hours it was decided to pitch +canvas tents wherever the new recruits for Kitchener's Army were +located, and issue a national appeal for the necessary funds. As +everybody now knows, this was done—hundreds of tents for +refreshments, reading, writing, and rest sprang up as if by magic all +over the land; thousands of pounds of money flowed in from high and +low; and the Young Men's Christian Association was swept forward in +the tide from being a semi-disparaged adjunct of the Church's care for +a certain type of young townsman, to that of a great ally of the +nation in its hour of moral, no less than physical, agony. The tale of +the swift adaptation of practically the entire premises, resources, +and plant of the Association to the military and naval emergency, +involving almost superhuman hours of thought and skill, can never +adequately be told. The whole country was mapped out, committees +formed, hundreds of workers engaged, stationery ordered, stores and +motor-transport acquired, the patronage of the King and the approval +of the War Office secured, and in a few weeks the machinery for the +safeguarding of the leisure hours of the troops who were flocking to +the colours was in working order.</p> + +<p>"Then came the late autumn with its rains and floods, and the +necessity for better accommodation than canvas tents. Wooden huts were +obviously required. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>But these would cost money—roughly £300 at least +apiece. A great appeal was issued for the necessary funds, and the +response was amazing. Several hundreds of thousands of pounds were +contributed, many donors presenting a hut and furnishing it, and as +winter closed in comfortable and warm and well-equipped huts replaced +everywhere the sodden tents.</p> + +<p>"As the military situation broadened and developed, the Association +followed suit, and huts were built and opened in the base towns in +France, Egypt, and India, while many young men were sent on board the +troop-ships as lay chaplains to take charge of the soldiers on these +journeys and to look after them on their landing in foreign and +colonial ports.</p> + +<p>"And so the situation as it stands at this present time of writing is +roughly as follows: 600 Y.M.C.A. centres in the home camps, of which +300 are permanent wooden huts. In France 50 centres, of which 36 are +huts. In Egypt 8 centres in charge of 10 young Christian men sent out +by the Association, and in India 30 centres, manned by 12 Association +workers. To this record must be added over 2000 camp workers, only a +very small proportion of whom are paid, and the innumerable ladies who +either serve at the counters or are quartered with local committees of +management. To this, further, several other inspiring features and +items must still be added. Under the Y.M.C.A. auspices, Princess +Victoria has a number of field kitchens across in France and Flanders +which supply the men at the actual front. Also, and by no means least, +scores of clergymen and ministers of all denominations give some, and +a few all their time, to conducting services and "talks" in the huts +in the evenings, while among the voluntary workers on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>Salisbury +Plain, at the Crystal Palace, the White City, Harwich and Felixstowe, +Hindhead, Milford, Southport, Alnwick and along the Tyne, and scores +of other camps, are to be found university professors and students, +men from all the theological colleges, retired city merchants, +ministers with leave of absence from their churches, business men +moved to leave their shops and offices in the care of wives and clerks +and managers, and almost every type of Christian man and profession +and occupation.</p> + +<p>"All this deals, as it will be seen, with the many externals of the +Association work, and takes little or no account of the various more +directly spiritual agencies. Almost every well-known evangelist has +given up his time to the Y.M.C.A. huts, including such men as Mr. W.R. +Lane, Mr. C.M. Alexander, and the Rev. Canon Hicks, while the work of +the Pocket Testament League and of Temperance has been wonderfully +successful.</p> + +<p>"Beginning on the Wednesday after Easter and continuing for seven +days, a special effort was made throughout the camps to make it a +Decision Week for the men of the new army. A pledge of acceptance of +Jesus Christ as Saviour and King was to be taken and a War Roll +signed. It is too early to give the final results, but already many +thousands have signed, and the reports of camp workers, chaplains, +clergymen, and ministers are most enheartening.</p> + +<p>"Of the actual meetings held, of the conversations that have taken +place, of the strange, moving, pathetic and thrilling incidents that +have marked this tragic and glorious nine months, much has already +been written, and books could be filled. Thousands of men of our homes +and churches have written and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>spoken most affectionately of the +service rendered to them in the Y.M.C.A. tents, and of the lessening +of their temptations thereby, while many hundreds of thousands of dear +ones have received letters written under the quiet conditions only +obtainable in the Association's huts, and, be it added, on their +millions of sheets of free notepaper.</p> + +<p>"Of the generosity of the public, the kindness and appreciation of the +generals and colonels and officers generally, and perhaps, most of +all, of the untiring and self-denying labour of those who have manned +the huts through these long months, short-handed, overworked, cheery, +and eager, in cold and mud, it is impossible fully to speak. Let it +suffice to say that the Young Men's Christian Association is deeply +humbled and proud, by reason of the honour God has manifestly +conferred upon it in giving it this supreme chance of serving the +interests of His Kingdom."</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a><hr /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span><br /> + +<h4>CHAPTER XII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h4> + +<h3>WHEN THE MEN COME HOME</h3> + +<div class="block2"><p class="hang">Clergymen Serving in the Ranks—A Strange Burial +Incident—When the New Army Comes Back—Will the Churches be +Ready?—They are Coming.</p></div> + +<br /> + +<p>The needs of the country led a good many men, already ordained to the +Christian ministry, to enter the new Army. The question whether they +should or should not do this was, as I have already indicated, a +matter of some dispute, but as the war went on a testimony gathered as +to the influence of such as did enlist. Thus "D." wrote to the +<i>Times</i>:</p> + +<p>"At our table, which served for meals and other purposes, sat opposite +to me a clergyman of the Church of England, to do his best with us to +fight and prevent his country being treated like poor Belgium. We knew +what he was, and what he had given up to join us, and his influence in +that hut, and in his platoon, was greater than that of the khaki-clad +official chaplain who paid us occasional visits. We all respected him +and knew his aversion to things which were often thought lightly of by +us, and one look at his good and serious face would often keep back an +oath, which would come out naturally to a troublesome steer or a slow +and careless sailor, and many a tale which would have been thought +appropriate in a smoking-room <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>or round a camp fire remained untold in +his presence. This has been my experience of one man, and I am glad to +say that in this battalion there are already serving as private +soldiers some half-dozen clergymen."</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep207" id="imagep207"></a> +<a href="images/imagep207.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep207.jpg" width="40%" alt="WHEN THE MEN COME HOME" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">WHEN THE MEN COME HOME.<br /> +<i>Drawn by Arthur Twidle.</i><span class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></span></p> +</div> + +<p>Let one of them also answer for himself. I do not know his name, but +he is a young Wesleyan minister who enlisted in the R.A.M.C. last +October, and who is, as I write, now at the forefront of the fight. +The following extracts from his letter were published in the <i>Daily +News</i>:</p> + +<p>"The call comes for stretcher-bearers, and I volunteer to go with No. +3. The medical officer comes out, flashes his torch, and gives the +order: 'Men to march in front of the waggon. Whole party walk—march!'</p> + +<p>"We are off. Ten paces ahead walked the medical officer, a captain; +behind him a sergeant and four men of the squad. Then comes the +ambulance waggon, with the great Red Cross on both sides, one man +driving. Inside are the stretchers (one man in the squad carries a +surgical haversack), and behind the waggon comes the drag-horse, with +a waggon orderly mounted on it. This horse will help us out of a ditch +or the mud, if the waggon gets stuck in it.</p> + +<p>"We head straight for the trenches. It is very dark; light rain +splashes on our faces, and there is a cold wind. Occasionally the +captain flashes his electric torch as we pass an outpost or a belated +infantry man returning from the firing line. The rattle of the waggon +sounds like the passing of heavy guns in the still night, and we +wonder whether we shall draw the enemy's shell fire. A road with a +waggon on it is a good spot to drop a 'Jack Johnson' on now and then.</p> + +<p>"Suddenly the sky is illuminated by a brilliant <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>German star-shell +with a long white tail. Every figure, every tree, every stone in the +road is revealed for one moment to the enemy's snipers and artillery. +Egyptian darkness follows the flash, and out of it ahead we hear, +coming towards us, the tramp of many marching men. Their officer stops +us.</p> + +<p>"'I have left two men on the road—ptomaine poisoning. Pick them up, +will you?' he asks.</p> + +<p>"'Yes. Good-night!'</p> + +<p>"On we go again. The rain pours, the wind is rising to a gale. The +road is very narrow. The wheels of the waggon plunge into a deep rut +and send a spray of mud up into our faces. Soon we pull up before a +little building at the side of the road not far from our firing line. +It is the dressing station where the wounded are brought until the +waggons can come to convey them to the hospitals out of the fire zone.</p> + +<p>"Our captain and the sergeant enter the building, and a corporal in +charge of the place whispers, 'Sir, we have one dead here.'</p> + +<p>"'One dead! We did not know that. We have no chaplain.'</p> + +<p>"The sergeant whispers to the captain that I am a Wesleyan minister. +The captain calls me.</p> + +<p>"'Are you a minister?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, sir.'</p> + +<p>"'Can you bury this man?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, sir.'</p> + +<p>"'Carry on, then!'</p> + +<p>"What is his religion—the dead man? No one knows. One of the soldiers +has a Prayer-book on him, so we decide to read the Church of England +service.</p> + +<p>"Over the road, opposite the building, is a patch of ground—just a +cabbage patch. A grave has been dug, just a few minutes previously, +and the dead <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>soldier lies in it uncovered, just as he fell in the +trenches. His arms are folded on his breast. A piece of cloth hides +his face from our sight. He lies two feet from the surface—no more. +Three of us stand by the grave. The corporal hands me an electric +torch, and I begin to read the burial service.</p> + +<p>"'Ping-ping!' A bullet whizzes over us. Out goes the torch—and we +finish with an extempore prayer. Five minutes later two of his mates +are filling up this soldier's grave, and another is cutting out a +rough wooden cross. Ten minutes more and we are away with our +ambulance."</p> + +<p>If they all acquit themselves thus we shall indeed be proud of +Kitchener's Army.</p> + +<p>The Christian work at the front becomes increasingly successful as the +months go by, until one wonders whereunto it will grow. We must not +exaggerate or make too much of momentary impressions of those at the +front, but such scenes as the following, pictured to us by the Rev. +Lauchlan McLean Watt in the <i>Scotsman</i>, will live in our memory. As we +read it we can hardly wonder at his closing words declaring that it is +Resurrection and Pentecost through which they are passing in France +and Flanders to-day.</p> + +<p>He had been in a deserted billet just behind the firing line, and was +about to move on when a couple of soldiers of the Black Watch appeared +on the scene. Here is the story he has to tell:</p> + +<p>"They touched their bonnets, and said, 'We're going off to the front +to-night, sir, and we thought we'd like to have the Sacrament before +we go. Can you give it to us?' 'How many?' I asked. 'Oh, maybe +sixteen,' was the reply. 'Well,' I answered, 'at six o'clock in the +shed next to this one be present with your friends.'</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>"Off went the two with a deepened light in their faces, while I +prepared the place that was to be for some of them the room of the +Last Supper. A tablecloth borrowed from the officers' mess and a +little wine from the same source helped to meet our preparations. A +notice on the door that the place was closed for ordinary use until +the Communion service was over did not keep us free from interruption, +for the room was the ordinary one for the soldiers' 'sing-song,' and +men would come and beat upon the doors and clamour for admission, not +reading notices nor at first understanding.</p> + +<p>"The men began to gather, and sat down there as reverently as though +the dim, little, draughty hut were the chancel of some great cathedral +holy with the deepest memories of Christian generations.</p> + +<p>"'You might wait,' whispered one. 'The Camerons and Seaforths may be +able to come.' So we waited—a hushed and solemn waiting. Then quietly +some of them began to croon old psalm memories, and quiet hymns, +waiting. And at length the others came, stepping softly into the +place; and with them comrades, who explained that, though they were of +a different country and a different church belief, they yet desired to +share in the act of worship, preparatory to celebration. At length +about one hundred and twenty men were there, and we began.</p> + +<p>"It was the 23rd Psalm, the Psalm of God's shepherding, the +comradeship of the Divine in the Valley of the Shadow, the faith and +the hope of the brave. What a power was in it—what a spell of wonder, +of comforting, and uplifting in this land of war! They sang it very +tenderly, for it spoke to them of times when they had held their +mothers' hands, and looked up wondering in their faces, in the church +at home, wondering why tears were there.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>"It means a big thing still, to-day, for our Empire, this heart-deep +singing of our soldier men. I have never dreamed that I should see +such depth of feeling for eternal things. Do not tell me this is +Armageddon. It is not the end of things. It is Resurrection and +Pentecost we are passing through. A harvest is being sown in France of +which the reaping shall be Empire-wide. There will be angels at the +ingathering.</p> + +<p>"It only needed the simplest words to seal that sacrament. And next +morning, in the grey light, the men who had been touched by the +thought of home and the dear ones there, and the big throbbing thought +of consecration, were marching off to grip the very hand of death, in +sacrifice, like Christ's for others."</p> + +<p>The Easter visit of the Bishop of London to the front is fresh in our +memories. What a holy and triumphant progress it was! Vast bodies of +men have listened to the addresses of the bishop, and joined +reverently in the responses to the prayers. How grandly those glorious +hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "Jesu, Lover of my soul" have swelled forth +in the stillness which was only broken by the booming of great guns!</p> + +<p>The programme of the visit had been arranged with much care. There +were all sorts of services. Now the bishop was with the Flying Corps +gathered in one of their great hangars, now with the Household Cavalry +massed in the field, now with the Army Service Corps beside their big +lorries. To all sorts and conditions of men the bishop spoke, and it +seemed as though he had the right word for each man.</p> + +<p>He passed along the whole British front often within the range of the +German guns. At one part of the line, where there had recently been +heavy fighting, some five hundred officers, many of whom had only just +come from the battle, were present. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>service was, of course, +voluntary, and the fact that those officers were present because they +<i>wanted</i> to be there made the service all the more impressive. Veteran +generals knelt side by side with newly commissioned subalterns in +reverent worship on the hard stoned floor.</p> + +<p>Easter Day the bishop spent with the Territorial regiment of which he +is chaplain. I quote the description of the services from the +<i>Manchester Guardian</i>:</p> + +<p>"The regiment is in a most exposed position, and the bishop motored +into the village (a village that has been very much knocked about by +shell fire) in pitch darkness, only broken by the weird glare of star +shells fired from the German trenches about a mile away. A most +enthusiastic reception awaited him from the two hundred and fifty men +who were billeted in the village, the remainder of the battalion being +in the trenches.</p> + +<p>"Cheer after cheer greeted him as he entered the barn, where a +'sing-song' of the most lively nature was in progress. After giving a +short address the bishop went with some of the men to their billets +and had a cheery word for each. At seven <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> on Easter Day he +celebrated the Holy Communion in a barn, the roof and walls of which +had been scarred and shattered by gun fire. Over two hundred men +communicated. As this service ended we found at least a hundred and +fifty men of other regiments outside the building, who had been +waiting since seven o'clock, and had been unable to enter the crowded +room. For these the bishop celebrated at once. Strange as the +surroundings were, with guns firing and the crack of rifles distinctly +heard, one would doubt if in any church, however beautiful, a more +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>reverent congregation had ever gathered together on an Easter morning. +On the evening of Easter Day the bishop preached his final sermon at +General Headquarters in the presence of Sir John French, many +distinguished officers, and a large body of men. One heard on every +side how much the bishop's presence and his words had inspired and +encouraged the gallant men who were present at the services. Easter +Monday saw him leave the front to visit Rouen and Havre before +returning to England."</p> + +<p>So once more old England greeted her sons across the Channel, and +commended them to Him who died and rose again for their Salvation.</p> + +<p>But we are beginning to look forward to the future. The war will end +some day, and then, what then?</p> + +<p>A new army will come back from the fight, veteran as regards its +fighting power, but new as regards its conduct and its spirit. Mr. +Asquith said this was a "spiritual war." It is so perhaps in a deeper +sense than Mr. Asquith meant. There has been "wrestling" out there, +not only against "flesh and blood," but against the powers of sin and +darkness. And there has been victory—victory over sin, victory in +Christ. And back they will come to us—these new men who have been +transfigured and transformed upon the battlefield. And the question is +to what sort of a Church will they come? Shall the fires of their new +love be chilled by the ice of our formality, or shall our worldliness +seem strange to these new citizens of the City of God?</p> + +<p>If we are not ready to receive these new men when they come home, God +will send in a terrible account to us which we shall have to pay. Woe +to the Church which quenches the fire of their devotion, to the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>so-called Christian who lives in Ease-in-Zion instead of in Beulah +Land!</p> + +<p>Now is the time for the churches to prepare. We are told that the +enthusiasm of last September is dying out of our churches, that in the +busy work of the following months we have forgotten to pray. We are +even getting used to the war. Let the churches of our land bestir +themselves. These men will need our choicest care, as they deserve our +most brilliant example. Christ has not left Britain for Flanders. He +is here too, and we must seek Him in penitence and prayer, that when +the lads come home His Church shall be found ready for her Christian +task.</p> + +<p>What a welcome we will give them when they come! How the great hall +will be hung with flags, and the homely hearth will be gay for once! +What love light there will be in the eyes of the mother, the wife, and +the maiden! How hand will grasp hand, and all the world will seem +young again! They are coming—they are coming!</p> + +<p>But not all are coming,—some have fallen in the fight, and sad hearts +will weep in silence, and lives will seem worthless now they are no +more. But it will not all be darkness even to those who mourn, for it +is great to die with honour and in the service of one's country. And +many a home will cherish the memory of its hero, and look forward to a +meeting by and by. And Britain will emblazon their names on its roll +of honour—this man and that man has died for her.</p> + +<p>They are coming—they are coming, and we greet them one and all—the +men who fought for us and endured nobly on our behalf.</p> + +<p>Let us show them when they come a new Britain, freed from the curse of +drink, purified as by fire—a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>new Britain which has crowned Christ as +its King, fit mother of such sons as these!</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>The cross is still at the front—its power ever widening and +developing. It will go wherever our troops go, carrying with it the +life which is life indeed. Death cannot weaken its influence, it +triumphs over death, and many a soldier lad will it draw to itself, +and many a dying gaze will be fixed upon it, for it is there—always +there—when men need the truths it reveals.</p> + +<hr class="wide" /> + +<p>The cross is still at the front—many crosses. It has become a custom +to fix crosses over the graves of our soldiers, most of them rudely +and hastily shaped, but crosses still. Some of them large and strongly +planted, others hardly showing above the earth. Not long will many of +them last. Over some of them the feet of soldiers in the rush of the +battle may tread, others may be overthrown by the storms of winter. +But they are there now, and some day may be replaced by more permanent +structures. Whether that be so or not, the truth they symbolise will +abide—Christ died, Christ lives. He died the just for the unjust to +bring us to God. He is the resurrection and the life.</p> + +<p>As we visit those graves by the wayside or in countless little +cemeteries, consecrated by our heroic dead, we thank God that over +them all is the Sign of the Cross.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">O dearly, dearly has He loved,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And we must love Him too,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And trust in His redeeming Blood,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And try His works to do.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<h4><i>Spottiswoods & Co. Ltd., Printers, Colchester, London and Eton.</i></h4> + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="ad"> +<h3><i>READY SHORTLY.</i></h3> + +<p class="cen">THE ROLL CALL<br /> +OF SERVING WOMEN</p> + +<p class="cen">A RECORD OF WOMEN'S WORK IN THE WAR</p> + +<p class="cen">BY MARY FRANCES BILLINGTON</p> + +<p class="cen"><i>ILLUSTRATED.</i></p> + +<p class="cen">Large Crown 8vo. Cloth Gilt. 3s. 6d.</p> + +<p class="cen">LONDON: 4 BOUVERIE STREET. E.C.</p> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + +<div class="tr"> +<p class="cen"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>Typographical errors corrected in text:</p> +<br /> +Page 109: 'look the law' replaced with 'took the law'<br /> +</div> + +<br /> +<hr /> +<br /> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's With our Fighting Men, by William E. 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Sellers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: With our Fighting Men + The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War + +Author: William E. Sellers + +Release Date: November 1, 2010 [EBook #34188] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, Jeannie Howse and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + * * * * * + + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + | Transcriber's Note: | + | | + | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has | + | been preserved. | + | | + | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For | + | a complete list, please see the end of this document. | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + + * * * * * + + + + +WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN + + + + + [Illustration: "WE BESEECH THEE TO HEAR US GOOD LORD." + _See page 57._] + + + + + With + Our Fighting Men + + THE STORY OF + THEIR FAITH, COURAGE, ENDURANCE + IN THE GREAT WAR + + BY + + WILLIAM E. SELLERS + + _Author of "From Aldershot to Pretoria"_ + + + WITH COLOURED AND OTHER + ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS AND FROM + PHOTOGRAPHS + + LONDON + THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY + 4 Bouverie Street & 65 St. Paul's Churchyard + + + + +PREFACE + +[Illustration] + + +In sending forth this book I wish to acknowledge the kindness and +co-operation of many friends, new and old, who have made my task easy +and my story, so far as possible, complete. + +In the first place, I express my hearty thanks to the Rt. Rev. Bishop +Taylor-Smith, D.D. (the Chaplain General); Revs. E.G.F. Macpherson, +M.A., and F.G. Tuckey (senior Church of England chaplains at the +front); Rev. J.A. M'Clymont, D.D., V.D. (Convener of the Church of +Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy chaplains); +Rev. J.H. Bateson (Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Army and Navy +Board); Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A. (Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Free Church Army and Navy +Board); Rev. E.L. Watson (senior Free Church chaplain at the front); +General Booth and Brigadier Carpenter (of the Salvation Army); Mr. +A.K. Yapp (General Secretary of the Young Men's Christian +Association); and several others. + +In the second place, I acknowledge with gratitude the help I have +received from reports in the _Methodist Recorder_, _Methodist Times_, +_United Free Church of Scotland Record_, _Church Pennant_, _Baptist +Times and Freeman_, _Guardian_, _Guy's Hospital Gazette_, _War Cry_, +and many other papers, to the respective editors of which I tender my +thanks. + +I also wish to express my cordial thanks to my colleague, the Rev. +E.G. Loosley, B.D., for the painstaking care with which he has revised +the proofs of my book. + +I hope and pray that the story recorded in these pages may quicken +interest in Christian work among soldiers and sailors, and so help to +extend the kingdom of Christ. + + W.E.S. + ROCHDALE, + _April 1915_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + PREFACE iii + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii + + INTRODUCTION ix + + I. AT THE HOME BASE 1 + + II. EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT 26 + + III. AT THE FIGHTING BASE 44 + + IV. THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES 63 + + V. THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES 79 + + VI. CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT 100 + + VII. CHRISTIAN HEROISM 116 + + VIII. AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS 135 + + IX. WITH THE GRAND FLEET 153 + + X. CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK 171 + + XI. HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF + WORK AT THE FRONT 192 + + XII. WHEN THE MEN COME HOME 207 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + A MOONLIGHT CONSECRATION SERVICE _Frontispiece_ + + THE MILITARY CROSS: THE NEW DECORATION FOR SPECIAL + GALLANTRY OF OFFICERS p. ix + + TO FACE PAGE + + WHEN THE LADS DEPART 12 + + HELPING THE HELPLESS 26 + + "IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY" 43 + + BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH, CHAPLAIN GENERAL, AND OTHER CHAPLAINS 58 + + BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT 74 + + BRITISH SOLDIER COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN 88 + + A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD 98 + + IN THE TRENCHES 108 + + THE BISHOP OF LONDON ADDRESSING MEN OF THE ARMY SERVICE + SERVICE CORPS AT THE FRONT 118 + + HOT FOOD FOR THE WOUNDED--A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS + WORK 134 + + A RESCUE PARTY. GOOD SAMARITANS OF THE BATTLEFIELD 142 + + AN INCIDENT DURING THE FIGHTING ON THE MARNE 150 + + A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP 162 + + A FIGHT IN THE AIR. BRITISH AIRMAN ATTACKING A GERMAN + MONOPLANE 178 + + AN INCIDENT IN THE FORET DE LA NIEPPE 190 + + WHEN THE MEN COME HOME 207 + + [Illustration: THE MILITARY CROSS. + The New Decoration for Special Gallantry of Officers. Already + several Army Chaplains have won it.] + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The story I am about to tell is one of surpassing interest. It is the +story of Christian life, work, and heroism among our troops at the +front. + +The soldier is easily moved to good or to evil. In the past evil +influences have been more powerful and more numerous than influences +for good. Our soldiers had been drawn, for the most part, from classes +outside all churches and Christian influences, and the wet canteen had +been the most popular institution in the Army. + +For the last twenty-five years, however, the situation has been +altering for the better. The day-school has done its work, and a free +education has accomplished splendid things for the working-man. The +Sunday-school, too, has extended its scope and has of late years been +more efficient than ever before. There has been a steady levelling up +of the people, and the Army has risen with the rest. Said a soldier to +me during the South African war: "They think we are the same as we +used to be, but we are no longer the scum of the earth." + +Slowly and surely the work done outside the Army has been reflected +_in_ the Army. The Army Temperance Association, the Soldiers' +Christian Association, the Soldiers' Homes provided by the churches, +and other uplifting organisations have found that they were working on +soil to some extent prepared. The soldier has responded readily to the +appeals made, and the Soldiers' Homes have become as popular as the +canteens, and often more so. A Soldiers' Home in a camp has meant at +once a change for the better. The senior officers have recognised this +fact, and have gladly welcomed every Christian effort on behalf of +their men. + +I remember, when Bordon and Longmoor camps were formed, with what joy +my colleagues and I were welcomed by the officer in command. +Everything he had was placed at our disposal, a hut was apportioned to +us, and we furnished it, for the most part, from furniture belonging +to the camp. Everything was very rough in those days, and the roads +well-nigh impassable; but when we got there what a welcome we had! The +late Colonel Gordon, R.E. (nephew of Gordon of Khartoum), lent us his +piano and his wife often played it for us. + +I was standing on Petersfield Station platform one night looking sadly +at a group of drunken and half-drunken soldiers, when a +non-commissioned officer came up, and, after saluting, said, "They +would not be like that if you had a Home for them, sir." + +By and by it was not only a hut we had, but a permanent Soldiers' +Home, and when it was opened by the Earl of Donoughmore, it became +crowded at once. Brigadier-General Campbell stood our friend through +all those difficult days, and rejoiced as much as we did in the +prosperity of the Home. + +It must be remembered also that for many years past there has been an +increasing leaven of Christian men in the Army. The Home to which I +have just referred could not have been the power it became had it not +been for this. I remember a lance-corporal who, so far as he knew, was +the only Christian in his regiment. He used to go out among the solemn +pines at night and pray for his comrades. Soon another joined him +there, and many another, and by the time the Home was opened we had a +company of Christian men ready to work among their fellows. + +During my ministry in Aldershot I saw this illustrated in much larger +measure, and the Christian men were, all of them, Christian +missionaries working with great success. + +I have already told the story of Christian work during the South +African war in my book "From Aldershot to Pretoria." The story is one +for which all the churches may well thank God. Though that war was +child's play compared with this, the higher war waged--the war for +Christ and His Kingdom--was one of constant victory. Large numbers of +men gave themselves to Christ, and when the war was over remembered +the vows they had vowed to Him. + +Now we have witnessed a mobilisation of Christian forces, such as +would have been impossible hitherto. The Chaplaincy Department has +developed into a great and well-organised agency for good. Over two +hundred chaplains are already at the front, and the ministers of all +the churches are busily at work in the camps at home. All the old +Christian and temperance organisations are to the fore, only developed +out of all former knowledge, and the Young Men's Christian Association +has astonished and delighted the whole Christian world. + +The Christian men in the Army--more numerous before the war broke out +than they had ever been--are carrying on their noble work and are +constantly receiving additions to their ranks. + +We have known for years what Thomas Atkins was like--susceptible as a +child. I have heard sobs all over the room while picture slides of a +little child's story, such as "Jessica's First Prayer," were being +shown. But what will the new army be like? Will it be as susceptible +as the old? Will the men still thrill when the Gospel story is told? +They are different men--men drawn from all classes, actuated by a +common purpose to save their country. Will they think only of that, or +will their hearts also be "strangely warmed" by tidings of their +Saviour's love? Already the answer comes to us "Yes." Never before has +such deep seriousness fallen upon our men, and in their quiet moments, +and even amid the stress of battle, thoughts have turned to Christ and +hearts have been surrendered to Him. + +"The truth of the matter is," wrote the Bishop of London, in the +_Times_, after his visit to the front at Easter, "that the realities +of war have melted away the surface shyness of men about religion; +they feel they are 'up against' questions of life and death; and I +have heard of more than one censor who has for the first time realised +the part religion bears in a soldier's life by censoring the +innumerable letters home in which the writers ask for the prayers of +their relations or express their trust in God." + +It is the purpose of the following pages to tell, so far as it is +possible, in these early months of the war, something of the Christian +work attempted and accomplished among our men at the front and at sea, +and to answer the questions I have just asked. + + + + +WITH OUR FIGHTING MEN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +AT THE HOME BASE + + Enlisting--"Good-bye"--Excitement and Drunkenness--Then came + Kitchener's Army--The Churches gave of their Best--A Canvas + City--Not for Pay, These--What the Churches Did--The Home + Church in the Camp--A Powerful Christian Leaven--Theological + Students Volunteer--What the Boys Did--Organising Religious + Work--Fifty Men Stood Up--The Y.M.C.A. Tents--A Proud + Boast--At Work in the Tents--A Typical Service--The Canadian + Y.M.C.A.--What the Salvation Army is Doing--The Church Army at + Work--Huts of Silence--W.M. Hut Homes and "Glory Rooms"--Hymn + 494--Teetotal Soldiers--Lord Kitchener's Message--The Work of + the Navy Chaplains--The Sailors' Homes--Work among the Wounded + in Hospital--Hospital Stories. + + +A troop train slowly passing through Winchester Station. Heads out of +every window. One great shout by hundreds of eager young lads, "Are we +downhearted?" And then, not waiting for those of us on the platform to +answer, the emphatic response "No!" + +Winchester Station looked strange that morning, early in August 1914. +Its dignified quiet had gone. No one would have dreamt that this was +the station of an ancient cathedral city. Armed sentries were posted +at every point of entrance and departure. With fixed bayonets they +guarded the signal-boxes. Their beds were in the waiting-rooms. The +whole station was given up to the military. + +And this was not the only case. All down the line it was the same, +while every few yards by the side of the metals, all the way to +Portsmouth and Southampton, soldiers with fixed bayonets were on +guard. Here and there Boy Scouts were assisting, and enjoying +themselves immensely. + +Portsmouth Harbour at that time was closed to ordinary traffic. The +few passengers who still ventured to the Isle of Wight, in what should +have been the height of the holiday season, had to betake themselves +to Southampton, and be thankful if after long waiting they could get +across from there. + +The Solent was full of troop-ships. We counted over forty at one time +waiting to take troops across, while many more were in Southampton +Water. The Isle of Wight was an armed camp. At night search-lights +played all over it. + +What touching farewells there were! Stand on almost any platform and +see--that is if you have the assurance to look on at that which is +sacred. A mother brings her little ones to say good-bye to their +soldier father. An old woman with difficulty slowly comes to the edge +of the platform to give her blessing to her soldier son. A wife is +locked for a few brief moments in a loving embrace. + +The father, or son, or husband brushes the sleeve of his tunic across +his eyes, and then, as the train begins to move, says "Good-bye. I'll +soon be back!" And as the train steams out those brave lads ask +again, "Are we downhearted?" and the mothers and wives and +sweethearts, with tears streaming down their faces, strive to answer +"No!" + +Those were stirring times at Aldershot. The old scenes at the outbreak +of the war in South Africa were re-enacted, only on a larger scale. +That was mere child's play to this, and every one realised it. +Incessant coming and going as troops gathered from all parts of the +country. Military bands marching detachments to the station on their +way to the front. + +At first there was much drunkenness, for this is generally the case +where there is much excitement. But soon a serious feeling crept over +all, and the town grew more sober in every respect. Our troops were +going to fight the greatest military power in the world, and every man +realised that it would be a struggle such as this country had never +known before. + +By and by our regular troops had departed, and the "Terriers" began to +come in. A workman-like lot of men these, shaping like good soldiers. +In their thousands they had volunteered for active service, and to +active service after a period of training they should go. + +And then came Kitchener's Army. And what an army! The appeal had gone +forth for half a million men, and then for another half million, and +by and by for still another million. + +The response was magnificent. Never was our country so great as in +those days when Kitchener's Army was being formed. The rush of +recruits was overwhelming. It seemed as though the whole body of young +men in the country would volunteer. + +The churches were to the front in this matter. All suspicion that the +churches would prove unpatriotic was blown to the winds. They had been +training their young people for peace, but when their country was +threatened they were ready for war. They had, many of them, been +strongly opposed to conscription, but it was no conscript army which +was being embodied; it was an army of free Englishmen. + +The churches gave of their best. The vicarages and manses of the +country were denuded of their sons. In some Sunday-schools the young +men's classes volunteered to a man. In many places it was only with +great difficulty that the work of the Sunday-schools was carried on, +because the male teachers had enlisted. From the Nottingham Wesleyan +Mission went five hundred young men. + +All sorts and conditions of healthy young manhood responded to their +country's call. Kipling's lines, true of the regular army, were +prophetic when applied to Kitchener's Army of those days: + + Parson's son, lawyer's son, son of the parish squire, + Garden hand, stable hand, hand from the smithy fire, + Counter boy, office boy, boy from the dock and mine, + Eat together, sleep together, follow the drum in line. + +And the young women would have gone too, if they could. It went hard +in those days with a sweetheart who was not disposed to volunteer. And +the young women _did_ go. The rush of volunteer nurses was tremendous +and had to be checked. We shall hear of their good work as we +progress. + +Aldershot was taken by storm by Kitchener's Army. At one time there +were a hundred and fifty thousand men in the camp. Seeing that the +barrack accommodation in the camp is not for many more than fifteen +thousand in normal times, it was evident that the only way to meet the +new conditions was to create a canvas city, and a canvas city it +became. There were many miles of tents. + +It was a sight indeed to see Kitchener's Army drill. The rush was far +too great to be met by the Army clothing factories, and for many weeks +there were no uniforms, and the men drilled and were drilled by other +men in ordinary civilian clothing. + +One could see the varied occupations of the men who had enlisted. Here +is a man, great of girth, who will need to have his size reduced +considerably ere he rushes at German trenches, and he still wears the +leggings with which he trudged across his fields. Here is a man who +evidently a few days ago held in his hand the yardstick with which he +measured his calico. He is bent on sterner work now. + +Here, again, is one from the pit and another from the mill, and a +third who looks as though he had been a lawyer or a lawyer's clerk. +And drilling them all is a man who evidently a few days since was +hewing coal from a Welsh mine. He is back to the colours now, but will +have to wait for his transforming uniform. + +But all eager, all intense. No work for pay this. "Mercenaries" the +Kaiser called them, but no mercenaries these--England's best and +noblest ready to give their lives for the land they love so well. + +It was a happy thought which allowed men who had been accustomed to +live and work together to form their own battalion or regiment; and so +we had the Public School Corps, and the Pals' Brigade, and many +another. Fastidious young men from West End drawing-rooms proved that +they had the hearts of true Englishmen, and worked hard as the rest. +Later on, in one hut were men whose income was said to average L2000 a +year. They were just privates. + +From the religious point of view it was a great opportunity. Nearly +every church in the land had sent of its best and had done its best to +honour those who went. "Rolls of Honour," containing the names of +those who had gone from that particular church, hung in the porches. +In many, Sunday by Sunday, the names on the Roll of Honour were read +out and special prayer offered for them. + +The young men had left their homes and churches with the voice of +prayer ringing in their ears. They knew that they were going to +serious work and that many of them would never return. The most +careless of them were serious now, and were ready, if the impression +did not pass away, to give themselves not only to their King and +Country, but to the King of Kings. + +And right earnestly was the work begun in the Home Church continued in +the camps. These camps were established all over the country, for +Aldershot and Salisbury Plain were altogether inadequate. To all such +camps chaplains were appointed, and, for the first time, the Baptists, +Congregationalists, Primitives and United Methodists, who, except in +the great military centres, had stood out of the Army work, had their +appointed chaplains--not many as yet--but sufficient to show that they +also felt the need and were ready to do the work. They have since +joined forces for this service, and are carrying on their united work +by Free Church chaplains. + +The entry of the Free Churches into the Army work is of such general +interest that I asked the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of +the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, to send me a brief +account of the facts. Mr. Shakespeare replied under date of February +10, 1915. + +"Up to ten years ago, the sentiment among Baptists and +Congregationalists was not very sympathetic towards the Army, and +there was no provision on the Attestation Sheet for the entry of men +as belonging to these two denominations. I then secured a column for +this purpose, which has been in use ever since, but I do not think it +has been very effective. + +"When the war broke out, our churches were practically unanimous in +their support of the Government. At that time about three thousand +troops were entered under our two denominations. I went to see the +late Mr. Percy Illingworth, who interested himself very warmly in the +proper recognition of Baptists and Congregationalists. Large numbers +of our young men began to enlist. The Rev. R.J. Wells and I, through +interviews at the War Office, secured that orders were sent out +directing that men were to be entered according to their religious +professions. Mr. Lloyd George brought the matter under the notice of +Lord Kitchener, who strongly resented any sort of sectarian unfairness +and wished our recruits to have the same facilities as those of other +denominations. Meanwhile, Mr. Wells and I collected the names and +regiments of Baptist and Congregational recruits, with the result that +we are able to announce the following figures, though more than a +third of our churches have made no reply:-- + + Bloomsbury 113 + Hampstead, Heath Street 92 + Plaistow, Barking Road 400 + Hornsey, Ferme Park 160 + Peckham, Rye Lane 116 + Glasgow, Hillhead 210 + +"In spite of what had been done, a great mass of certified evidence +began to reach us that recruiting sergeants were refusing to enter our +recruits as Baptists or Congregationalists, but were putting them down +to some other church. Of this we have exact evidence. Further orders +were then issued by the War Office that this must not be done. + +"At the beginning of the war there were only two Baptist Chaplains to +the Forces--Rev. F.G. Kemp at Aldershot, and Rev. J. Seeley at +Woolwich. The War Office now asked our Army Board to nominate +additional provisional chaplains, both for home camps and for the +Expeditionary Force, and, in addition, that ministers should be +appointed for any place where there was a considerable body of troops +as 'officiating clergymen,' still carrying on their churches, but +having the right to hold church parade, visit in camp, hospitals, &c. +Of these a large number have been appointed. In addition, +Congregational chaplains were appointed. + +"The next stage was that we were approached from the Primitive +Methodist and United Methodist Churches asking to be grouped with us +for Army and Navy purposes. The result has been the formation of a +United Army and Navy Board for the four denominations, and our +chaplains and officiating clergymen have charge of soldiers and +sailors belonging to these four churches. + +"The next step was that an appeal was made by the Rev. R.J. Wells, for +the Congregationalists, and myself, for the Baptists, for an 'Army +Tent and Chaplain Fund,' the result being that we have raised a +sufficient sum to enable us to erect permanent institutes or huts with +chaplains, or 'officiating clergymen,' in about half a dozen camps. +The Primitive Methodists and United Methodists are taking the same +course, and together we shall shortly have a considerable number of +such huts available. + +"Concurrently with this we have succeeded in securing appointments for +'officiating clergymen' and chaplains for the Navy and at naval +stations, though some of our chaplains hold a double position, both to +the Army and Navy." + +From the character of the response it was evident that there was a +powerful Christian leaven working in the Army itself. + +To begin with, there was a wholesale offer by Christian ministers for +chaplaincy work. Not a tithe of the offers could be accepted, and then +was witnessed a sight such as has never been seen before. As they +could not be accepted as chaplains, a large number of ministers of +religion enlisted as private soldiers, and these from practically all +the churches. + +Certainly the proposal that the clergy should volunteer as combatants +was not favoured by the ecclesiastical authorities. The Archbishop of +Canterbury recognised the _prima facie_ arguments used by the younger +clergy in support of such action, but concluded that fighting was +incompatible with Holy Orders. + +However, many, with the Archbishop's consent, enlisted in the Army +Medical Corps, and are devoting themselves to the sick and wounded. +Among the Wesleyans, the matter was left to the judgment of the men +concerned. Some enlisted in line regiments, but the majority also +entered the Army Medical Corps. In one barrack room of the R.A.M.C. at +Aldershot, we hear of five Church of England curates and one Wesleyan +minister. So far as we know the other Free Churches adopted the same +line as the Wesleyans. + +The Theological Colleges were not slow to follow the example of the +ministers, in fact in many cases they led the way. Both in this +country and in Scotland a large proportion of the students +volunteered--so many in fact that it has become a serious matter for +the immediate future of the churches. + +The Church of England has been suffering from a dearth of candidates +for its ministry for years past, and, as the _Times_ says: "The great +reduction caused by the war may quite seriously affect the Church's +efficiency." However, these young men evidently thought that they +might serve their Church and its Divine Lord as well in the ranks as +in the pulpit, and might serve their country at the same time, and +they went. + +This was a new army--new in every respect. Never before had Christian +ministers and young men in training for the ministry volunteered, in +any numbers, as private soldiers; but the call had been imperative, +and they were out to save their country. They took their religion with +them and made it felt. + +Still another great work for the Army has been done by the Christian +churches. In an important article in the _Times_ of January 1915 we +were told: + +"It is impossible to give an adequate account of the valuable work +done by the different churches in providing men for the Army through +the various Lads' Brigades and Boy Scouts. The Boys' Brigade is the +senior and largest of these organisations; it has many branches +throughout the Empire, with a present total strength of 115,000. Many +of its members have enlisted. The Church Lads' Brigade had in 1913 a +membership of 60,000, besides two junior organisations, the Church +Scout Patrols and the Church Lads' Brigade Training Corps. It has also +contributed a very large number of recruits. In London the Diocesan +Church Lads' Brigade, which forms part of the Cadet Force of the +country, sent practically every officer eligible and nearly every +cadet of seventeen years of age to join the regular forces soon after +the declaration of war. Many of these have been in action, and the +following casualties have been reported: Killed, two; wounded, +thirty-two; missing, six; invalided, five; prisoners, two. These Boys' +Brigades have become very popular. Besides those already mentioned +there are the Jewish Lads' Brigade, the Catholic Boys' Brigade, the +Boys' Life Brigade, and the Boys' Naval Brigade. Three of the new +V.C.'s have been won by former Brigade lads. On behalf of all these +admirable organisations the Lord Mayor of London has issued an appeal +for financial support, pointing out that 225,000 of those now serving +with the colours have been prepared for their work by one or other of +these organisations." + +The Government heartily backed the efforts of the churches. In +addition to the chaplains of all denominations, others for whom no +appointments could be found were allowed to go to France at their own +or their friends' expense, to render to the soldiers what spiritual +help they could. + +Services for the men in training were organised everywhere. Schools, +vicarages, and manses were turned into temporary soldiers' homes. +Wherever they came, the men found the churches ready to receive them. +They supplied them with literature to read and with writing materials, +provided refreshments, organised religious services, and did their +best, not only to cater for their social needs, but to enlist them +into the Army of Jesus Christ. + +Numbers of the soldiers were preachers too, and supplied the pulpits +of the Free Churches where they were stationed. They occupied choir +stalls, taught in Sunday-schools, and generally helped to carry on the +work of the churches. Many of these Christian lads were themselves +unofficial chaplains among their comrades. + +At Aldershot and the other great military centres, the work of the +churches was naturally of the best. Never was the opportunity so +great, and never was the response so rapid. + +Take, for instance, the report that comes to us from Grosvenor Road +Wesleyan Military Church, Aldershot. Grosvenor Road Church dominates +the town. It is a noble Gothic building, its tower visible for many +miles. It is locally known as the "Wesleyan Church of England." It is, +of course, customary for it to be crowded at the Parade services, but +now it was thronged with soldiers at the voluntary services also. +Wesley Hall at the back and the Soldiers' Home Lecture Hall at the +side were thronged at the same time. On one Sunday evening, when the +appeal was made for decision for Christ, fifty men stood up in the +midst of eleven or twelve hundred of their comrades, to avow that they +did then and there give themselves to Christ. It was no easy matter +for a soldier to do, but it was done, and similar scenes were enacted +on many occasions. + + [Illustration: _Drawn by Arthur Twidle._ + WHEN THE LADS DEPART. + One of Kitchener's army salutes his mother as he leaves.] + +Let no one suppose, however, that this was the only place where +decisions for Christ were registered. Nearly all the churches could +make some such statement, though perhaps they could not speak of such +large numbers. Never a night passed but some soldiers gave themselves +to Christ, in the "Glory Rooms" of the various soldiers' homes. The +chaplains and the Army Scripture readers were busy all day and often +far into the night: by day visiting the men in barrack room and tent, +in the evening conducting services for them, and at night writing +letters on their behalf. + +It is impossible to chronicle such work as this. Much of it is too +sacred to be told. Many of the best workers are the slowest to speak +of their work, and where all did their best--their _very_ best--it is +invidious to mention names. But on every hand we hear of spiritual +results surpassing all previous experience in work among +soldiers--work which the Great Day will declare. + +It must be borne in mind that the men were ready for this spiritual +work. The times were serious and they were serious too. It must also +be borne in mind that splendid preparatory work had been done in the +churches and Sunday-schools of our land. And now that the spiritual +need was felt, the response was rapid, and the Sunday-school teacher +far away reaped the result of his labour. + +I turn now to another class of work, the work of the Young Men's +Christian Association. For many years the Y.M.C.A. has been identified +with social and Christian work in the Army. It has had its tents +wherever soldiers have gathered for their training, and during the +South African War it rendered most efficient and appreciated service. + +Since the outbreak of the present war it has to a large extent +suspended its ordinary work, in order that it might establish a system +of recreation tents and reading rooms in all the naval and military +camps. It is the boast of the Association that it has not refused a +single request for a tent, and by the end of March 1915 it had 700 +centres in different training camps, each with its wooden "hut" or +canvas tent. + +Not only are they in England, but in Scotland and Ireland, and by and +by upon the Continent also. When the Canadians came they found the +Y.M.C.A. ready to receive them. Six buildings were erected for their +use, and the largest of these measured a hundred feet by thirty, with +wooden walls and floor, and a canvas roof. + +Coffee is served in these extemporised Soldiers' Homes from five +o'clock in the morning to the end of the day. Everything that it is +possible to do for the soldiers' comfort is done. In one of these +tents 5000 letters were written and posted in one week. In the +evenings "Singsongs" are arranged, and hundreds of thousands of a +popular Christian songbook have been sold. Literature, largely +provided by such agencies as the Religious Tract Society, abounds. + +On Sundays the "Homes" are given over to the ministrations of the +chaplains. All denominations are welcome, and the freedom of the +buildings is also allowed for services to the Roman Catholics and the +Jews. + +Over 3000 voluntary helpers have taken part in this work as well as +the staff of the National Headquarters, while 95 per cent, of the +general secretaries throughout the country have acted as supervising +agents. We do not wonder that the Association has received the thanks +of the Government. + +May I describe one service in a Y.M.C.A. tent? It is Sunday evening. +The various Parade services of the morning have been held, the Church +of England in the open air, and the Congregationalists and Wesleyans +in the tent. But now a sergeant is in charge, and for half an hour he +allows the men to choose what hymns they like, and right heartily do +they sing. But now an Anglican archdeacon is on the platform, and with +eager words and practical advice is urging the soldiers to live as +Christian gentlemen. Then follows a Wesleyan minister with many a +story and many an appeal. Then a Congregationalist minister, in +quieter vein but with restrained earnestness. There are Christian +songs between the addresses and many an audible response from the +"Tommies" to the word of exhortation spoken. It is a re-union of the +churches, proving that at heart they are all one in Christ Jesus, and +it is made possible by the work of the Y.M.C.A. + +In the case of the Canadians, the Y.M.C.A. is actually a part of the +military force, and that is a remarkable thing. Six of the Canadian +officers of the Association in the first contingent were at the same +time officers in the Canadian Army, and were told off to the service +of the Y.M.C.A., but they were none the less officers for that. In +this way the Association is recognised, and the officers can go with +the men right into the trenches, and do. Fine men were these first +six officers, four of them with the infantry brigades, one with the +cavalry, and one with the artillery. + +The Salvation Army is also doing this work in its own way, but on a +smaller scale. Writing to the _Times_ in October 1914, Commissioner +Higgins said: "We have established centres of work by permission of +the authorities in about forty camps, and others are in course of +preparation. We have many indications that the men highly appreciate +what is being done. In one centre alone, on one day recently, we +received 2000 letters for men in camp. + +"In addition to personal help--which is so valuable when men are +separated from their families and friends--there are opportunities for +reading and writing, simple recreation and rest, and we are, so far as +possible, holding bright and happy meetings, where men who know +something of the power of Christ are able to urge upon their comrades +the love and service of God. It seems to us that these cannot but be +of the highest advantage to the men when they come to face those +dreadful ordeals which must lie before many of them. Salvation Army +officers have been appointed by the authorities concerned as chaplains +for various units, both in the forces coming from Canada and New +Zealand." + +Everyone who knows anything of Christian work in the British Army +knows how efficient is the service rendered by the Salvation Army, and +its Salvation soldiers are always at work bringing other soldiers to +Christ. + +The Church Army is, and also has been, at work. Prebendary Wilson +Carlile reports that it has supplied tents in a number of the larger +stations, tents which were welcomed everywhere, and in which the same +class of work has been done as in those of the Y.M.C.A. The "Lord +Kitchener" tent in Hyde Park, close to the Marble Arch, has proved to +be an admirable institution, and has afforded an object lesson as to +how this work should be done. + +At the request of Bishop Taylor Smith, the Chaplain General, a new +departure in Christian work among the troops has been taken. In twelve +different camps small chapels have been built, each 30 feet by 20 +feet. In each chapel are a Lord's Table and chairs, and there is a +small room, 5 feet by 8 feet, for interviews with the chaplain. These +chapels are called "Huts of Silence" and are intended for quiet +meditation and prayer. It is a new experiment and will be watched with +much interest. Tommy is a gregarious creature, and how he will take to +silence remains to be seen. There is, however, opportunity for all +classes of Christian work in the ever-growing British Army. + +In connection with the Army work of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, +Soldiers' Homes have long played a conspicuous part. Before the war +broke out that church had already spent L154,420 on providing +forty-one such homes in different parts of the Empire, twenty of these +being in England. + +Always full in peace time, these homes have of course been overcrowded +in time of war, and scores of temporary homes have been brought into +use in all the great centres. Soon after the war broke out an appeal +was made for L5000 to erect tent or hut homes in all the camps. It has +had a noble response, and the work is succeeding beyond expectation. +In each of these homes there is a "Glory Room." The name comes from +the Mother Home at Aldershot, and they call it so because + + Heaven comes down their souls to meet + And glory crowns the mercy-seat. + +No pressure is brought to bear on any soldier to enter the Glory Room. +There are the reading rooms, games room, refreshment room as +everywhere else, but night by night an increasing number of lads find +their way into the Glory Room. There prayer is wont to be made, and +Sankey's hymn-book, loved of the Christian soldier, is in evidence. +Never a night passes but some soldier lad comes home to God, and +"Glory crowns what grace has begun." + +Every night the gathering ends with the Christian soldier's +watchword--"494." Years before the South African War it was used among +our Christian lads. It went right through South Africa. As company +passed company on the march, a Christian man in one company would +shout "494," and if there were a Christian in the passing company he +would respond "494." Sometimes the response varied and instead would +come the ringing shout, "Aye, lad, and six further on." Thus the +Christian soldier's watchword rang out from the Cape to Pretoria. And +it has been ringing right through this war. + +So every meeting in the Glory Room of a Wesleyan Soldiers' Home closes +with it. If you turn to Sankey's hymn-book you will find that "494" is +"God be with you till we meet again," and "six further on" is "Blessed +assurance, Jesus is mine." Thus our lads cheer each other in times of +difficulty and danger. + +I must not forget to mention the little Red Books and Blue Books +which, to the number of 60,000, have been distributed to all Wesleyan +soldiers and sailors in the Expeditionary Forces. These, which contain +hymns and prayers, have been compiled by the Rev. F.L. Wiseman and are +greatly appreciated by the men. Also a "Housewife" has been given to +every man, containing all things necessary for patching, darning, and +mending. + +But every church has cared for its men, if not in these, in other +ways, and the men have been loaded with comforts. I have singled out +the Wesleyan Soldiers' Homes for special mention, because that church +has made this work a speciality, and has homes now in every great +military or naval centre throughout the Empire. But it must not be +forgotten that the Church of England has its "Institutes" also, and +that the Presbyterian Church is just beginning this work. Miss +Daniel's Soldiers' Home at Aldershot has for many years rendered good +service. + +Perhaps this is the best time to speak of Temperance work in the Army, +for it is another form of Christian service. + +Temperance principles had been rapidly leavening the Army years before +the outbreak of war. We are apt to forget that we have a new army, an +army educated in our Council schools and Sunday-schools, and most of +its men have been under Christian influence. Before the war broke out, +over forty per cent. of our Army in India were members of the Army +Temperance Association, and in this country, though the percentage of +members was lower, that magnificent institution was rejoicing in great +success. There was still a "tail" to the British Army, a long and +unwholesome tail, but it was growing shorter and more wholesome each +year. + +Since the war commenced it has grown shorter still. Temperance work +has been done everywhere. The Army Temperance workers are in all the +homes, and the fruit of their work is seen on every hand. + +The decree of the Czar of Russia prohibiting the sale of vodka gave a +great impetus to British Temperance work, and perhaps Lord Kitchener +gave as great if not an even greater stimulus. + +Lord Kitchener's message to the Expeditionary Force on its departure +for France may in part be quoted: "In France and Belgium you are sure +to meet with a welcome, and to be trusted. Your conduct must justify +that welcome and that trust. Your duty cannot be done unless your +health is sound, so keep constantly on your guard against any excess. +In this new experience you may find temptation in wine.... You must +entirely resist temptation." + +Lord Kitchener also issued a strong appeal to the British public, +urging them not to treat our soldiers to intoxicating drink, and his +entreaty was backed by strong measures in many camps. + +At the request of the naval and military authorities the Home +Secretary (Mr. McKenna) carried through Parliament a measure giving to +licensing justices in any district, upon the recommendation of the +chief officer of police, the power temporarily to restrict the sale, +consumption, and supply of intoxicating liquors on licensed premises +and in clubs. + +Add to all this the immense work of the churches and various +temperance associations, and there is no wonder that we have new men +in a new army. + +I turn now for a few moments to work among the men of the Navy. Not so +much could be done for them as for our soldier lads. Church of +England chaplains were, of course, on the larger ships, but room +could not be found for the chaplains of other churches. All the +records tell of splendid work done by the chaplains on board. + +And when from their life on the ocean wave the men came in for brief +periods to the home ports, the chaplains on shore rejoiced in the +opportunity of service. Everywhere services were arranged--services on +board ship, and services on shore. All sorts of literature was +provided. Comforts, in the shape of warm garments made by loving hands +at home, were distributed. + +The Sailors' Homes were open to them, and were thronged during the +brief periods when they could be used by the men. Special mention must +be made of the splendid work done by Miss Agnes Weston for many years. +It must not be forgotten that long before the outbreak of war +Christian and Temperance work had been as fruitful in the Navy as in +the Army. But the war has made such work still more effective. + +On board ship the Christian men were always ready for prayer. The Rev. +R.H. Hingley tells that one day he had been conducting a brief service +on a cruiser, and as he was waiting for his boat, man after man came +up to him and suggested a prayer meeting. It was a newly commissioned +ship and many of the men who gathered to the prayer meeting confessed +Christ for the first time. + +At sea these men congregate every evening for prayer in the chaplain's +room, but often that room is too small, and more commodious quarters +have to be sought. + +Mr. Hingley tells of a letter he has received from a sailor saint. "We +have taken the ninety-first Psalm as our special song. How grand it +is to be sure, and how true have we proved it to be!" Thus many of our +Christian sailor lads go down to the sea in ships singing as they go, +"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide +under the shadow of the Almighty," and so they are not afraid "for the +terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day." Christ has +many witnesses among our sailors in the North Sea. + +It was not long before another class of service came to those at the +Home Base, viz. the work among the wounded in the hospitals. This war +has brought the fact of war home to every one. + +Not long was it before the hospitals already in use were all too small +for the numbers of wounded drafted from the front, and hospitals +sprang up in all the great centres of population. For weeks +preparations had been made. Red Cross amateur nurses and St. John's +Ambulance nurses had been completing their training. Medical men had +volunteered their services, and ministers of religion of all +denominations were ready to do what they could for the spiritual needs +of the men. + +The opportunity was golden. Never had there been one like it before. +These men had come through the Valley of Death. They were ready to +think and pray. Says one chaplain: + +"Again and again, while going through the wards, men have said, 'I +shall be a different man after this, sir.' They have told us of their +life in the trenches and of the prayers they have made while the +bullets have been flying about them. Said one: 'I know this--on the +field I prayed hard, more than ever I prayed before.' Another man +speaks of the peace he had when facing death. 'I remembered those +words in one of the Psalms--"A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten +thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee"--and God +brought me through.'" + +Multiply this story a thousandfold and we shall see what the war has +done for men, and also realise how easy it has been to lead soldiers +thus impressed into fellowship with our Lord. A loving work is this, +requiring ministry tender and true, but it has been done and done +right nobly. Men who had learnt not to be afraid of death have learnt +also how to live. + +In Denmark Hill Hospital a wounded man told this story to the Rev. A. +Bingham. A young soldier was mortally wounded in one of the great +battles. When he realised that he was dying he began to sing. Faintly +but clearly he sang: + + Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; + The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; + . . . . . . + Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes; + Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; + Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; + In Life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. + +Far away from loved ones--far from home--wounded to the death, the +soldier found in the love and presence of Jesus his Saviour and +friend, rest and peace. And his comrade in the hospital remembered his +dying song and passed it on that it might become a message to many +another when they too came to die-- + + In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. + +One more hospital story will suffice. It is of a different order from +the last, but it reveals Thomas Atkins as he really is. + +The wife of the local colonel was making the round of a hospital and +paused at the bedside of a wounded soldier, who evidently hailed from +the North of England. He was toying with a helmet, apparently a trophy +of war. + +"Well," said the lady, "I suppose you killed your man?" + +"Well, naw," quietly responded the soldier. "You see it was like this. +He lay on the field pretty near me with an awfu' bad wound an' +bleedin' away somethin' terrible. I was losin' a lot of blood too fra' +my leg, but I managed to crawl up to him, an' bound him up as well as +I could, an' he did the same for me. Nawthin' o' coorse was said +between us. I knew no German an' the ither man not a word o' English, +so when he'd dun, not seein' hoo else tae thank him, I just smiled, +an' by way o' token handed him my Glengarry, an' he smiled back an' +giv' me his helmet." + +Thus Thomas Atkins has shown how to fight his enemy and to love him +too. + + * * * * * + +This, then, in brief outline, is the story of Christian work at the +Home Base during the early stages of the war. + +Chaplains or acting chaplains everywhere, Scripture readers, Y.M.C.A. +workers, voluntary workers, all sorts and conditions of workers. +Bright, cheery services every evening. Loving appeals for decision for +Christ--appeals which have been responded to by thousands of our lads. +Centres for thought and rest and recreation everywhere. The need has +been great, and the need has been supplied by people moved to +self-sacrifice as never before. + +Few families but have had some members in either Navy or Army, and as +parents have said good-bye to their sons they have known that a hearty +Christian welcome awaited them where they went, and that they might +safely leave them to the kindly ministry of willing hearts and hands. +The motto of everyone, high and low, has been _Ich dien_--I serve. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT + + If Minister Shoots Minister!--A Brighter Side--A Beautiful + Story--Pastors and Members in the Firing Line--A German + Pastor--The Retreat through Belgium--The Work of Heroes--A + Rear-guard Action--Seeking the Wounded--Refugees Stupid with + Terror--Behind the Rear-guard--A Narrow Escape--A Night to be + Remembered--The Man who Saved the British Army--God has been + with Me--The British Soldier will Joke--Why Not?--Awful + Experiences--A Monotony of Horror--Picking up Wounded + Stragglers--Lines of Broken Men--Still Retreating--A Wonderful + Triumph of Will--Thirsty Heroes--The Ambulance Found--The End + of the Retreat--Mentioned in Despatches--No Parade Services. + + +Viewed from a Christian standpoint, the most distressing things about +this war are: (1) That _Christian_ nations are engaged in a life and +death struggle. It is a lamentable confession, an awful fact. Two +thousand years of Christian teaching have absolutely failed to keep +Christian nations at peace. + +And yet are these nations Christian? Has not Germany by its adoption +of a false philosophy forfeited the title of Christian? So far as its +military class is concerned I fear we must say "Yes," but so far as +hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants are concerned we rejoice to +believe we can still answer "No." They are fighting because they +_must_, and because they do not understand. And we are fighting in +another sense because we _must_. Like Luther, "We can no other." May +God forgive us if we are wrong! We believe--with all our hearts we +believe--our cause is just. + + [Illustration: HELPING THE HELPLESS. + Royal Navy Division helping Belgian soldiers and refugees + during the retreat from Antwerp. + _Drawn by Ernest Prater from sketches made by one who was + there._] + +And out of this first distressing thing there emerges another. (2) +Christian _ministers_ are opposed to each other in the ranks, not +because they _want_, but because they _must_. The law of conscription +in Germany and in France applies to them as to others. + +Surely these might have been left out of the call, or at any rate +might have been left free to respond or not as their conscience +dictated, as was the case in England. The consequence is that hundreds +if not thousands of churches are left without their spiritual leaders, +and everywhere the flock is destitute of the shepherd's care. + +I said "a distressing thing," but is it not a tragedy? And if they +should meet--these Christian ministers--across the trenches or in the +line of battle, and minister shoot minister, or perforce meet him in a +bayonet charge! + +But there is a brighter side even to this dark picture. There are +twenty thousand priests, "religious," and seminarists serving in the +French Army. Among them are three bishops. Monsignor Ruch, coadjutor +of Nancy, is one; he is employed as a stretcher-bearer. Another, +Monsignor Perros, is a sub-lieutenant; and the third, Monsignor +Mourey, is simply Private Mourey in the ranks. It is quite an ordinary +thing for confessions to be heard by soldier priests in the trenches, +and for absolution to be given before the charge. Protestant +ministers, too, fighting in the ranks never forget they _are_ +ministers, and their ministry may be even more effective than that of +the chaplains, for are they not comrades too? Thus the armies are +leavened by Christian men, whose supreme business must be the Kingdom +of God. + +A beautiful story comes to us from the early days of the war. In the +hall of a great railway terminus in Paris, a number of wounded were +laid out on straw waiting to be taken to a hospital. Several of them +had evidently not long to live. One especially was very restless, and +a nurse moved to his side, and began to do what she could for him. + +"I badly want a priest," moaned the dying man. + +The nurse looked round upon the company of wounded. + +"Is there a priest here?" she asked. A voice in little more than a +whisper replied: + +"Yes, Sister, I am a priest. Take me to him." + +There he lay at the point of death, wounded and wounded sorely. It was +a strange sight--his dirty ragged uniform not yet removed, the stains +of war and of awful travel from the front upon his face, and he a +priest! + +"Take me to him," he repeated. + +She said: "You are not fit to be moved, I dare not do it." And then +insistently he whispered: + +"Sister, you are of the faith. You know what it means to the dying +lad. I must go." + +He tried to rise from the straw on which he lay, and seeing his +determination the nurse had him moved to the dying soldier's side. A +few whispered words of confession, and the priest motioned to the +Sister. + +"I cannot raise my arm. Help me to make the sign," he said. + +The Sister lifted his arm and together they made the sign of the +cross. And then, exhausted, the soldier priest fell back. His comrade +felt for his hand, clasped it in his dying grasp, and together priest +and penitent passed away. + +Thus heroically are many French priests doing a double work, at once +fighting for their country and for their faith. + +It is the same with French Protestant ministers. All of military age +have had to go. The President of the French Wesleyan Conference, the +Rev. Emile Ullern, is fighting as a private soldier in the French +Army, and many another. Two-fifths of the pastors of the Reformed +Church of France are also in the ranks. Already three of them, plus a +missionary and a most promising theological student, one of the +Monod's, have fallen on the battle-field. Our French churches are +without pastors, and the work of many years is seemingly being ruined. +But their members are at the front too, and it is a joy if, now and +then, they meet and are able to comfort one another in the firing +line. + +It is the same in Germany. Already we hear of one German Methodist +minister who has fallen at the front--Rev. Friedrich Roesch, Ph.D. He +graduated brilliantly in philosophy and languages at Strasburg +University. He then offered for missionary work and rendered excellent +service among the Mohammedans of Northern Africa. He had a good +knowledge of Arabic and had learned two other African languages. Now a +British or French bullet, or shrapnel shell, has cut short his career. + +This is the grim tragedy of this awful war--Christian fighting +Christian, Christian minister fighting Christian minister. + +Our business, however, is with the _British_ army and with Christian +work therein. Our task is a difficult one, for the veil of secrecy +which enveloped the early days of the war has hardly as yet been +lifted. Only here and there has that veil been raised just a little, +but wherever we are privileged to gaze we are filled with admiration. +The work of our chaplains and doctors and nurses has been heroic, and +the no less noble work of Christian soldiers fills us with +thanksgiving. + +The war began with retreat. That apparently invincible German army +strode ruthlessly through Belgium, leaving fire and rapine and death +in its track. It found a garden, and it left a wilderness; prosperity, +and it left starvation. It will be remembered for all time for +barbarities that disgraced war. Belgian mothers will tell their +children, and the story will be passed down the ages, of broken hearts +and ruined lives, and a tortured devastated land. + +And then, the devoted little army of Belgium thrown upon one side, the +clash of war began in France. Our British Expeditionary Force had been +rushed across the Channel with General Sir John French in command. +With marvellous efficiency it had crossed without a single casualty, +convoyed by British and French men-of-war. With the forces went the +chaplains of the different denominations, their numbers to be steadily +augmented throughout the war. + +But the French were not ready, and our force was all too small for the +task allotted to it. To our eternal credit, we also were not ready. +Our Army did the work of heroes, but the huge German Army steadily +marched on, and there was nothing to be done but retire. When the full +story of the retreat from Mons comes to be written, what grim reading +it will make! + +Of course, in those desperate days all that the chaplains could do +was to look after the wounded and bury the dead. Organised services +were out of the question. A few men gathered here or there at the +close of a terrible march, a prayer or two, a message of cheer or +consolation, and then a brief sleep, and the inevitable weary march +again, the rear-guard fighting all the way. But all day long there +were opportunities of individual service and these were used to the +full. + +From the publications of the Salvation Army we get a vivid picture of +those days. Being an international institution it had, and still has, +its agents in every part of the fighting area. Germans, Russians, +French, Belgians, and British are all the same to it--they are men who +need salvation. It has been as vigorous in its work among Germans as +among any others, and its trophies won upon German battle-fields will +be bright jewels in our Redeemer's crown. + +Brigadier Mary Murray, who rendered signal service during the South +African war, and who wears the South African medal, was in Brussels +when the Germans entered the city. She gives us a vivid picture of her +experiences in connexion with the German occupation. I quote from the +_War Cry_ of September 12, 1914: + +"At last I am able to write. Twelve days of silence, no post, no +papers, nothing but such news as the Germans cared to put up, and all +the time a sound of heavy firing. + +"We reached Brussels last Tuesday week. The first impression was of a +town _en fete_. The streets, even the poorest, were gay with bunting +and flags; on every side black, orange, and red caught one's eye. + +"In trying to get an extra man officer for our party we were still in +Brussels on Thursday, and by twelve o'clock found ourselves German +prisoners. Every house in the better part of the town was closed and +the windows shuttered. The empty streets at twelve o'clock gave one a +horrid chill, but by four o'clock dense masses of people watched the +German Army pass. Old men, young men, bare-headed women, women with +hobble skirts, but one and all holding tiny dogs in their arms! +Behind, the cafes were in full swing. + +"Hour after hour the 4th German army corps rolled along the cobble +streets, a solid grey line of burly men and magnificent horses. I +turned from watching and saw a boy in the act of throwing a +heavily-weighted belt dragged away by two policemen. In the cafes men +were drinking the inevitable beer and playing cards. I turned again. +Still on they came, cavalry, artillery, and infantry--a man to my +right in French said, 'One of these men told me they knew they were +going to their death.' Just then a cavalry man, catching sight of my +uniform, very courteously and gravely saluted me, saying, 'Heils +Armee' (Salvation Army). + +"The next day--still the army passing through,--a gunner, bending +down, said, 'Heils Armee--Hallelujah!' Wild rumours throughout the +town; atmosphere electric, a single act of violence, and one felt the +Germans would have opened fire. Notices were posted all over the town +imploring the people to be calm; every day, often all day, we tried +for a way to get out, but without a ray of hope; day after day +refugees arrived with tales of misery and horror. + +"My diary runs: 'All cafes to be closed early. Germans send for +quicklime to cover their dead. 7000 wounded arrive--all Germans. +Germans posted notices to-day: "English badly beaten; French +retreated." Threatened to sack Brussels. No milk, no bread, no eggs, +no butter. We were mobbed to-day, as the rumour had spread that +Brussels had been betrayed by the English. Notice out not to touch +water, as German dead were lying in great numbers unburied near +Mallien.'" + +From Brussels Brigadier Murray made her way to Le Havre. The scenes +she witnessed among the flying Belgians were terrible. One picture +will ever live in her memory--and ours. + +"A woman who had to fly at night from her village had to do so with +three tiny children; the baby she put into her apron with some +clothing, the other two she carried. Through the darkness she had to +walk to the junction, where ensued a wild scramble for seats. When the +train had started the distracted woman discovered that the baby had +dropped from her apron, when and where no one could discover." + +Later Brigadier Murray has had charge of the first ambulance sent out +by the Salvation Army. + +The bravery of these women Salvation Army officers is past +description. + +During the battle of Mons Adjutant L. Renaud, a French-Swiss officer, +was in charge of the Salvation Army corps at Quaregnon, near Mons. She +tells us her experiences during those fearful days. + +"Here in Quaregnon it has been terrible--beyond all expression. More +than 300 houses have been destroyed, and many civilians killed, not +only men and women, but also children, _but none of our Salvation +Army comrades has been touched_. We have been protected in a +marvellous manner. We can say with David, 'The Angel of the Lord +encampeth around those that fear Him and plucks them out of danger' +(French translation). God has done that for us. The battle continued +from Sunday morning at eleven o'clock to Monday evening. The +bombardment did not cease a moment; while it was on we had thirty of +our comrades with their little children in our large cellar." + +We understand that the officers got possession of this house with the +large cellar last year. The hall is on the ground floor. In their +former house there was no cellar. The adjutant proceeds: + +"I am so glad that I remained at my post, to aid and encourage not +only my Salvation Army comrades, but also the population. The people +were completely panic-stricken. I do not know how it has happened, but +the Lord has enabled me to rest in a great calm and without any fear. +Lieutenant and I have been enabled to go amongst the people, +comforting them and taking help to them even when the balls have +whistled by our ears. Oh, how God has protected us! That night of +August 23 will never be forgotten by me. + +"The day after the battle--what horrible sights! Dead bodies in the +streets, the wounded, and from all sides poor maddened people flying +to save themselves with their little children--all the people weeping. +I could never describe what I have seen. How is it possible that such +things could take place in this age of education? And now the misery +is here for the poor workers. It is already seven weeks since the men +(colliers) could work. The food has been seized and more often than +not wasted by the German troops. The future is very dark for these +poor people. + +"When the English soldiers came here the Lieutenant and I prepared tea +for them while they dug trenches. After the battle, when the Germans +came, we lodged many of them in our hall and did what we could for +them. Then I thought of all our dear Salvationists who are in the +different armies--English, German, French, Austrian, Russian, Belgian. +Oh, how glad I am that I remained at my post to help my comrades! On +the Sunday during the bombardment the cry went forth, 'Let all those +save themselves who can do so!' I went outside to see if there was any +serious danger. Then I said to the people, 'Come with us in the hall; +I will take care of you as much as I can.' They came, and were content +to be with their officers. They said, 'If it be necessary for us to +die, well, we will be with our officers; it will be better for us to +be with them.' Thus they remained with us, and God has protected all. +Blessed be His Holy Name!" + +Adjutant Renaud and her Lieutenant, however, were not the only women +Salvation Army officers who stuck to their posts. They all did so, +nerving themselves with the strength of Christ, and daring all things +in His name. And to-day many of them are still working in Belgian and +French towns overrun by German troops doing their best for Christ and +the Kingdom. + +It is time, however, that we rejoined the British troops who by this +time are retreating from Mons. There had been terrible fighting around +Mons for four days, but the opposing forces were overwhelming, and +they had no option but to retire fighting a rear-guard action all the +way. The retreat began on or about August 24, 1914, not three weeks +after the declaration of war. It was a pitiful experience for our +soldiers who are not accustomed to turn their backs to the foe. + +It is not our purpose to tell the story of that awful retreat--other +books will do that. Nor is it possible as yet to tell in full the +story of the Christian work attempted during the hurried marching of +those fearful times. In the first place commissioned chaplains are not +permitted as yet to publish reports, and in the second place all work +attempted was necessarily unorganised and fragmentary. It could be +nothing more than caring for the wounded and whenever possible burying +the dead. + +The horrors of the retreat can only be known by those who experienced +them, and there was little light amid the darkness of apparent +failure. It must be remembered that our men were fighting all the +time, sometimes it seemed to them succeeding, but really only +succeeding in allowing the main body to retreat to the rear. For +twelve days the retreat continued and did not terminate until +Saturday, September 5. + +Here and there we get a little light in the darkness. The _War Cry_ of +September 19 contains a story from the pen of a motor driver in the +R.F.A., who was also a Salvation Army bandsman, which has to do with +the battle more than the retreat, but which may as well be told here, +leaving a description of some incidents in the retreat itself to +follow later. + +"We got everything ready for the enemy, the trenches dug and the guns +fixed, and then came the worst job of all--waiting. For thirty-six +hours we lay there watching and listening for the first sign of the +Germans. Then for five hours the battle lasted without cessation. + +"Having brought my transport wagons up to the firing lines with my +motor, I had to help load the guns. Shells were flying and bursting +all round us. I was wounded by a splinter from one of the shells, but +as it was only a flesh wound I bound it up and went on with my work. + +"Now, the enemy seemed to be beating us, then again they retreated. +All the time my comrades were falling around me, and the Germans were +falling in hundreds too. So thick were the enemy's dead that when the +advance was given we simply had to force the motor up and over heaps +of bodies--there was nothing else for it. + +"At last the battle, so far as the batteries in our neighbourhood were +concerned, went in our favour, and we were ordered to follow the +retreating Germans. In doing this six of us got lost, and for four +days we were tramping about without a mouthful of food or drink! + +"By day we lay concealed in the corn or grass fields, and by night we +crept along, without any guide, only hoping and praying--I've prayed +many times in the past, but never so much as on these nights--that all +would come right. + +"On the first day we were fairly well, on the second we were _very_ +hungry, on the third our tongues were hanging out, and two of my +comrades went mad. + +"On the fourth night we fell in with a British ambulance section and +were taken into camp. As I was passing an ambulance tent I heard some +one singing: + + 'I'm a child of a King, + I'm a child of a King, + With Jesus my Saviour, + I'm a child of a King.' + +I asked who it was, and was told it was a Salvationist. + +"In the stillness of another night from one of the tents I heard-- + + 'Then we'll roll the old chariot along, + And we won't drag on behind.' + +"I tell you it was thrilling; it made me dance for joy. Two or three +Salvationists were having a Free and Easy; after the chorus had been +sung once or twice I heard it taken up by other Salvationists in other +tents, and presently from many parts of the camp could be heard the +old Salvation Army song. It was splendid! + +"My, didn't the old verse go with a swing-- + + 'If the Devil's in the way + We'll roll it over him!' + +By this time the whole camp had joined in. Some of the +non-Salvationists would sing it with a slight change. + +"Another favourite with us Salvationists was the last verse of 'I'm a +child of a King'-- + + 'A tent or a cottage what need I fear, + He's building a palace for me over there.' + +"I was unable to get to chat with any of the Salvationists, because if +you want to go from one battery to another you have to get permission. +But one night I did go and listen outside one of the tents to their +singing. It cheered me only to know I was near some of my comrades. I +learned that the Salvationists in camp came from various parts of +England, some were bandsmen, some local officers, and others soldiers. +I didn't hear that any had been wounded beyond myself, although the +comrade I heard singing in the ambulance tent was in all probability +injured!" + +But now for the retreat itself! The passage I quote is from the pen of +the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins, as printed in the _Methodist Recorder_. + +Mr. Watkins had already seen much war service. He was in Crete. He +accompanied the British Army to Khartoum and was present at the battle +of Omdurman. He went through the South African war and was shut up in +Ladysmith during the siege. He knows what campaigning is, and he knows +how to describe what he sees. When this war broke out he was attached +to the 14th Field Ambulance, in command of which was Lieut.-Colonel +G.S. Crawford. The personnel of the ambulance consisted of nine +medical officers, one quartermaster, two chaplains--Rev. D.P. +Winnifrith (Church of England) and himself (Wesleyan)--and 240 +non-commissioned officers and men. His full description of the retreat +is as fine a piece of writing as I remember to have seen in connexion +with this war. + +"On we tramped through Maretz, our destination being, we were told, +Estrees. Never a halt or a pause, though horses dropped between the +shafts, and men sat down exhausted by the roadside. A heavy gun +overturned in a ditch, but it was impossible to stay to get it out, so +it was rendered useless, and the disconsolate gunners trekked on. +When horses could draw their loads no longer, the loads were cast by +the roadside; there could be no delay, for the spent and weary +infantry were fighting in our rear, and every moment's delay had to be +paid for in human lives. + +"Darkness fell and still we marched--I dozed in the saddle to waken +with a start, but still nothing but the creak and rumble of waggons +and guns, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of men. I cannot give a +connected account of that night--it lives in my memory like an awful +but confused nightmare--the overpowering desire for sleep, the +weariness and ache of every fibre of one's body, and the thirst. I had +forgotten to be hungry, had got past food; but I thirsted as I had +only thirsted once before, and that was in the desert near Khartoum. + +"About midnight we reached Estrees, and I asked a staff officer where +the 14th Field Ambulance was camped. 'Camped!' he exclaimed. 'Camped! +Nobody camps here. Orders are changed and there must be no halt.' +Then, as an afterthought, 'What Ambulance did you say?' 'Number 14.' +'Do you belong to it?' 'Yes.' 'Then I congratulate you, for if reports +are true, you are all that is left of it: it is said to have been +wiped out by shell fire.' I said I thought the reports were, to say +the least, exaggerated, and rode on. + +"Shortly after I heard a familiar voice also asking for the 14th Field +Ambulance. It was Major Fawcett, R.A.M.C, who, like myself, had been +detached from the Ambulance on special duty. We greeted each other +with joy, and for the rest of that awful march had company. + +"At last we felt we could go no further (remember, in the last four +days we had only ten hours' sleep, and three proper meals), and were +in danger of dropping out of our saddles from exhaustion. So we +dismounted, sat by the roadside holding our horses, and at once were +fast asleep. + +"Two hours later we wakened, dawn was just breaking over the hills, +and still the column creaked and groaned its way along the road, more +asleep than awake, but still moving. A wonderful triumph of will over +human frailty. But at how great a cost to nerve and vitality was +revealed by one look at the faces of the men. + +"I was noticing how worn and gaunt my companion was looking, and was +about to remark upon it, but the same thought was in his mind and he +forestalled me. 'Isn't it wonderful how quickly this sort of thing +tells upon a man? You know, Padre, you look as though you had just got +up from a serious illness, and only three days ago you looked as hard +as nails, and as fit as a man could be.' + +"Soon after sunrise we came up with two of our ambulance waggons and +one of our filter water-carts. The wounded were in such a state of +exhaustion with the long trek, and the awful jolting of the waggons, +that Major Fawcett decided to halt and make some beef-tea for them, so +rode on ahead to find some farm where water could be boiled. He had +hardly gone when a battalion of exhausted infantry came up with us, +and as soon as they saw the water-cart, made a dash for it. + +"Hastily I rode up to them, explained that there was very little water +left in the cart, and that little was needed for their wounded +comrades. + +"'I'm thirsty myself,' I said, 'and I'm awfully sorry for you chaps, +but you see how it is, the wounded must come first.' + +"'Quite right, sir,' was the ready response. 'Didn't know it was a +hospital water-cart,' and without a murmur they went thirsty along +their way." + +Soon the retreat was renewed and steadily they marched to the rear +until St. Quentin was reached, where they got their first wash and +actually eight hours' sleep. Then on again--back, back, always back. +The River Aisne was passed, soon to be regained and made memorable by +a brilliant fight. But now it was all retreat. Day after day, night +after night they trekked. The days were tropical, the nights arctic. +Often it was too cold to sleep, though sleep was needed badly. + +At last, on Saturday, September 5, they reached Tournan, south of +Paris, and were informed that the retreat was over, and that they +would ere long turn to attack the foe who had so ruthlessly followed +them. + +The men were not down-hearted even through that awful march. +Down-hearted? No! They were always asking when they could get "a bit +of their own back." Their one desire was to turn and face their enemy. +This was a retreat, not a defeat. The men were ragged, bearded, +footsore, unkempt, but were unconquered and unconquerable. The spirit +of their country burned in them and blazed through their eyes, and +when the message of Sir John French came thanking them for their +magnificent courage and promising them a share in the rounding up, +they cheered until they could cheer no longer. + + * * * * * + +When Sir John French published his first list of names for honourable +mention, the names of seven chaplains were "mentioned in Despatches." +And among the seven the name of the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins was +mentioned twice. + +No Parade services--they were out of the question,--hardly any short +unofficial services such as we grew accustomed to during the South +African War. Just a hearty handshake, a "God bless you," a whispered +text, or a hearty word of cheer, but the ministry to the wounded +always, and wherever possible the burial of the dead. No more is +possible in such a retreat. But the Christian soldier is cheered by +the sight of his chaplain. His "494" is never forgotten, and as he +passes along the lines of the wounded they look up and call him +blessed. + +Thank God, the Cross is always where there is suffering and death, and +never is it needed more than on the stricken field, or in such a +retreat as "The Retreat from Mons." + + [Illustration: "IT'S A LONG, LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY."] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AT THE FIGHTING BASE + + Commissioned Acting Chaplains--All Creeds Participate--Stories + of Christian Workers at the Fighting Base--Pluck, a Miracle + Worker--A Whole Regiment Praying--More Chaplains' Stories--The + French Mayor's Speech--Protestant Service in a Roman Catholic + Church--An Old-Fashioned "Revival"--The Cross upon the Field + of War--A Hospital Confirmation Scene--Y.M.C.A. at the + Fighting Base--The Story of the German Sniper. + + +Perhaps this is the best time to say a word about religious +ministrations in the Army. + +When a soldier enlists he is expected to "declare" his "religion." +Time was when only two forms of religion were recognised in the +Army--the Church of England and Roman Catholic. A recruit was asked, +"What are you? Church or Catholic?"--that was how it was shortly put. +But that day has gone by, and now all the chief religious +denominations are recognised, and the men--to the extent I have +already indicated--have the ministration of the chaplains of their own +churches. This some officers at first fail to recognise. + +The story goes that a captain, who had recently changed regiments and +had not as yet become acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of his new +command, was surprised at the small muster for Church of England +Parade. "You see," explained the sergeant-major, "we've sixteen Roman +Catholics, twelve Wesleyans, six Primitive Methodists, two Jews, and +four Peelin' Purtaties!" + +The Church of England, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian chaplains hold +commissions in the Army. The Wesleyans, although commissions have +repeatedly been offered, prefer to keep their ministers under their +own control. Their ministers become "Acting Chaplains," and, as I have +already indicated, during the present war for the first time, the +other Free Churches have been recognised in the same way. When, +however, war breaks out, all the chaplains, commissioned and acting, +are on the same footing, are attached to some unit, and are under its +commanding officer. They all wear uniform, and the only way to +distinguish the "Padre" from the ordinary officer is by the black +shoulder-knots and the cross on his hat. + +At the head of the Chaplaincy Department is Bishop Taylor-Smith, the +Chaplain-General. He is a powerful preacher, a good administrator, a +broad-minded man, and eminently fitted for his high position. But he +remains at home during this war, for the Chaplaincy Department has +become a big thing, and only very occasionally can he pay visits to +the front. + +The chaplain in charge of the Army work at the front is the Rev. Dr. +J.M. Simms (Presbyterian), one of the chaplains who also have the +distinction of being Hon. Chaplains to the King. It shows how catholic +the Army authorities are, and how little they allow their sympathies +to be with any one church, that the man in charge of the chaplains of +all the churches is a Presbyterian. He takes this position by virtue +of seniority, for Dr. Simms has seen long and varied service; but +never before has any other than an Anglican clergyman found himself in +command. + +The senior Church of England chaplain is the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, +who served with distinction throughout the South African War and was +among those shut up in Ladysmith. + +Chaplains have military status. The Chaplain-General ranks as +Major-General, Dr. Simms as Brigadier, and the others as Colonels, +Majors, or Captains. They do not use their title of military rank. + +As Bishop Taylor-Smith says: "There are no flouts or sneers against +the Sky Pilot in the Army of to-day. Quite the reverse; for does he +not bring them comfort and courage, and that quiet confidence which a +man of great moral might can implant in the most irreligious mind?... +Sometimes one hears grumbles at having to salute civilians 'dressed up +as officers,' but never a word against the Army chaplain--the Padre." + +In an interview reported in the _Daily Chronicle_, Bishop Taylor-Smith +goes on to say: "Chatting with a senior Army chaplain who had been at +the front from the beginning, I was not surprised to hear that he had +not once received a snub, for his story confirmed the remarks made to +me by Tommy Atkins himself. Down there in the bleak desolation of mud +and morass, with death hurtling through the grey sky, one is face to +face with the Unknown, and the man who in his native town never sets +foot in church, turns with gratitude to the chaplain to strengthen him +with the comfort of God.... All Protestant creeds are one in the +fighting line. If an Anglican minister is not at hand, a Presbyterian +speaks a few words, and all of the Protestant denominations work hand +and glove.... Only for Holy Communion in the field does he wear his +surplice, and usually he invites all, the unconfirmed, or even those +of other creeds, to participate, for any minute may mean death out +there." + +I can bear this out from personal knowledge. There is much less +distinction between the denominations in the Army at home than one +would expect, but in the "field" they rejoice in the grand old title +of Christian, and on occasion each does the other's work. + +Every day is a Sunday, so far as the chaplain is concerned. He takes a +service when and where he can. He cannot have too many, and the men +readily respond to his call. + +At the fighting base, however, his most important work lies in the +hospital. Here he is sorely needed. The men want him more than they +ever did in their lives. And it is his to hear their last words and to +tell them of the peace of God. + +We must remember that the fighting base is an ever-moving base, moved +according to the exigencies at the front, now forward, now back. It is +many miles behind the firing line, far from the sound though not the +sights of war. Here are Headquarters, where the brains of the Army do +their responsible work. To Headquarters comes information from every +available source. The telegraph and telephone instruments tick and +ring all day long. Motor cyclists bring their store of knowledge, and +aeroplanes, most important of all informants, dispense their news. + +Here, also, somewhere among the miles that measure the fighting base, +are the base hospitals, where the cases that cannot at once be sent to +the homeland are received and cared for; and here, also, are soldiers +on their way to the front, or those who--retired from the +trenches--are resting until their turn comes to go back. + +It will be seen, therefore, that the term fighting base is a very +elastic one. It stands for that wide area behind the advanced lines, +where all but the fighting work is done. + +Now, let us get among the Christian workers and see what they are +doing there. + +We are impressed with their magnificent opportunity. The men who have +been fighting know what it means. They have looked the king of terrors +in the face, and they feel the need of a Saviour as never before. The +men who, as yet, have not been to the front cannot escape an +indefinable dread, and they, too, are ready for the gospel message. +While the wounded--suffering, and maybe drawing near to death--eagerly +drink in the words of life. + +We will listen to some of the chaplains as they tell their own tale. + +We will begin with the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, of the United Free +Church of Scotland. Writing to the _Record_, the organ of that church, +he begins by emphasizing the splendid character of the men of the +Expeditionary Force. He says (November 3, 1914): + +"Of 200,000 men forming the Expeditionary Force only 366 are in +prison--one man out of every 546. That statement proves the clean +character of the force. Of these 366 men in prison we find that the +number penalised for yielding to the sins about which Lord Kitchener +warned the troops before they left for overseas is (according to the +official returns) one man in 5000. Only one man in 5000 is worthy of +contempt. The rest are in gaol for reasons which stir not wrath but +pity." + +This is a remarkable statement, and when we consider the strain that +these men have experienced, and the reasons for their failure as given +by Mr. Adams--breaking ranks to seize a bunch of fruit, falling asleep +on "sentry-go" and the rest,--the wonder is that there have not been +many more. We do not wonder that he adds: "British soldiers have a +good name and a good character in this country, and it is well that +this be placed to their credit by the people of the Christian Church." + +Like all the chaplains at the base, Mr. Adams finds his chief +opportunity in the hospitals. He says: + +"At the base there are nine hospitals, some in public buildings, some +in tents out on the plain. Of these nine hospitals, some are filled +with British wounded, others with British and French, and the fellow +soldiers of both--Turcos, Senegalese, Belgians, Indians. The +chaplain's work is principally there, going from ward to ward and tent +to tent, talking on all subjects from the war to the Word of God, +writing letters, or getting those angels of mercy, the nursing +sisters, to write for men too crippled to write. + +"As he goes on his way the Padre distributes out of his well-filled +haversack gifts which have come from kind-hearted people at home.... A +fig, a handful of raisins, a packet of 'Woodbines' (greatest of all +luxuries in the opinion of 'Tommies' and 'Jocks'), a box of matches, +an old illustrated paper, a little bottle of perfume, or a little bag +of perfume for the uneasy and restless. These are some of the contents +of the wonderful haversack, and words cannot express the value of the +good things. The men look on them as love-tokens from home. + +"These men deserve our best care. They are brave in suffering as they +have been in service. Their pluck is extraordinary, and the instances +I now put down in my note-book prove the assertion. + +"In one of the field hospitals there are two men in the same tent, and +occupying beds next to each other. One man has had his left leg +amputated above the knee, the other his right leg. Both are recovering +and are as happy as sand boys. 'Good job, sir,' says one, 'it isn't +the same leg with both of us. One pair of boots will do between us +when we are allowed to get up.' + +"In another tent lies a 'Jock' shot in the back in two places, and +with his left arm shattered by shrapnel. He, too, is mending and +developing an alarming appetite for theological argument. Pluck, the +doctor says, is a miracle-worker here. + +"In a third tent is a lad with paralysis, the result of a bullet wound +in the region of the spine. He believes he will recover and says he +must hurry up, as no other fellow in the regiment can valet the +Colonel as he can.... + +"As a rule the wounded are eager for the chaplain's visit. They want a +talk, and very often the talk turns steadily to the thing that counts. +Men are not ashamed to discuss religion, and get to the subject often +without much manoeuvring. That is not surprising. Very many have been +in the Valley of the Shadow, and they tell you that they found God +there. 'One' was with them--they cannot explain it, but they remember +it. And a soldier is a strong partisan. The hard fact is that God was +with them, and now they want to tell you what God is to them. + +"One lad (he is little more than a boy in years) said to me when he +was telling me all about the battle of the Aisne, where he was +wounded: + +"'I never knew before then what it was to pray. Of course, I had +learnt to say my prayers, but I never really prayed till that day at +the Aisne. We all went into the battle singing "You made me do it, I +didn't want to do it," but when we got in the trenches it was like +hell. You should have seen some men dropping on their knees and +praying. Why, the whole regiment seemed to be praying. I know I was +praying, and somehow I felt better, and I've prayed every night +running since.' + +"That plain tale is the parable of many an awakening. It is the +parable of the soldiers' need and vision and faith. They have seen +something, and that something which is responsible for the question +they so frequently ask, 'What is it like at home? Are the people at +home praying? Are they praying for us doing our bit out here, or are +they still going on the old way?'... + +"The other day I was acting chaplain at the funeral of a 'Jock,' aged +twenty-eight, who leaves a widow and three little children amongst +that great company at home weeping for their beloved dead. + +"The night before he died I said, 'Good-night, boy, I'll be in to see +you early to-morrow morning.' + +"The poor fellow knew he might not last till morning; and as I turned +away he tried to raise himself and salute, and then he said: + +"'Good-night, sir, and God bless you! and if I'm gone, sir, remember +I'm all right--all right. Send my love to Janet and the bairns, and +tell them I'll be waiting for them.' + +"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. These men are our heroes and God's +own children." + +Yes, that is the universal testimony--"brave in suffering as they have +been brave in service." Grand lads these, and we shall never forget +what they have done for us. + +My difficulty in this chapter is to select out of the mass of material +to hand stories which will best illustrate the work which is being +done. Much will necessarily have to be put upon one side. + +I will turn next to the Rev. Richard Hall. For many years he had been +at the head of the Welcome Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Chatham, and +in this position had done most effective service for the men. The +Chatham Wesleyan Central Hall is also his creation, and in it he had +led hundreds of sailors and soldiers to Christ. No truer friend of the +soldier and no more efficient worker is to be found with the men. + +He, too, tells us something of hospital work at the fighting base. I +quote from the _Methodist Times_. + +"One night," he says, "as I was going my rounds, my attention was +directed to a man who was in delirium. I knelt down to hear what he +was saying. His mind was dwelling on his boyish days. He was +repeating-- + + 'Hark, hark, hark, while infant voices sing + Loud hosannas to our King.' + +And then he uttered a name--it was the name of 'Peter Thompson.' This +man had evidently when a boy attended our East End Mission, and had +known Peter Thompson. I buried him in the little cemetery close by. + +"It was All Saints' Day, a great festival in France, the time when +friends visit the graves of their departed loved ones, and place +thereon flowers. It was a beautiful morning, scores of people were +there, and by invitation of the Mayor, as many officers from the +hospital as could be spared were present also. The funeral service was +combined with the celebration. I conducted the funeral first. At the +close the Mayor made the speech, a copy of which I enclose. + +"'Ladies and Gentlemen,--Often have I been proud to state that many of +you have considered it a duty and a patriotic devotion to accompany to +their last resting-place the glorious remains of our Allies who have +fallen on the field of honour, and to show your fraternal friendship +in bringing flowers, a spontaneous testimonial, but ephemeral, which +we will confirm later by a commemorative monument, and we shall put it +up together on this ground of supreme rest. + +"'In the name of the Municipal Council of Boisguillaume, ladies and +gentlemen, I thank you one and all. + +"'English officers and soldiers,--Be assured we shall never forget +here your brothers in arms. The people of Boisguillaume will make it +their duty to watch over these glorious remains you trust to their +care, and they will regard it as a perpetual honour. + +"'When later they bring the younger generation to bow to these graves, +they will ask them to remember for ever that the men who rest here +have shed their blood for France and England, in union of heart with +the civilised nations, in order to fight against the invasion of our +land by the barbarian hordes who are desirous of exterminating justice +and right, our genius and our civilisation. + +"'Glory to you, noble heroes, who for the sake of a sacred cause have +sworn to defend France unto death! Carry away with you into eternity +this confidence that you will live for ever in the memory of the +French, who have at present only one heart, one soul, whose gratitude +to you will never fade. + +"'Glory to England! + +"'Farewell.'" + +I have given the Mayor's speech in full, not because such a speech was +exceptional, but because it gathers up into itself the sentiments of +the French nation, and eloquently expresses the reverence felt for our +British dead. + +But not only do British soldiers know how to die, but German soldiers +also. They are our enemies, but it is a pleasure to record that many +of the captured German soldiers have their Bibles with them. Mr. Hall +tells of one who died suddenly. His open Bible was found on his bed; +and John iii. 16--"For God so loved the world "--were the words he had +been reading as he passed into the presence of his Saviour. + +Mr. Hall also tells of a graceful act of kindness on the part of the +Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese. In company with Father +Bradley and the Church of England chaplain, he waited upon the +Archbishop to ask permission to hold Protestant services in the small +but beautiful Roman Catholic church. The Archbishop received them most +kindly and readily gave consent. By the by, Mr. Hall pays a beautiful +tribute to that same Roman Catholic chaplain whose tent he +shared--Father Bradley. He says: "I never met a more gentle and +refined Christian character. His one thought was to serve others, and +he cared nothing for his own discomfort as long as he was helping +someone else." When they parted--for Father Bradley was the first to +go to the front--the Father's last words were, "Hall, don't forget to +pray for me, underneath and round about both of us are the Everlasting +Arms." + +Differing as we do so much from the Roman Catholic Church, it is a +pleasure to record this testimony. + +The services in the Roman Catholic church were conducted by the Church +of England chaplain and Mr. Hall. They were united services, for in +face of danger and death all are one in Christ Jesus. + +The services were fruitful in results as such services must always be. +Not only did large numbers attend, but doubtless the Great Day will +declare that many received the pardon of sin. + +"Padre, did you see me at the service last night?" asked one young +officer of Mr. Hall. + +"I did." + +"Well, do you know that is the first _voluntary_ service I ever +remember attending, and I have made up my mind that from to-day God +shall have the first place in my life?" A fortnight after he said, "I +thank God that I have been a new man since that day I spoke to you." + +That is it--"a new man." God is making "new men" by the hundred, if +not by the thousand, in France and Belgium, and the chaplains are +reverently looking on and praising Him. + +The Rev. W.H. Sarchet tells quite a different, but not less striking, +class of story. It is his privilege to record an old-fashioned +"Revival" at the fighting base. Mr. Sarchet has seen much work among +soldiers and sailors. For eight years he was Wesleyan chaplain at +Gibraltar; for another seven he was chaplain at Devonport; for the +last four he has served in the same capacity at Portsmouth, having +charge of the Duchess of Albany's Soldiers' and Sailors' Home there, +and the services in the Town Hall. + +In a letter to the Rev. John Bell, Mr. Sarchet tells the story of this +remarkable spiritual movement which has been taking place at the +General Hospital, with which he has been serving at the fighting base. +I give the story in his own words as printed in the weekly article by +the Rev. J.H. Bateson in the _Methodist Recorder_. Mr. Bateson is +Secretary of the Wesleyan Army and Navy Board and Ex-Secretary of the +British Army Temperance Association in India. His weekly article is +replete with first-hand information, and that and its corresponding +article in the _Methodist Times_ are a gold mine in which students of +the war may well dig. + +Mr. Sarchet, after referring to the wounded "fresh from the trenches +in all their grime and dirt, torn clothes, broken limbs, and ghastly +wounds," goes on to say: + +"In addition to this really distressing work, I am having some most +delightful camp work experiences. Last Sunday week at my second Parade +service--my first was at 8 A.M. three miles away--I discovered by the +very hearty responses in the prayers that there were some out-and-out +Christian men present. I asked them if they would like a voluntary +service at night. They said they would very much, so we fixed it up +for 6.30 P.M. We had a delightful service just at setting sun. I think +that 'Abide with me,' as that crowd of R.F.A. men, waiting to go up to +the fighting line, sang it, never sounded so beautiful. + +"At the close of the service, we had an after-meeting by moonlight, +and three sought and found Christ. I announced a meeting for Monday +night, and so we have gone on right through the week, and there have +been seekers every night. At the close of this meeting we enlarge the +ring in the centre, and then invite those who have decided to serve +Christ to come right out into the ring before their comrades. + +"It is beautiful clear moonlight, just like day, and out they come one +after another. One never-to-be-forgotten evening we had twenty out. +They kneel down and we pray with them, then close the meeting with +'God be with you till we meet again,' and prayer. Then we take the +names and talk with the soldiers individually. We have enrolled the +names of over eighty men who have come out in this way in the last ten +days. + +"The meetings are having this good effect--finding the Christian men +in the camps around. There are several camps and thousands of +men--reinforcements just waiting for orders to move forward. Night and +day men are coming and going. A Christian officer too heard us singing +and has come and joined us. He has been with us every night when not +on duty." + +Supplementing this story Mr. Sarchet tells of another series of +meetings still proceeding as he wrote. He says: + +"A large number of our mounted men have recently gone forward, so this +week we started in the infantry camp, which is about three miles away. +We had our first open-air service there on October 26. We were only +two when we started, but a great crowd before we finished, with eleven +men out in the ring seeking Christ. This is grand work. The weather +has turned very wintry and wet this week, but the Camp Commandant has +promised me a store tent for our meetings, so we shall go on." + +What wonderful scenes these are when you think of their setting and +the men who were the chief actors! As Mr. Bateson says: "In the Nile +Expedition, in the South African Campaign, in the frontier work in +India, there have been many soldiers who, here and there, have +surrendered their lives to Christ, but this 'Revival' in the British +Expeditionary Force in France is surely unique in the history of war." + +We picture the scene--not a Salvation Army ring in some country town +in England, but crowds of khaki clad soldiers, supposed to be +trifling, light-hearted, devil-may-care. But here they are out in the +open, in full view of hundreds of their comrades, surrounded by great +camps, humbly kneeling in penitence at the Throne of Grace, "owning +their weakness, their evil behaviour," and pleading "God be merciful +to me a sinner." So strangely, yet so powerfully, stands the Cross +upon the field of war. + +Another beautiful little picture is presented to us by Mr. Sarchet in +another letter--a gathering of twenty-six soldier lads on the +afternoon of the Lord's Day. + +"We had a talk about temptation, and then celebrated Holy Communion. +It was all out in the open in a little wooden dell. I had my portable +camp table. It was a very gracious and never-to-be-forgotten time, as +we knelt there on the grass, with a beautiful clear sky overhead. +There seemed absolutely nothing between us and God, and the presence +of the Risen Christ was a great reality. Before next Sunday some who +were there will be fighting in the trenches, but they will carry the +memory of this soul-hallowing time with them." + + [Illustration: BISHOP TAYLOR-SMITH, CHAPLAIN-GENERAL. + Rev. E.L. Watson, Senior Baptist Chaplain at the Front. + Rev. O.S. Watkins, Senior Wesleyan Chaplain at the Front. + Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C., Presbyterian, Principal Chaplain + at the Front. + Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson, Senior Church of England Chaplain at + the Front.] + +So out there in France our soldier lads "do this" in memory of Him +"until He come." + +Before I pass from the record of the directly spiritual work at the +fighting base, let me tell the story of a unique confirmation--a +confirmation without lawn sleeves. Bishop Taylor-Smith was the chief +actor in this strange scene. A Church of England chaplain represented +to him, during his visit to the front, that there were some men in +hospital, badly wounded, who desired confirmation. The Bishop gladly +consented to confirm them. They could not come to him, and so he went +to them. But it was not in his bishop's robes he went. He was on +military duty and he went in his military uniform as major-general. + +There was no attempt to get a congregation. The Bishop was only +attended by a chaplain and Scripture reader. He first went to a ward +where lay two lads side by side, each with his right leg amputated +above the knee. They were simple country lads and they were crippled +for life. Their hearts had been won for Christ, and they desired to +give their lives to Him. The Bishop spoke words of hope and cheer, and +laid his hands upon them. Then he went to another ward where lay a man +with a terrible shrapnel wound in his arm. Him also the Bishop +confirmed. In the next ward were two men--older men these--who had +known agonising pain. Their beds had been brought together, and upon +these also the Bishop laid confirming hands. Then he passed to the +church where the convalescents who desired confirmation could receive +his Church's rite. + +A simple record this, but I fancy we shall search history in vain for +any other story of a bishop in military uniform administering the rite +of confirmation to wounded soldiers. + + * * * * * + +A word about the Y.M.C.A. work at the fighting base. It is being +carried on there much as in England. Wherever possible Camp Homes are +being erected, and the work done in them not only keeps the men out of +temptation, but is the means in many cases of turning their steps +toward Christ and heaven. + +Mr. A.K. Yapp (the General Secretary) has recently paid a visit to +France and reports most cheerily of the work done there. They have +received ready help from both officers and men. In the erection of +Queen Mary's Hut, for instance, every consideration has been +exhibited. Materials have been carted free of charge, and other +important and valuable concessions made, which have proved of the +greatest service. + +The work by the Y.M.C.A. in the Indian hospitals is exceptionally +interesting. Those who are in charge can speak Hindustani, and are +able to render many kindnesses to these brave Eastern fighters. They +cannot, of course, undertake Christian teaching, but they are able to +show the Christian spirit, and the lesson will not be lost on the sick +and wounded Indians. + +The more we study the work of the Y.M.C.A. for our soldiers in this +war, with its branches now grown to nine hundred, the more we shall +agree with the statement of a British officer: "You Y.M.C.A. people +are marvellous." + +And the men--what of the men among whom these chaplains and "Y.M.C.A. +people" and others work? "The men," said General Buller in South +Africa, "are splendid." That is still the verdict--the universal +verdict--they are _splendid_. Everybody loves Thomas Atkins who knows +him; cheerful and kindly, ready to do anyone a good turn, heroic in +action, patient in suffering, tender and chivalrous to women, he has +set us all an example in this war. And he has done with the greatest +ease what some people in this country find it so difficult to +accomplish; he has shown us, as I have already indicated, how to fight +his enemy and to love him too. + +The Rev. Harold J. Chapman, M.A., vouches for the truth of this story +told him in artless fashion by the hero of it. A German sniper was in +a tree some distance from a small company of our men. He wounded one +of our lads, and the pal of the wounded lad, lying not far from him, +said, "I'll have to bring that fellow down, or he'll be hitting _me_ +next." So he took aim and fired, and the German sniper dropped from +the tree wounded. The ambulance that carried to the rear the wounded +British soldier took also the German sniper. + +After some days, to their astonishment they found themselves opposite +each other in the same compartment of the same train. + +"Well, what did you do?" said Mr. Chapman. "Did you hit him?" + +"Oh no! why should I hit him? I couldn't speak his 'lingo,' and he +couldn't speak mine, so I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. Then +I offered him a cigarette, and he offered me one of his, and we were +the best of pals all the journey." + +That is it, the man who had shot the British soldier, and the man who +had been shot by his pal, the best of friends! After all, why should +not nations emulate the example of their soldiers? + +Aye! They have seen suffering--these men--and they have risen superior +to it, and speedily they forget the suffering, but they never forget a +kindness shown. As Private Simmons of the 1st Cameronians says: "I +have seen hell, for I have seen war, and I have seen heaven, for I +have been in hospital." + +They are worth all that is being done for them--these splendid +fellows--and still they go on singing, the words that Mr. Robert +Harkness has recently written for them: + + Sometimes the clouds hang heavy and low, + Nor can we see each step as we go; + No silver lining the cloud doth bestow. + Are we down-hearted? No! + Bravely we march in the battle of life. + Fierce is the conflict, the turmoil, and strife; + Fraught with such peril, danger so rife, + Are we down-hearted? No! No! No! + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE MARNE, THE AISNE, YPRES + + Christian Work during the Fighting--A Monotony of Horrors--A + Brave "Bad Lad"--Strange Places for Worship--No Apples on his + Conscience--Transferred to Flanders--Strangest Spectacle of + the War--Lord Roberts in France--At Dead of Night--A Shell + Stops a Sermon--The University Student. + + +Sunday, September 6, 1914, will be a memorable date for British +soldiers, for it was the day on which the long and perilous retreat +from Mons came to an end, and they once more turned to meet their foe. +It was a day of great rejoicing. They were not privileged to join +together in the worship of God; instead there was constant marching. +But they were advancing now, not retreating, and there was a spring in +their tread, and a glad light in their eyes, which showed of what +stuff they were made, and pronounced them "ready, aye ready." + +As they marched steadily forward, they passed through village after +village devastated by the German troops. Stories of barbarism were +told them which made them clench their hands and set their teeth. Here +and there, however, it was different, and they passed through villages +on some of the doors of which was the notice, "Only defenceless women +and children are here. Do not molest them." It seemed as though when +the German troops had their commanding officer with them, and were +well under control, they regarded the rules of war; but that when they +were detached from the central command and could do more as they +liked, then all the savage in them was let loose. + +At last the Marne was reached and the battle begun. It is no part of +our purpose in this book to describe that and the following battles. +Our business is with the Christian work done in connexion with them, +and only so far as they help to illustrate the work done have we +anything at all to say about the conflicts. For five long days raged +the battle of the Marne, from September 6 to 10 inclusive. During it +deeds of heroism were performed by the hundred which will never be +recorded. + +While it continued but little of a specifically religious character +could be performed by the chaplains. But they were everywhere--with +their men in the front, with the ambulance and stretcher-bearers, +bending over the wounded with words of Christian hope, and when the +darkness fell, burying the dead. They had the perils of the battle, +but none of the excitement of participation. + +Take this as a tribute from the Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins to the work +of the R.A.M.C. I quote from the _Methodist Recorder_. + +"Then the shrapnel swept the road; the bearers scattered in all +directions; for a moment I thought General Rolt and his staff were +wiped out, but all reached cover in safety. For myself, I leaned close +against the high bank, whilst in the bush just above my head rattled +the bullets like rain, and the leaves and twigs fell round me in a +shower, but the danger was not for long. + +"'Stretcher-bearers!' came the shout down the hill, and Major Richards +sprang to his feet and the first squad followed him. My task was for a +time to direct the bearers, and I was filled with admiration as the +men faced the hillside, and what waited for them in the woods above. + +"Remember these were not fighting men who carried arms, and they could +take no cover, for they had the stretcher to carry with its suffering +load. I never admired the Royal Army Medical Corps as I did that day +on the hills above Pisseloup and Montreuil. + +"'Next squad!' I would shout, and without the slightest hesitation or +sign of fear they would take their stretchers and climb the hill. Now +Major Richards was in the road dressing the wounds of those brought +in, and working with equal bravery and almost a surgeon's skill, good +Sergeant-Major Spowage laboured at his side. Later they were joined by +Lieutenant Tasker, R.A.M.C, and still the wounded streamed down the +hills above. + +"How those doctors and orderlies worked! That day at the cross-roads +near Pisseloup, I saw some of the best work done that has ever been +accomplished in the field, and none seemed to realise that they were +doing anything out of the ordinary." + +When night fell, Rev. D.P. Winnifrith and Rev. O.S. Watkins did work +similar to that which other chaplains were doing elsewhere on the +field. We have their record, but must wait for that of the others. +What a picture it is upon which we gaze! Aye, and not only at night, +but next day following the advancing British troops. + +Here and there is a wounded soldier who has lain for hours in the +rain. Their sufferings must have been horrible. And here and there, +nay, all around, the dead. They buried them in fields, in gardens, in +orchards and vineyards, sometimes singly, sometimes in twos and +threes--in one grave two officers and eighteen men. But we draw a +curtain over the scene. It will soon become a monotony of horrors. Let +us hasten on. + +The Marne won, the next line of battle was the Aisne. + +Here I pause to relate a little incident variously reported in the +papers. I give it as it came to me first, judging that the first +report is probably the most correct. It dates from some of the fierce +fighting near the banks of the Aisne. + +A village was temporarily evacuated by the British under the pressure +of German troops. In the hurried retreat six or eight British soldiers +were left behind. They took shelter in a cottage, knowing that the +Germans were close upon them. There was a hasty council of war. One of +them was the "bad lad" of the regiment--a drunken ne'er-do-well. He +had his own solution of the problem. + +Said he, "I have never been any good. I never shall be any good. Let +me go and I will try to save you lads. The Germans are upon us. I can +hear them in the street. I will rush out of the house and down the +street. They will see me and they will fire. They will never suppose +that one would run and not the others. They will not trouble to +search, and you will be saved." + +His comrades protested and said they would all die together. But there +was no time to argue. In a moment he was out of the house and down +the street. Shots rang out and the "bad lad" of the regiment fell, +pierced by many bullets. It was as he said. The Germans passed the +house, and for a moment the rest of that little company were saved. + +But the British had received reinforcements. They advanced to the +attack again and the village was cleared of Germans. Then the little +company came out of their hiding-place, reverently lifted the body of +the dead hero who had died for them, and carried it to the rear. They +dug a grave and buried him. Over the grave they placed a rough wooden +cross, and wrote upon it--"He saved others, himself he _would_ not +save." + +They hoped, they said, they were not guilty of blasphemy in altering +and using the historic words, and we, as we quote them, are quite +certain they were not. + +The battle of the Aisne was long drawn out, if that can be described +as a battle which consisted of many days of fierce fighting +culminating in long continued siege warfare in the trenches. During +its continuance there was the same individual ministry, the constant +hair-breadth escapes of chaplains and doctors--not always, however, +for both chaplains and doctors suffered--the same heroic endeavour to +ameliorate suffering and to point the dying to the Saviour. + +Here and there we get glimpses of brief services held behind the +firing line. A brigade at a time would be withdrawn from the trenches +and then was the chaplain's opportunity. We read of a Sunday spent +among these men who had just been facing death. An early communion, +the men kneeling on the straw of a dimly lit barn, a service in the +open-air among men of line regiments and of batteries, a united +service in the evening at which the Rev. D.P. Winnifrith read the +prayers, Colonel Crawford the lessons, and the Rev. O.S. Watkins gave +the address. + +We are told of hurriedly arranged services in the evenings--one in a +cart-shed lit by two hurricane lamps, in which Church of England and +Wesleyan chaplains took part, and Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, a +Wesleyan local preacher, gave the address. Another in a deep cutting, +safe from shell fire, while overhead the guns were booming, but clear +above the noise the music of the hymn--"Blessed assurance, Jesus is +mine." Another, which Lieutenant Grenfell reports, in a farmyard, amid +the neighing of horses and the constant tramp of men. + +Strange places these for the worship of God! But with a heart at rest, +even amid the strife of battle, the Christian turns to God, and there +is a deep longing in the hearts of men who cannot call themselves +Christians for the consolations of religion. + +Corporal Chappell, invalided home with a bullet in his leg, +illustrates this with some touching stories of the battle of the +Aisne. As they advanced to the front the road was for some distance +lined with orchards. The Colonel issued orders that no apples were to +be taken, for, said he, "It would be stealing." One man, however, +could not resist the temptation, and when for a few minutes they +rested, filled his pockets with apples. In a short time they were in +the thick of the battle and shells were falling fast and furious. Out +came the apples from the lad's pockets. He flung them as far from him +as he could. "There, I will not have you on my conscience, anyhow!" he +said. + +Another lad close to Chappell said to him: "Chappell, I have a sort of +feeling I shall not reach home again. I cannot help thinking of my +wife and children." + +"Have you thought of your own soul?" asked Chappell. + +"There is no time for that," was the reply. + +"Oh yes, there is a minute at any rate. Pray, lad, pray! Your wife and +children are in God's hands. Pray for pardon now." + +And so they two went forward praying. A few minutes and a shell almost +annihilated the company, and among the rest the lad who had just been +pleading "God be merciful to me a sinner" was killed. Thank God! no +one ever prays that prayer in vain. + +A few minutes afterwards Corporal Chappell was himself shot in the +leg. As best he could he proceeded to hop into safety. Two men of +another regiment saw him and carried him to the shelter of a cow-shed +and laid him there. It was only some time afterwards that he found +that one of the men who had helped to carry him was only less severely +wounded than himself. The cow-shed was filthy, the pain severe, he +wondered how long he was to lie there alone, and untended. + +"Then," said he, "I remembered that my Lord was born in a stable, and +I just lay still and went to sleep thinking of Him, and I slept on and +on until night fell, and the stretcher-bearers found me and carried me +to the rear." + +Thus these simple lads help their fellows, preach Christ even in the +midst of the battle, and when in sore need themselves, find in the +thought of their Saviour comfort and rest and hope. + +Then came threatenings in Flanders, and the daring plan of a German +advance on Calais. This necessitated the withdrawal of our troops from +the lines of the Aisne to the Yser and their replacement by French +troops on the Aisne. The transference of our troops was accomplished +with the greatest secrecy and skill. It is doubtful if the Germans +were acquainted with the transference until it was accomplished. It is +perhaps one of the greatest deeds of the war, and speaks of supreme +skill and daring on the part of our commander. + +The soldiers took it all in good part. "Over incredibly bad roads, +often up to the boot tops in mud, they marched with a swing that would +have done credit to a Royal Review on Laffan's Plain, and as they +marched they chanted their war-song, 'It's a long, long way to +Tipperary.' It seemed hardly possible that for three solid months they +had been fighting without a single day's rest. As they crossed the +Belgian frontier their spirits rose. 'This is better than the last +time we crossed it, isn't it, sir? Then we was on the run, having got +more than we wanted at Mons, but now the boot's on the other leg. Now +if we could only capture 'Kaiser Bill,' or even 'Old one o'clock' +(General von Kluck), we might get home for our Christmas dinners after +all.'" + +Then followed the battle of Ypres, the bloodiest battle of the winter +campaign, and one of the most critical engagements of the war. It was +now cold--bitterly cold. Rain and snow--snow and rain! The trenches +became almost uninhabitable. Frost-bite among the men became common. +Many were invalided to the base suffering from rheumatism. All that +could be done for the men was done. Warm goat-skin coats were served +out, and the men looked more like Teddy Bears than soldiers. Charcoal +braziers were sent to the trenches, and, most important of all, the +men were well fed. + +It was only a thin line to keep back the German hosts. How thin a line +no one yet is permitted to tell. But it accomplished its task, and by +November 20 reinforcements arrived and the situation for the British +was somewhat relieved. + +All through the series of battles the chaplains had been busy with +their grim work, caring for the wounded and burying the dead. + +"Bit of an attack on, sir," said the pioneer sergeant, "but they're +firing high, and all the bullets are going well overhead; they don't +matter. But there's a sniper who seems to have a line on that grave. +It's so dark that it's certain he can't see us, but he seems to have a +sort of instinct; as sure as we go near the place he begins firing. +There you are, sir; he's at it again. Lucky he ain't a good shot." + +But notwithstanding the sniper, the chaplain buried his dead, and then +tramped back in the darkness with shells falling all around. + +The battles now developed into a sort of siege, and for long drawn-out +months the British and German armies faced each other in the trenches. +By this time the Indian contingent had arrived and their chaplains +with them. + +Then we had the strangest spectacle of the war--Roman Catholics, +Protestants, Hindus, Mohammedans, in all speaking fifteen different +languages, but fighting side by side in a common cause. The fact that, +notwithstanding the proclamation by the Sultan of a Holy War, our +Indian Mohammedan soldiers stood firm by Old England, was a sign that +no longer could Constantinople be reckoned as the headquarters of +Mohammedanism. The Sheik-ul-Islam might sound forth his proclamation +in great state, but the princes and soldiers of India, Egypt, and the +Sudan heeded not. They knew that under the British flag they had +religious liberty, and they were loyal to the core. + +It was just before the battle of Ypres commenced that Lord Roberts +paid his visit to France. He was over eighty years of age, and it was +dangerous in the extreme for him to attempt such a journey at his time +of life. But he was most wishful to review his much-loved Indian +troops, and they in their turn were anxious to see their "Father," +whom they all revered. When the risks at his age were pointed out to +him, he replied, "We must do what we consider to be our duty; then we +are in God's hands." + +It was bitter weather, but he reviewed the Indian troops, caught cold, +and died on Saturday, November 14, 1914. + +He was the darling of the British Army. When the soldiers knew that +"Our Bobs" was coming to their relief in South Africa, their delight +was unbounded. They had absolute confidence in him; they would follow +him anywhere. And something more--they knew that when they read their +Bibles that was what Lord Roberts did--was there not a message from +him within the cover?--and when they knelt to pray they knew that that +also was what Lord Roberts did. His influence was widespread and was +all for good in the Army. + +In the eloquent tribute which Earl Curzon paid in the House of Lords +to the memory of Earl Roberts, he quoted a letter received from him +only a fortnight before. + +"We have had family prayers for fifty-five years. Our chief reason is +that they bring the household together in a way that nothing else can. +It ensures servants and others who may be in the house joining in +prayers which, for one reason or other, they may have omitted saying +by themselves. Since the war began we usually read a prayer like the +enclosed, and when anything important has occurred I tell those +present about it. In this way I have found that the servants are +taking a great interest in what is going on in France. We have never +given any order about prayers. Attendance is quite optional, but, as a +rule, all the servants, men and women, come when they hear the bell." + +"The man who penned these words," said Lord Curzon, "even to a friend, +was not only a great soldier, a patriot, and a statesman; he was also +a humble-minded and devout Christian, whose name deserves to live, and +will live for ever in the memory of the nation whom he served with +such surpassing fidelity to the last hour of a long and glorious +life." + +The Army bade farewell to the body of the great field-marshal at St. +Omer, then the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. The +route to the Mairie was lined by British and French troops. The +coffin, draped with the Union Jack, was placed upon the gun-carriage +by eight non-commissioned officers selected from regiments of which he +had been colonel. All the British and French courage was represented +in the procession. The Prince of Wales represented the King. The +Indian chiefs who honoured and loved him were there. + +At the service in the Mairie which followed, the Rev. F.I. Anderson, +assisted by the Rev. C. Marshall and the Rev. A. Helps, officiated. +The service, as was fitting, was very simple. The music was led by a +choir of soldiers, accompanied by a harmonium, and the hymns sung were +"Now the labourer's task is o'er," and "O God, our help in ages past." + +At the conclusion of the service, British bugles sounded the "Last +Post." Then the body was reverently borne down the steps and placed in +the motor ambulance which was to convey it to Boulogne. As this was +done the guard of honour once more sprang to the present, French +trumpeters blew a fanfare, and the guns of Lord Roberts' old regiment +thundered a salute. + +Thus the British Army said farewell to its old chief, and will +remember him for ever as a great soldier and a great Christian. + +In the fighting round Ypres fell that distinguished British officer, +General Hamilton. The record of his funeral will show a great contrast +to that of Lord Roberts, but it gives us a weird and pathetic picture +of the circumstances under which our chaplains do their work. + +While standing on a hillock near the village of La Couteau in the +midst of his staff, the commander of our Third Division was struck by +a fragment of shrapnel and killed. They buried him "at dead of night," +and the whole scene recalls the famous lines on the burial of Sir John +Moore. + +It was a sad and silent party of distinguished French and British +officers which followed the coffin up the winding path to the little +churchyard, where the grave had been hastily dug, near the +shell-battered church. The only light was that of the electric flash +lamp used by the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson (the senior Church of England +chaplain) to enable him to read the burial service. + + [Illustration: BRITISH TRENCHES IN THE AISNE DISTRICT. + _Drawn by D. Macpherson._] + +He had scarcely begun to speak its solemn words when the Germans +opened a perfect hurricane of fire. But the chaplain never altered the +measured dignity of his intonation, though shells were bursting all +around and the enemy's bullets were pattering against what remained of +the church walls. + +This weird service over, the officers present had to hurry away to +their respective duties with the rattle of German musketry in their +ears. As General Smith-Dorrien also left, he said to Mr. Macpherson: +"A true soldier's funeral, Padre. We couldn't fire a volley, but the +enemy have given him the last salute for us." + +Aye! a true soldier's funeral, and the one which he would perhaps have +preferred to any other. + +Bishop Taylor-Smith, who tells the story of the funeral, also says +that the very next day the same chaplain (Mr. Macpherson) had gathered +the men of a battery into a musty old barn for a short service, when, +in the midst of the service, the roof of the barn was lifted right off +by a shell which, however, failed to explode. The service came to a +summary conclusion, not because of fear, but because the battery must +stop that sort of thing, and gallop away into action. + +Further stories by Bishop Taylor-Smith of the period to which this +chapter relates show under what weird circumstances the sacrament of +the Lord's Supper is sometimes administered. + +A jute factory near Armentieres was being heavily shelled, but down in +the cellar, while the shelling was proceeding, the chaplain calmly +distributed the elements to one hundred and twenty-eight officers and +men of the Monmouth regiment. The only light was that supplied by the +chaplain's flash lamp. The battalion went into action next day, and +several of those who had taken part in the Holy Communion were killed. + +On another occasion a celebration was taking place in a house at +Houplines when shells demolished the houses on either side, and no +sooner was the service over than a shell struck that self-same house. +Close by was the crackling of rifle fire, for a shed in which the +ammunition of the West Yorks was stored had been fired by a German +shell. + +In the same district an ordinary service--lasting about twenty-five +minutes--was held at the O.C.'s request in a barn round which shells +were dropping every moment. And yet so powerful was the singing of the +men that it almost drowned the din of the bombardment. The chaplain, +as he stood there conducting the service, thought how fearful it would +be if a big shell dropped into the midst of that company of praying +men. + +After this who will call parsons cowards? I do not wonder that already +one of them, the Rev. P.W. Guinness (Church of England), has won the +D.S.O., and that Mr. Macpherson was among those "mentioned in +despatches." I shall tell the story of Mr. Guinness' brave deed in +another chapter. + +One more funeral and this chapter shall draw to a close. The scene is +too beautiful to leave out, even if it does mean bringing three +funerals into one chapter. It dates from the battle of the Marne, and +the story is narrated by our old friend the Rev. O.S. Watkins. + +No men are braver, and very few render more important service, than +the motor cycle scouts. They are, many of them, students from Oxford +and Cambridge. Their intelligence, knowledge of languages, and +general resource are a great asset to the British Army. Their work, +however, is perilous in the extreme. One of these had lost his way and +had actually ridden through two villages occupied by Germans when, at +Douai, a bullet found its way to his heart. + +When the Germans retired from the village, the villagers carried him +tenderly into a cottage, straightened the fine young limbs, and +covered him with a clean white sheet. They placed a bunch of newly +gathered flowers upon his heart. He was carried to his last long rest +by the old men of the village--the young men had all gone to the +war--and as they passed through the village, the women came from the +houses and laid flowers upon the bier. + +Slowly they climbed the hill, with many a halt to rest the ancient +bearers, while ahead boomed the heavy guns, and at their feet they +could see the infantry advancing to action. At last the hill-top was +reached, crowned by the little church, with "God's acre" all around. +They laid him in the hastily dug grave, the peasants, with uncovered +heads, listening reverently to the reading of the burial service in a +language they could not understand. Before the service was finished +shrapnel shells were bursting over the hilltop, and the peasants +quietly moved to the partial shelter of the wall, still with uncovered +heads. + +When the final "Amen" was said, the chaplain stood for a moment gazing +down into the grave and thinking of all the brilliant possibilities +wrapped up in that splendid young fellow "gone to his death," when one +of the old men, forgetting his fear of the guns, came forward to the +graveside, and cast earth with unconscious dignity upon the body lying +there. "You are a brave man," he said, "and our friend. You have +given your life for our country. We thank you. May you sleep well in +the earth of beautiful France!" And the old men under the shelter of +the wall added "Amen." + +Thus they go, the grand old field-marshal 'neath the weight of years, +the brilliant general in the full tide of useful service, and the +young man, his life-work scarce begun! Thus they go and the flower of +our nation's manhood with them. If that were the end, if death ended +all, Britain could hardly lift up her head again. But we cheer +ourselves as we remember that what we call the end is only the +beginning. Goethe draws a picture in _Faust_ of his hero gazing at the +setting sun. As he watches it slowly setting in the west, he longs to +follow it in its course-- + + To drink its everlasting light, + The day before him and behind the night. + +But they may and do. There is always-- + + The day before _them_ and behind the night. + +"There is no night there." And so we comfort ourselves with the +thought that service broken short off here may be continued yonder, +that the old will grow young again, that the o'erthrown fighter will +rise conqueror, and life--eternal life--will crown all. + + The best is yet to be. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THOMAS ATKINS IN THE TRENCHES + + The Original Thomas Atkins--No Infidels in the Trenches--In + the Trenches at Night--A Salvation Army Story, and Others--Man + Who was Digging a Trench--They have "Kept Smiling "--What + Christ is to the Soldier--What a Picture!--Every Place the + "House of the Lord"--The Soldier Spirit--The Gilts from + Home--Courage has never Failed--And the Christian Soldier? + + +"I tell you what it is, sir, God is jolly near you in the trenches." +So spoke Thomas Atkins to a Church of England chaplain. It was just +like him to speak thus. A vigorous utterance suits him. + +But how did he come by the name Thomas Atkins? The story goes that it +dates from the Peninsular War. The Duke of Wellington was directing +some operations in the field. An aide-de-camp rode up to him with the +outline of a new attestation form, or something of that kind sent out +by the War Office of those days. + +It was advisable to fill up the top line in order that those who +filled up the following lines might have an example of how it should +be done. The question was, Whose name should be put in there? The +aide-de-camp thought the Duke would mention the first name that came +into his mind, but not so the Duke. He looked at it a moment, and +said, "I must think. Come back to me in an hour." + +During that hour he turned over in his mind the deeds of bravery he +had seen performed by private soldiers. He thought of the brave deeds +of soldiers in the Peninsular Campaign. And then his mind went back to +India, and at last he said to himself, "Yes, that was the bravest deed +I ever saw performed by a private soldier." And when his aide-de-camp +came back he said, "Put down Thomas Atkins." And "Thomas Atkins" it +has been from that day to this. So the title enshrines the memory of a +brave man, and I wonder if he, too, felt God "jolly near" him in the +trenches. + +"Jolly near!" It is a thought-provoking phrase. "Near!" Ah! yes, we +know that, and if we can look up amidst the bursting shell and see, +not the angry, but the smiling face of God, then the word "jolly," if +not as we should put it, is at any rate expressive. + +The "Eye-witness" with the British Army tells us something of what it +is like in the trenches. + +"After a short outburst of fire lasting perhaps for only three or four +minutes the hostile trenches are obscured by a pall of smoke, in the +midst of which can be seen the flashes of the shrapnel bursts and the +miniature volcanoes of earth where the high explosive common shells +burst in the soft clay soil. Then, if an infantry attack is to be +launched, the cannonade suddenly ceases. There is a moment of +suspense, and a swarm of khaki figures springs from our trenches and +rushes across the fire-swept zone, possibly 100 yards in breadth. +Instantly there breaks out the rattle of machine guns and musketry. +There is some hesitation as the stormers reach the entanglements, and +then, if the assault succeeds, they disappear into the enemy's +trenches, leaving a few or many scattered bodies lying in the track +of their advance. Save at such moments as these there is often no +movement whatever in the battle zone, for not a man, horse, or gun is +to be seen, and there are periods of absolute stillness when, except +for the sight of the deserted and ruined hamlets, the scene is one of +peace and agricultural prosperity." + +Yes, it is very quiet in the trenches. Not a head must appear over the +top or death is the result. Quiet, yes; up to the knees, or sometimes +up to the waist, in water, eating there, sleeping there, often dying +there. We read of some trenches where the water was so deep that the +wounded men were drowned. There was no place to put them, and they +just fell into the water, and there they died. + +Quiet, until the artillery has done its preparatory work, and then +charge, charge, charge! + +I do not wonder that a wounded soldier said to the Rev. T.J. Thorpe: +"My mates used to tell me in barracks that they were infidels--they +did not believe in God--but after their experiences in the trenches +they have lost their infidelity. They pray now. _There are no infidels +in the trenches._" + +Said another soldier, "We leapt from our trenches singing a rowdy +song, but in a minute I was praying as I never prayed before. My mates +were praying. We were all praying, and I have been praying ever +since." + +I do not wonder that "there are no infidels in the trenches." + +The Rev. Cuthbert J. Maclean (Church of England chaplain), writing +from France on November 3, 1914, tells us that he had been in the +trenches continually under fire for three weeks, and had not even had +a rough wash or taken off his boots. He has had several wonderful +escapes from death, even being hit in the neck without, however, +sustaining any injury. + +"Four days ago," he says, "I spent some hours sitting in my +'funk-hole' in a trench, and then I left for a little exercise. About +twenty minutes after I had moved out, a huge shell burst in the exact +spot where I had been sitting for hours, and blew up the trench for +some twenty yards." + +It will be seen from this that the trenches are not always waist-deep +or even knee-deep in water. It depends upon the weather. At first +elaborate precautions were taken to make the trenches as comfortable +as possible. They were deep and comparatively wide. All sorts of +necessaries and, occasionally, luxuries were kept there. They were +drawing-room and dining-room and kitchen. + +But when the long continued rains came they were almost uninhabitable. +Men stood in liquid mud, sometimes covered with frost. They stood day +after day and suffered sorely. Many of them had to be invalided to the +rear with rheumatism, and will never recover from the effect of those +terrible days. + +An elaborate system of network communication trenches was formed, +communicating with the rear, but in the worst of the weather, the +communication trenches became worse than the fire trenches, and in +some cases the water in them was up to the necks of the men. + +It was only when night fell that communication with the fire trenches +was possible. Then it was that rations were conveyed to the men at the +front--only then was it possible--and even in the dark it was a +difficult and dangerous task. No light must be shown; to strike a +match might be death. Says the non-commissioned officer to his men +engaged in this hazardous task: "Whenever a searchlight is turned on +you, or the country is lit up by a flare or a star shell, stand +perfectly still. It's movement wot gives the show away. Keep still, +an' they'll think you're a bush, or a tree, or what not. But as sure +as yer move, you're a deader." + +Under these circumstances, Christian work in the trenches would seem +impossible, but the apparently impossible has been accomplished. The +chaplains are from time to time with their men in the trenches. The +experience of Mr. McLean has already been quoted, and many another +might be added. + +Christian men are there also in ever-increasing numbers, and these are +themselves unofficial chaplains. We hear of at least one Methodist +class meeting regularly held in the trenches, and there is many a +prayer meeting there. Yes, and many a man has found his Saviour there, +for the Lord Jesus is very near those who seek Him in the trenches. + +Here is a sacred little letter scribbled in the trenches by a man who +there gave himself to Christ: + +"To my darling wife and children. Daddy fully surrendered to Jesus +20.11.14 at Ypres. Sudden death--sudden glory. Safe in the arms of +Jesus." + +A soldier, who has recently returned home for a brief rest after many +weeks in the firing line and in the trenches, says that he is quite an +altered man as the result of the war. As a boy he was never taught to +pray; but in the trenches he began to pray, and prayed regularly. +Hundreds of men, he says, are doing the same thing day by day. He also +says that the men at the front expect and reckon upon the prayers of +the people at home on their behalf. + +And now a Salvation Army story. One day a man came into a Salvation +Army hall in the East End of London, and when the officers were +speaking to him they found that he had never been to a Salvation Army +service before. They asked him what brought him there. + +"In the trenches," he replied, "I made up my mind that the very first +chance I had I'd come. You see, I was fighting next to a Salvationist. +One morning he was hit and fell fatally wounded. I knelt beside him in +the trench and asked if I could do anything for him. + +"'Yes,' he said. 'In my pocket there is the address of my father and +mother; if you live to get home, tell them how I died, and tell them +that religion was good for me away from home in the trenches, and +death has no terror for me.' + +"I said, 'Yes, I'll tell them.' + +"Then he opened his eyes and pulled me down. 'Supposing a shot came +for you next,' he said, 'how would it be for you?' And although he +only lived five minutes longer, he talked to me all that five minutes +about my soul, trying to get me converted. + +"Then he closed his eyes and died." + +Yet another Salvation Army story. It is told in the _War Cry_ by +"Leaguer" John Coombs of the 1st Gloucester Regiment: + +"The battle of ---- was in progress, and our trenches were being raked +by the enemy's fire. We were expecting any moment to be told that the +German guns would have to be silenced, and presently along the line +came the order 'Charge!' We scrambled into the open and rushed +forward, met by a perfect hail of bullets. Many of our men bit the +dust, but we who remained came to grips with the enemy. I cannot write +of what happened then. The killing of men is a ghastly business! + +"On the way back to the trenches I saw a poor German soldier trying to +get to his water-bottle. He was in a fearful condition. I knelt down +by his side. Finding his own water-bottle was empty, I gave him water +from mine. Somewhat revived, he opened his eyes and saw my Salvation +Army Leaguer's button. + +"His drawn face lit up with a smile, and he whispered in broken +English: 'Salvation Army? I also am a Salvation Soldier.' Then he felt +for his Army badge. It was still pinned to his coat, though +bespattered with blood. + +"I think we both shed a few tears, and then I picked up his poor, +broken body, and with as much tenderness as possible, for the terrible +hail of death was beginning again, I carried him to the ambulance. But +he was beyond human aid. When I placed him on the waggon he gave a +gentle tug at my coat; thinking he wanted to say something, I bent low +and listened, and he whispered: 'Jesus, safe with Jesus!'" + +Sergeant-Major J. Moore, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, tells us +that he had often spoken to one non-commissioned officer on the claims +of Christ. Three days ago, he says, he was walking from his company +officer's trench to another part of the company, when a bullet struck +through his greatcoat at the right arm, passed through his right +service dress pocket, then over his heart, and out through his left +pocket. He was not touched himself, but as he dropped into the trench +a little bit stunned, and saw how near he had been to death, he then +and there lifted up his heart to the Lord, thanked Him, and gave his +life to Him. + +Sergeant-Major Moore tells another story of a lad brought up in a +Sunday-school. He had had the best mother in the world, he said, but +she was dead. He was sure she had gone to heaven. "Four days ago," +says the sergeant-major, "his home-call came. Inside his war pay-book +was found an envelope from his wife, and he had written the following +while in the trenches: + + Jesus! the name that charms _my_ fears, + That bids _my_ sorrows cease; + 'Tis music in the sinner's ears, + 'Tis life, and health, and peace. + + He breaks the power of cancelled sin, + He sets the prisoners free; + His blood can make the foulest clean, + His blood _avails_ for _me_. + +That was the last he was known to write." + +Sunday-school teachers may take heart of cheer. The work that they +were tempted to think was thrown away is taking root and bearing fruit +in the trenches. + +Another sergeant-major writes: + +"We are not able to meet so well, owing to the scattered condition of +the battalions. But we have managed, when things are a bit quiet, to +steal from the trenches this week, and hold prayer, praise, and +testimony meetings, and it would have done your heart good to hear the +dear brothers testify to the saving and keeping power of our adorable +Saviour, and every one felt drawn nearer to each other, and to God." + +What does a charge from the trenches feel like to a Christian "Tommy" +who is taking part in it? Listen to this: + +"We were in the trenches the whole time. Sometimes we had burning sun, +at others pouring rain, and at nights heavy dews soaked you. At the +end the order came to fix bayonets for a charge; then I just put my +hand over my eyes--so--and asked God to help me to do my duty like a +man. We rose up and ran forward a little way, and then fell flat while +the bullets and shrapnel flew over us like hail; then on again. We +hadn't advanced very far before their artillery was cutting us up +badly. Our adjutant and the two mates either side of me were shot +dead. Then I was hit in the leg. It made me go right silly like, and I +didn't know where I was for a bit. When I came to my mates had gone, +so I crawled away as far as I could. I didn't want them Germans to get +at me, sir. + +"Thank you, sir; I'm just fine now. Doctor says I'm doing marvellous. +It's through living a straight life, 'e says. There's nothing like +keepin' respectable. As you say, sir, the Lord heard my prayer, and He +must have spared me for a purpose. I hope to be back again soon, and +give 'em some more socks." + +And now it is time that we retired from the trenches and saw these men +when they come out. We will not retire far, but just far enough to the +rear to see the men as they retire, and watch others who are just +going in. + +Here is one who has got a trench to dig, and it strikes me as a very +quaint ending to a quaint letter. He has told us in the letter of a +comrade of his who, when wounded in the foot by a shrapnel shell, +exclaimed, "Never mind; thank God, I still have one left." And he +concludes by saying, "I could still go on relating my experiences, but +I am just about to dig another trench, so I will close now with 1 +Peter i. 5, 'Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto +salvation.'" + +Evidently he was thinking of divine things all the time, and as he dug +his trench he might truly sing-- + + My hands are but engaged below, + My heart is still with Thee. + +See them as they come out of the trenches! Some of them during the +terrible weather about Christmas time had literally to be dragged out +by their comrades, for they stuck fast in the mud. + +Talk about arctic or antarctic regions! In those regions explorers can +at any rate move forward or move back, but to the men in the trenches +during the worst of the weather there has been no possibility of +movement. They could not even drag one leg out and put it down again. +Many of them beat their feet with their muskets, or anything that came +to hand, to keep _some_ life in them. + +But their relief time has come. Look at them, caked with mud, unshaved +and haggard. A few days in the trenches makes old men of them. March! +How can they march? They just shuffle along as best they may, comrade +helping comrade. + +But actually baths have been provided; and while a good hot bath is +being enjoyed, their clothes are cleaned and sterilised, and then a +hot meal and a good sleep, and you would hardly believe these were the +same men. But they have never been down-hearted--not they. They have +"kept smiling," as they are so fond of saying. + + [Illustration: COMFORTING A DYING GERMAN. + When "Tommy" asked what he could do for his late antagonist, + the latter replied, "Nothing, unless you would be so good as to + hold my hand until all is over." + _Drawn by F. Matania._] + +What stories they have of their experiences. Here is one who writes to +the Rev. J.H. Bateson: + +"I want you to praise and thank God with me for sparing my life last +Thursday, when I had a narrow escape from death. The enemy started to +shell our trenches at 3 P.M. and continued until dark. One shell burst +just outside the trench which I occupied with my section, blowing the +trench right in and burying me in earth and mud. I was fast +suffocating when God heard my prayer, and sent a corporal and private +of my company who dug me out alive. Four of my section were buried up +to the hips, but, praise God, they also were got out safely. Further +along a shell burst right in the trench, blowing two men out of the +trench, who were killed on the spot; a third was buried alive; a +fourth was stunned and wandered out in front of the trench, and was +shot through the head by the enemy and killed. We have had twenty-five +days in the firing line out of the thirty days of November." + +This soldier goes on to say that, when at last relieved from the +trenches, he had held services in barns with some of his comrades, and +had even been called upon to bury the dead. He closes his letter with +the verse: + + All the way my Saviour leads me; + What have I to ask beside? + Can I doubt His tender mercy, + Who through life has been my Guide? + Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, + Here by faith in Him to dwell! + For I _know_, whate'er befall me, + Jesus doeth all things well. + +Mr. Bateson sends to the _Methodist Times_ a letter which he received +from a Christian sergeant at the front in January 1915. I quote it in +full because it describes in such vivid detail the experiences of a +Christian soldier in the trenches and during the charge. Only by +listening to the men themselves can we fully realise what Christ is to +the soldier, and how gloriously he is sustained in the most trying +times. + +"We are having some good times in serving the Master, both in the +trenches and during rest periods in billets. It matters not where we +are--we can still laugh and sing the praises of Him Who died that we +might live. During the retirement, at the commencement of the +campaign, when fatigued to the utmost, when drowsing or at least +stumbling along as best I could, halts were given, and officers, +non-commissioned officers and men simply fell down exhausted, you +could notice here and there some kneeling in prayer. I have done the +same, and after a few minutes in silent prayer, thanking our beloved +Saviour for preserving us, I have gone off sound asleep, and have +awakened and gone on again. Then with fresh vigour and a determined +effort have managed to pass up and down the ranks under my command, to +speak a few encouraging words and turn their thoughts heavenwards. At +rest intervals I have managed to get one or two together for a +Christian song and prayer, thank God for keeping us so well, and ask +for strength to endure it all. + +"Now, again, we are in the trenches. It is Sunday morning, my thoughts +are of all in the Homeland, and more so about Him Who died for us, and +as I think of it all out comes my Bible, and those who are near join +in listening to a passage of Scripture; then a few words of prayer, +then a chorus or two that we all know. We sing as heartily as if we +were at home in our churches. Then over comes 'Jack Johnson.' For a +time all is silent, excepting that lips are moving in fervent +prayer--not through fear, but with thankfulness and praise. Glory! +Glory! + +"Another time we are in a different part of the country, and called +upon to go into the attack. As we go, not seeing any danger, suddenly +over us bursts a shrapnel and shells of the 'Jack Johnson' type, +ploughing up the ground, and comrades fall. Some are killed outright; +others are severely wounded. I rush here and there to assist with a +handshake or a 'God bless you.' I pass on to lead those left, and then +right into the thickest of the fray with heavy rifle and machine-gun +fire. But nothing daunts the British soldier, and on we press until at +last the enemy turns and runs in fear. Then we thank God for all His +goodness in protecting and sparing us, and on we go, administering to +the wounded and those whose life is fast ebbing away, and in a few +words get the assurance that they hear the Saviour's welcome voice. I +have felt Him so near at such times as these. Tears of joy and +gladness--maybe of sorrow--well from the eyes. Jehovah is present, and +after the busy day is done and the shades of night are falling, I +again pursue my duties, collecting here and there a few men to +establish a firing line and join up the gap between our regiment and +those on the right. We start to work to dig ourselves in. When all is +complete, we kneel reverently with a heart full of praise and thanks +for being enabled to accomplish a little more for King and country, +and, above all, to do something for others by grace and strength from +on high. + +"One day we had just finished trenching in a wood; it was Sunday +afternoon. All was complete. I had been reading to four others in my +'dug-out,' and prayed. We were holding a short service. I had just +finished speaking, and we were heartily singing that beautiful hymn, +'All hail the power of Jesu's Name,' and had got through the third +verse, when we were suddenly called to man our rifles, as the sentry +had seen the enemy approaching and given us the warning. Over us +scream harmlessly the big shells; some fall in front, some behind. +Over comes the shrapnel and bursts over us; then the spurt of +rifle-fire begins. But the beauty of it is we are not troubled with +fear at all--who could be in the presence of the Master?--but go on +singing the chorus 'Crown Him' right on to the finish, although the +enemy is only 150 or 200 yards away." + +"The beauty of it is we are not troubled with fear at all--who could +be in the presence of the Master?" That sentence seems to sum up the +situation. Christ is there and He is all-sufficient. Strong in His +strength the Christian soldier goes anywhere and faces anything. How +grandly old "Diadem" would sound as these Christian soldiers sang it +in the battle charge--"And crown Him, crown Him Lord of all." There +was nothing in the situation incongruous to them. They did not think +of the Germans--only of their Lord and Saviour. And so they went right +on. Some of them were sure to fall, but they did not think of that. +The fact of Christ dominated them. Every other idea was "a grand +impertinence." He was with them here, and He would be with +them--yonder. + +Sergeant-Major Moore gives us a picture of the King's Own Yorkshire +Light Infantry. Writing to Mr. Bateson on December 17, he says: + +"Last Tuesday, that is a week ago, they went into the trenches when +it was pouring with rain. They were wet through to the skin, and then +had to enter trenches where the water was in the majority of cases up +to the knee, and in some as high as the waist. On being relieved some +had to be lifted up with drag ropes, and then they had to be helped to +walk. Others, after taking their boots off, were unable to put them on +again, and I saw several who could not walk at all. + +"I was able to have a few quiet talks with some of the young men and +older ones, who during the past month have surrendered to the claims +of Jesus. Their bright faces told very plainly that they have found +the pearl of great price, and can say, 'What a friend I have in +Jesus.'" + +What a picture!--weary and worn, but not sad. Having to be dragged out +of the trenches, unable to walk, and yet with "bright faces." It +reminds us of what the Rev. R. Winboult Harding says of a wounded man +in hospital at Cambridge: "He is of the Coldstreams and the Glory +Room. He has ten shrapnel wounds in his legs, but he has heaven in his +face." + +Now was the time for services. And if no chaplain were available, the +men held meetings themselves. + +Writes one, a corporal, to his chaplain: "I thank you for your letter, +also for the books for the little services which I hold amongst my +comrades when out of the trenches, and in billets, which is not often +the case, I am sorry to say. However, if our meetings are not +frequent, I praise God my prayers for my comrades are being daily +offered for them, in and out of the trenches, and on the march. What a +privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Now it is Sunday +night, the 20th, and I have just held a nice service among my +comrades, who greatly enjoyed the singing and also the address. We +came out of the trenches last night, and go in again on Monday, so far +as we know." + +After one such little service as these a corporal said to his lads +before they lay down to sleep: "If any of you want to lead a Christian +life, do so; I will see that no one interferes with you." Next day +that corporal was killed. + +And now was the opportunity of the chaplains. In the trenches they +could only set an example of patient courage to the men and cheer them +with words of faith and hope and love. But now they could get among +them, hold services for them, and this they did incessantly. Chaplains +of all denominations were thus engaged. We read of many united +services,--a Church of England chaplain reading the prayers, the +colonel of the regiment the lessons, and the Wesleyan chaplain giving +the address, or vice versa. As the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) +says: "In the rush of work a chaplain has little time to inquire _re_ +denomination; he gives his help where most needed; he comes as a +brother man and affords God's own consolation." The Psalmist said, "I +will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." To him all life was +sacred, every place the House of the Lord. It is the same at the front +to-day, every place sacred--trenches, farmyards, cellars, aye, even +pig-sties--the House of the Lord. + +Lieutenant Grenfell, R.A.M.C, describes one such service where Mr. +Watkins preached his sermon from the door of a pig-sty, while a number +of young porkers slept within. The men illuminated the scene with the +light from an acetylene operating lamp, and so were able to have a +good sing. Those were tender moments. The pigs were forgotten, +everything was forgotten but the presence of God, and, wearied but +not discouraged, they were able to say, "Surely goodness and mercy +shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house +of the Lord for ever." + +Here, too, was the opportunity of showing kindness to one's enemy, +which Tommy is always ready to show. Many a trembling German fallen +into the hands of the British, terrified because of the frightful +stories he has been told of British cruelty to prisoners, has been +cheered by the kindly words and acts of British soldiers. + +A young officer writing to the _Times_ says: "We are out to kill, and +kill we do at any and every opportunity. But when all is done and the +battle over, the splendid universal soldier spirit comes over all the +men.... Just to give you some idea of what I mean, the other night +four German snipers were shot on our wire. The next night our men went +out and brought one in who was near and get-at-able, and buried him. +They did it with just the same reverence and sadness as they do to our +own dear fellows. I went to look at the grave the next morning, and +one of the most uncouth-looking men in my company had placed a cross +on the head of the grave, and had written on it: + + Here lies a German, + We don't know his name; + He died bravely fighting + For his fatherland. + +"And under that 'Got mitt uns' (_sic_), that being the highest effort +of all the men at German. Not bad for a blood-thirsty Briton, eh? +Really that shows the spirit." + +It does, and a noble spirit too. + + God bless you, Thomas Atkins; here's your country's love to you. + +Now was the opportunity also for the chaplains to dispense the gifts +from home to the war-worn men. How delighted the men were with them, +and how every gift was regarded as the gift of love! Even war has its +bright side, and surely one of the brightest spots on the bright side +of war has been the spontaneous offering of kindly hearts at home to +our soldiers abroad. In almost every home in the land skilled and +unskilled fingers have been at work. Knitting had almost become a lost +art, but now every school-girl knits, and knits not for herself but +for the soldiers. + +And the men who could not knit found the money, and sent their own +special gifts. How they rolled in! What delightful work they gave the +chaplains and those associated with them! Cigars, tobacco, cigarettes, +candles, matches, soap, socks, mittens, body belts, gloves--and so we +might go on quoting almost every article the soldier needs. "You see," +said one Tommy, "I've lost all my shirts but one--the one I'm +wearing--and that's borrowed. Thanks very much, that's just what I +wanted." + +And the Indians, too, how they appreciated their gifts! One of them +wrote this characteristic little letter to his chaplain--the Rev. A.E. +Knott--who had come with them from India. + +"Honourable and most gracious Captain Sahib, Padre Sahib,--We are all +delighted with the things you have sent us. Sir, may God bless you +that you have remembered us. It is very kind of you, and we are very +pleased, and for the ladies, our gratitude, who like mothers have +regarded us. May no sorrow befall them. From many men, many, many +thanks and salaams; also from the writer many salaams." + +So hearts were gladdened, and bodies made warm, and our soldiers +thanked God and took courage when they realised that they were not +forgotten by "the old folks at home." + +And now it is time to sum up this chapter. What is the general +impression that it leaves? + +The whole scene is weird in the extreme. Darkness hangs over the +trenches. The work is done for the most part at night. When those of +us at home are sleeping, our brothers and sons at the front are +charging with the bayonet through the deep darkness. Others are +quietly moving backwards and forwards--backward with the wounded, +forward with food and reinforcements. Snow and rain and frost! +Shrapnel, and rifle fire, and "Jack Johnsons"! Day after day, week +after week, even month after month! The monotony of the day must be +fearful, the horrors of the night recall the descriptions of the +_Inferno_. I do not wonder that, in some cases, nerves have given way, +and men have had to be carried to the rear suffering from complete +nervous collapse. + +But courage has never failed, though nerves have become unstrung. +There used to be a story told in Aldershot of an officer who was about +to take part in his first battle. His legs were trembling so that he +could hardly sit his horse. He looked down at his shaking legs and +said, "You're shaking, are you? and you would shake more if you knew +where _I_ was going to take you to-day, so let us get on." That is the +highest courage, which realises and fears and yet goes. + +This courage our soldiers in the trenches have possessed in the +highest degree. The charge brought against them is that they have +exposed themselves to the fire of the enemy. I do not wonder. They +intend to "get on," however much they fear. + +And through it all, as Tommy would say, they have "kept smiling." Wet +through to the skin, or nipped by frost; sleepless for days together, +only getting provisions replenished by night, comrades falling by +their side! But they have "kept smiling." + +And what about the _Christian_ soldier? He has had all these +qualities--for to none of his comrades is he inferior in courage. But +he has had another--an added quality. Something--_Someone_--who has +given him peace in the midst of privation and danger; Someone who has +enabled him to exult in the battle. He has had a light in the darkness +possessed by none else. + +As I have written this chapter the words of Isaiah have been +continually in my mind,--"But there shall be no gloom to her that was +in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of +Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time hath he made +it glorious.... The people that walked in darkness have seen a great +light, they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them +hath the light shined." + +Our soldiers have been called to walk in darkness but they have seen a +great Light. They, too, have _dwelt_ in the land of the shadow of +death, and upon _them_ also hath the Light shined. And so there is no +"gloom" for them. It may be night all around, but the sun shines upon +_them_, and it is always day. + +The problem of death has been greatly puzzling us at home--the death +of thousands of our best young manhood. Goethe says, "The spectacle +of nature is always new, for she is always renewing the spectators. +Life is her most exquisite invention; and death is her expert +contrivance to get plenty of life." We probe into his meaning, and +during these months begin to understand. + + [Illustration: _From the drawing by A. Michael._ + A "PADRE" HOLDING A SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE FIELD.] + +But the Christian soldier has no difficulty. Death is to him but an +incident. Here and yonder he is in the presence of his King. He +advances to his death singing "Crown Him," and then wakes up +astonished to receive his own crown of life. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT + + The Royal Christmas Message--A Christmas Communion--Services + Held Anywhere--Carol Singing--The Soldiers' Christmas + Day--Christmas in the Trenches--The Unofficial Trace--They did + not want to Fight--Strangest Story of All--The Strangest + Service. + + +Christmas 1914 will ever be remembered in this country. The message of +peace and goodwill spoken from our pulpits, and yet half the world at +war! Christmas carols, Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, and yet +our sons out there in the trenches, and our fleet keeping constant +watch at sea! + +It was indeed a strange Christmas, and yet we could not forgo it, for +the Christmas message was needed more than ever before, and the poor +and needy and the little children must not be forgotten. + +For weeks before Christmas we had been considering what we could do +for our sailors and soldiers on Christmas Day. Our King and Queen had +been busy sending out Christmas cards to their troops, bearing a +Christmas greeting, and the message, reproduced in facsimile from the +King's handwriting, "May God protect you, and bring you home safe." + +All sorts of organisations had arranged for presents--they were sent +from the ends of the earth. The newspapers made appeals to their +readers, and arranged for the despatch of Christmas hampers and +parcels. Nearly every church remembered its own men at the front, and +sent kindly greetings and appropriate gifts. We were all thinking of +those who were fighting our battles, and we strove to give them a bit +of Christmas in the midst of the war. Not that we took any credit to +ourselves for this--it was the very least that we could do. They were +_of_ us, and they had gone out _from_ us. They were our very own, our +best and noblest, and they were doing all that men could do. They were +laying down their lives for their country--and for us, that we in +peace and plenty might quietly spend our Christmas as of yore, "none +daring to make us afraid." + +And they? What of them? Well, our presents reached them. Not a ship +bearing our gifts was lost. They had our presents on Christmas Day. In +the trenches, in the rear of the firing line, in hospital and in camp +there was the Christmas distribution, and the men looked up and +thanked God that they were not forgotten on Christmas Day. + +My purpose in this chapter is to tell how that strange Christmas at +the front was spent. + +Let us first hear our chaplains' stories, and then listen to the men. + +Bishop Gwynne of Khartoum is again serving as a Church of England +chaplain with our troops. He shall tell, first of all, how he spent +his Christmas. + +"When I woke early on Christmas Day," says he, "the tiny window in my +small room at the farm-house was frosted over, and the rattle of the +ammunition waggon on the road sounded like trolleys over an iron way. + +"Our first Communion was in the mayor's office (the church was denied +us), and was packed to the doors with generals, colonels, and +'Tommies.' We sang 'While shepherds watched their flocks by night.' +The celebration of Holy Communion within the booming of the guns, +where bodies were being broken and blood shed, brought vividly, as +nowhere else on earth, the message and meaning of the sympathy of God +in the sufferings of men, and each one was thrilled with the reality +of it all, as men of all ranks partook of the Holy Sacrament, and +thoughts turned homeward to those who thought and prayed at the same +service, convinced of the reality of the Communion of Saints. + +"My next service was under the shelter of a haystack along the side of +a road, where a congregation of gunners in a semicircle sang the +Christmas hymns with real feeling in the keen frosty air. It was too +cold to keep them long, but I gave them the Christmas message, and +wished them every Christmas blessing. + +"A couple of miles further on, I found a congregation of about two +hundred and fifty men assembled in the small theatre of a country +town. With deep reverence and great heartiness they followed the +service. These men were under orders for the trenches, and every word +in every prayer seemed so suitable--'Defend us thy humble servants in +all assaults of our enemies, that we surely trusting in Thy defence +may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus +Christ our Lord.' + +"As soon as my first lot finished, another lot of two hundred and +fifty filled the room for another service. What struck me most was +that, though the surroundings were strange, the men showed no more +signs of emotion than if they were keeping Christmas at home. The +sounds of artillery every now and then accompanied our prayers, but we +all felt we were in our right place. + +"I am convinced they envied not the man who sat down in comfort to his +Christmas dinner at home; they had no wish to change places with those +who, in luxury and ease, chose the easiest part in this time of war. +In a few hours they would be in the forefront nearest their country's +foe, and that was the place of honour this Christmas Day. Their hearts +were warmed as I told them how many were thinking of them and praying +for them to-day, but they needed no pity. They were where they would +be,--where the bravest and best always want to be,--fronting the enemy +who threatened their hearth and home. + +"When the last lot went, I prepared for the Holy Communion on the +theatre stage, and nearly a hundred came back to receive the Blessed +Sacrament--officers, non-commissioned officers, and men kneeling on +the muddy floor, remembering, worshipping, receiving into their hearts +by faith, the vital power to fight, and, if need be, to suffer and die +for the righteous cause. The Cross of Christ seemed to be so real, and +its meaning so clear, to men who are really living away from the +world's conventionalities, and up against death and the other life. + +"On the way back to my billet I found my unit on the road, having +orders to move off, and I had to march along with them until dark, +when we were all crowded into a farm with outbuildings large enough +for our men. We had our goose and plum-pudding at nine P.M., and after +a chat round a wood fire, lay down to rest at midnight." + +I have ventured to quote Bishop Gwynne's letter _in extenso_ from the +_Guardian_, as it tells us so delightfully how one chaplain spent his +Christmas Day, and how worthily he earned his Christmas dinner. What +an insight it gives us also of the power of religion in our British +Expeditionary Force! + +The Rev. E.R. Day, M.A. one of the senior Church of England chaplains, +has a similar story to tell. He says that on Christmas Day there were +no fewer than seven hundred communicants from one regiment and four +hundred from another, and the service was held in a ploughed field +with a packing-case for the Lord's Table. He adds that during the war +he has conducted these Communion services in the back room of a +public-house, in a stable, in a loft, in a lean-to shed, and in the +open air--anywhere where room could be found. + +Another Church of England chaplain, writing to the _Church Times_, +describes an attempt he had made to hold "Early Communion" at 6.30 on +Christmas morning. He had done his best, with the assistance of the +Army Service Corps, to provide all the accessories of a High Church +celebration, candles, &c., but that was a failure--no one came. We are +not surprised, for Thomas Atkins, as a rule, does not care for these +accessories. He succeeded better, later in the morning, on the +straw-littered floor of a soldier's billet. As he quaintly says, "It +seemed fitting that as He first came among the straw, He should come +to His soldiers to-day as they knelt on the straw." + +The Rev. J.D. Coutts, Wesleyan Chaplain with the First Division, +describes another service. He says: + +"I preached a Christmas sermon, and the men sang as only men can sing +when they are having a good time. We went through the whole service in +the small red book, the men reciting the responses with enthusiasm. +After the service we held a Communion Service. We took Communion in +the Town Hall of an old French town, and it will remain in my memory +for a long, long time. Two planks on trestles formed our communion +table.... An access of solemnity came upon us, and we knew ourselves +to be standing in the presence of God. Seldom has it been given me to +take part in such a service. + +"This morning in going out to visit the regiment at dressing stations, +I met a regiment returning from the trenches. There were not a hundred +and fifty of them. The rest were put out of action in taking some +trenches; they won their trenches, but were enfiladed. I thought of +our Communion Service, for not one of the men whom I knew did I see." + +I might go on recording many of these Communion services, but these +will serve as specimens of similar services held throughout the +Expeditionary Force. We at home and they abroad were one in this act +of commemoration and communion. We at home thought of them and they of +us, and said "Amen" to the prayer contained in the communion hymn, +part of which I copy from the United Free Church of Scotland _Record_. + + Here with hearts that would be calm + In the lifting of the psalm. + Hearts that would in quiet prayer + Cast on Thee their load of care,-- + All our loved ones o'er the sea + We remember, Lord, to Thee. + + In the trenches, on the field, + Lord, be Thou their Strength and Shield-- + And for them the Wine outpour, + Give them Bread from out Thy store-- + Let us feel while here we pray, + They are one with us to-day. + +The Rev. Owen S. Watkins gives us another picture of Christmas at the +front. The 14th Brigade had gone into the trenches, so those who were +left sat disconsolately round the fire on Christmas Eve, and one of +the number said, "Well, one thing's certain, we shan't hear any carol +singers this year," but the words had hardly been spoken, when there +came the sound of singing,--"Hark, the herald angels sing," "While +shepherds watched their flocks by night," and so on through all the +old familiar carols. Some of the musical members of the Ambulance had +formed a carol party and proceeded to serenade the General and the +others who were in the village. It made them all realise that +Christmas was indeed here. Mr. Watkins then proceeds to describe +Christmas Day: + +"Christmas Day dawned bright and frosty, truly seasonable weather, and +welcomed by the troops as far better than the pouring rain. For the +chaplains it was a busy day. In the course of the morning Mr. +Winnifrith held two celebrations of Holy Communion, conducted two +Parade Services in the Brigade, and performed the last sad rites for +three men who had been killed during the night. My work was found in +the 13th Brigade, who were resting in the billets we had just vacated, +and a good deal of my morning was spent in the effort to keep my horse +on his feet, for the roads were like glass, and my journey occupied +twice as long as I had anticipated. I had arranged for the service to +be held in the village school, but the congregation was far too large +for that, and when I arrived I found they had decided to hold the +service in the school-yard, which was packed as close as men could +stand with a congregation which swayed and made a noise like thunder +as they stamped their feet on the stones to keep them warm. + +"On my arrival the stamping ceased, and we at once began the +service--Scottish Borderers and Yorkshire Light Infantry most of them +were--and in spite of the bitter cold, both officers and men joined in +the singing with a zest and heartiness which was most inspiring. My +address was of necessity brief, but throughout the service there was +that influence which it is the preacher's joy to feel. + +"In the afternoon I held a service in the schoolroom of the village +where our ambulance was billeted. It was attended by men of all +denominations who had been unable to attend any of Mr. Winnifrith's +services, and was chiefly composed of our own men and gunners +belonging to some heavy batteries in the neighbourhood, some of whom +had walked a couple of miles to attend the service. Once again I +realised the joy of leading God's people in worship, and felt that, +however unusual the surroundings, the true spirit of Christmas was +resting upon us. + +"In the evening the men feasted, had a singsong, and generally made +merry, whilst in the officers' mess we also tried to celebrate +Christmas in the old-fashioned way, but soon settled down to the +fireside quietly to talk of other days and other scenes, and to think +of those who missed us at this festive season." + +We have seen how the chaplains spent their Christmas Day. How did the +Christian men spend theirs? Perhaps one picture will suffice. Our old +friend Sergeant-Major Moore shall draw it for us. On Christmas Eve he +was occupied nearly all day giving out Christmas presents to the men. +His regiment had come out of the trenches on the 23rd, and the men +were, many of them, in a terrible condition. They had been standing in +the water for days and numbers were frost-bitten. But how they +appreciated their gifts! It was indeed good to see a cart-load of +gifts, all of them sent direct from the homeland to this one Christian +sergeant-major for distribution. Christmas Eve was spent in a barn, +and as the sergeant-major spoke to the men, at least one soldier gave +himself to Christ. + +Christmas morning broke fresh and clear, and the staff-sergeant had a +splendid menu for the day, provided so far as extras were concerned by +friends from the homeland. Breakfast--Tea, sugar, and milk (the last a +great luxury), bread, English butter, ham, tinned sausages, and cake. +Dinner--Roast-beef, potatoes and cabbage, plum-pudding. Tea--Tea, +sugar, _milk_, bread and butter, ham, honey, sardines, shortbread, +Christmas cake, and chocolates afterwards. + +Not a bad menu that for men fresh from the trenches! Let it not be +supposed, however, that all fared so well. The Rev. A.D. Brown, +chaplain with the Indian Cavalry Division, mournfully records: "We +spent Christmas Day on the trek. My Christmas dinner consisted of +bully beef and bread and butter." + +But these men of the King's Own Yorkshire L.I. fared well, and the +sergeant-major finishes his characteristic letter by saying: "After +tea I had still a few parcels of comforts, chocolates, &c., which you +so kindly sent me, and with a few tracts and Christmas letters, I +visited the barns to find out those lonely ones who had not received a +letter or parcel from the homeland, and before I left for my billet +again I had the joy of knowing that, as far as I knew, every lad of +the battalion had received a parcel of cheer, and many were the +thanks, and 'God bless you, sir,' that night. Yesterday being Sunday +we had three services in barns and a few hymns and prayers in a +fourth, there not being time for more. It would cheer many a mother to +hear her boy out here singing the old gospel hymn she taught him in +his childhood days. Again, on the part of the men, thanking you for +your splendid gift. Good-day! 494!" + + [Illustration: IN THE TRENCHES.] + +It is now time we got nearer the firing line and asked how our soldier +lads in the trenches spent their Christmas. It is a strange sight +which meets our gaze. I confess that when I first read the stories of +that Christmas truce I thought that the reporters were romancing. But +there was no romancing after all. Truth is stranger than fiction, and +this was truth. + +The French do not seem to have observed Christmas Day as did the +British. The French _Eye-witness_ records: "On Christmas Day the +Germans left their trenches shouting 'a two days' truce.' Their ruse +did not succeed. All were shot down." It is evident, however, that on +some parts of the field there was fraternisation between even the +French and the Germans. + +The British soldiers took the law into their own hands, and +unofficially themselves proclaimed a truce. In some cases the +initiative lay with the Germans, and in others with the British; but +in nearly every case, all along the line, the informal truce was +accepted, and British and Germans fraternised. The Angels' Song was +heard again, this time over the blood-stained trenches, and the +bursting of the shrapnel ceased, the whizz of the bullets was heard no +more, and, instead, the sound of Christmas carols dominated the firing +zone. + +The period of this truce varied in different parts of the firing line. +One officer states: "The Germans looked upon Christmas Day as a +holiday, and never fired a shot, except a few shells in the early +morning to wish us a happy Christmas, after which there was perfect +peace, and we could hear the Germans singing in their trenches. Later +on in the afternoon my attention was called to a large group of men +standing up half-way between our trenches and the enemy's, on the +right of my trench. So I went out with my sergeant-major to +investigate, and actually found a large party of Germans and our +people hobnobbing together, although an armistice was strictly against +our regulations. The men had taken it upon themselves. I went forward +and asked in German what it was all about and if they had an officer +there, and I was taken up to their officer, who offered me a cigar. I +talked for a short time and then both sides returned to the trenches. +It was the strangest sight I have ever seen. The officer and I saluted +each other gravely, shook hands, and then went back to shoot at each +other. He gave me two cigars, one of which I smoked, and the other I +sent home as a souvenir." + +Corporal T.B. Watson, Royal Scots (Territorials), says: "We were all +standing in the open for about two hours waving to each other and +shouting and not one shot was fired from either side. This took place +in the forenoon. After dinner we were firing and dodging as hard as +ever: one could hardly believe that such a thing had taken place." + +Private J. Higham, of the Stalybridge Territorials, tells of a truce +that lasted throughout Christmas Day. + +"On Christmas Day the Germans never fired a shot, and we were walking +about the trenches. In the afternoon about three o'clock the ----, who +were on our right, started whistling and shouting to the Germans whose +trenches were only four hundred yards away. They asked them to come +down.... After about ten minutes two Germans ventured out, and the +---- went to meet them. When they met they shook hands with each +other, and then other Germans came, and so we went up to them.... I +was a bit timid at first, but me and a lad called Starling went up and +I shook hands with about sixteen Germans. They gave us cigars and +cigarettes and toffee, and they told us they didn't want to fight but +they had to.... We were with them about an hour, and everybody was +bursting laughing at this incident, and the officers couldn't make +head or tail of it. The Germans then went back to their trenches, and +we went back to ours, and there was not a single shot fired that day." + +"Elsewhere," says a subaltern writing to the Press Association, "I +hear our fellows played the Germans at football on Christmas Day. Our +own pet enemies remarked that they would like a game, but as the +ground in our part is all root crops, and much cut up by ditches, and +as, moreover, we had not got a football, we had to call it off." + +One incident recorded by the _Manchester Guardian_ from the letter of +an officer is surely the strangest of all--the story of a friendly +haircut. + +"At eleven P.M.," says the officer, "on December 24, there was +absolute peace, bar a little sniping and a few rounds from a machine +gun, and then no more. 'The King,' was sung, then you heard 'To-morrow +is Christmas; if you don't fight, we won't,' and the answer came back +'All right!' One officer met a Bavarian, smoked a cigarette, and had a +talk with him about half-way between the lines. Then a few men +fraternised in the same way, and really to-day peace has existed. Men +have been talking together, and they had a football match with a bully +beef tin, and one man went over and cut a German's hair." + +I might multiply these extracts indefinitely, but sufficient has been +said to show the spirit in which our lads and the Germans spent +Christmas Day. I do not wonder that one soldier, after saying that +some German officers took the photographs of our men between the +trenches, adds, "I would not have missed the experience of yesterday +for the most gorgeous Christmas dinner in England." + +If the strangest incident of that strange Christmas Day was the +cutting of a German soldier's hair by one of our lads, surely the +strangest service was that conducted by the Rev. J. Esslemont Adams, +Chaplain of the United Free Church of Scotland, of whom I have already +had occasion to write. + +I piece the story together from various reports that have been sent to +Scotland, and then add Mr. Adams' own brief comments. He is attached +to the Gordon Highlanders, and on Christmas morning visited the +trenches to wish his men a happy Christmas. The Gordons had recently +relieved the Scottish Borderers, and there were several dead bodies of +the Borderers lying midway between the British and German trenches, +the result of the last charge. Only about a hundred yards separated +the trenches. + +On Christmas morning some of the Germans astonished the Gordons by +appearing on the top of their trenches, but the Gordons did not fire +on them, and instead an officer went out to suggest that, as they had +a "Padre" with them, and there were also several German dead, they +should have a truce for a burial service. It was arranged, and the +Germans lined up on one side of the chaplain and the Gordons on the +other. The service began with the hymn "The Lord is my Shepherd," and +then the "Padre" prayed. After the burial of the dead, of whom there +were about a hundred, Mr. Adams gave an address, which was interpreted +sentence by sentence by an interpreter sent forward by a German +officer. + +The service over, the German officer shook hands with Mr. Adams and +offered him a cigar. Mr. Adams begged leave not to smoke it, but to +keep it as a souvenir of that unique occasion. The officer consented, +but said he should like some little memento in return. Hardly knowing +what to give, Mr. Adams took off his cap and gave the officer the +Soldier's Prayer he had carried in its lining since the war began. The +German officer read it, put it in the lining of his helmet, saying, "I +value this because I believe what it says, and when the war is over I +shall take it out and give it as a keepsake to my youngest child." + +Then the men gathered together, exchanged keepsakes, and spent their +Christmas in perfect unity. Not a shot was fired that day, nor on the +next. It seemed as though each side was reluctant to fire again, after +the sacred service of Christmas morning. + +During a brief visit home Mr. Adams occupied the pulpit of his own +church--the West U.F. Church, Aberdeen. In the course of a sermon full +of interest he referred to his strange service on the battle-field. +The Aberdeen _Daily Journal_ thus reports what he said: + +"There had been some weird stories told about Christmas Day. He was +not going to deny these stories. He was not even going to deny the +cigar incident, but was going to show the cigar. Christmas Day made +him understand something of the size of God. The day ended for him +with the vision of a great German regiment standing behind their +commanding officer bareheaded, and not so far distant as one gallery +from the other of that church, British officers with their soldiers +bareheaded, and between them a man reading the Twenty-third Psalm. In +the name of the One Christ, these two foes, the most awful the world +had ever seen, held Christmas. It was the fear of God--the need of +God--that did it all." + +I have told the story in the simplest language, without any attempt to +give it colouring, because it seems to me it speaks for itself. It +tells that deep down beneath the uniform, beneath all that makes man +true Briton or true German, there is the bond of brotherhood. They +were Scotchmen, these Gordons, and I wonder if they thought of the +lines of their Scottish poet: + + Man to man the warld o'er, + Shall brithers be for a' that. + +Is it not a grim tragedy that men who can thus fraternise on Christmas +Day should a few hours after be sending each other to their death? We +look forward to the day, and pray God it may not be far distant, when +war shall cease. + +Here at home and there on the battle-field, Christian men unite in the +prayer: + + Not on this land alone, + But be God's mercies known + From shore to shore: + And may the nations see + That men should brothers be, + And form one family + The wide world o'er. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CHRISTIAN HEROISM + + A Picture in "Punch"--Tommy's Deep-rooted Religion--Courage of + Chaplains--A Shell in His Back--Stories of Christian + Soldiers--First Clergyman Soldier to Die--Driver Osborne--A + Church Parade of Four--"Tell My Wife I am Ready "--Duty + overcomes Fear. + + +There was a time when men thought that the reckless devil-may-care man +made the finest soldier; that the hard drinker, the hard swearer, the +riotous liver came out best in a fight. Wellington wrote of his +"collection of ruffians" in the Peninsula: "It is impossible to +describe to you the irregularities and excesses committed by the +troops. We are an excellent army on parade, an excellent one to fight, +but we are worse than an enemy in the country." How greatly times have +changed since then! + +Sir George White once said that recklessness and lawlessness will +carry men a certain distance, but when men are half fed, when nights +are wet and cold, and when nerves are broken down by shot and shell, +then the lawless man disappears. It is when he is called upon to take +the place of a comrade shot on a lonely picket that the man who has +disciplined himself proves the true soldier. + +General Nogi, who commanded the Japanese forces at Port Arthur, held +the same view. His words may well be borne in mind at this time: + +"Only he who has conquered himself in time of peace can aspire to be a +fighting man under the Sun flag. The brilliant and faithful deeds of +the soldier on the battle-field are nothing but the flowering and +fruition of the work and training of his daily life in time of peace. +A man whose life is in disorder in time of peace would have a rather +difficult task if he tried to perform with correctness and success the +duties of a true soldier on the field of battle." + +If we carry these statements on to their issue, then surely the +Christian soldier should fight best of all. He has not only the +discipline and training of the Army, but moral discipline and training +as well. And he has something more--the spiritual fact which dominates +his being and transfigures and transforms him. To him death is not +death, he lives and will live, and in the worst of all fiery furnaces +there is always with him "the form of the fourth, like unto the Son of +God." + +Such men as these are unconquerable. They remind us of _Punch's_ +famous cartoon, "Unconquerable"; for _Punch_ is not only a humorist, +he is a preacher too. + +_The Kaiser_: "So you see--you've lost everything." + +_The King of the Belgians_: "Not my soul!" + +The Kaiser has gained his victory and sheathed his sword. Belgium is +his; there is nothing in that country left for him to conquer. A +ruined building is behind him, on his left is the broken wheel of a +gun-carriage. In the distance is a Belgian family--an aged man, a +woman, a child. The woman's husband is not there--most likely he is +dead. + +The King of the Belgians has lost his helmet. His uniform is war-worn, +his hair untidy. His scabbard is empty, but he has not parted with his +sword. He still grasps it in his strong right hand. + +"You have lost everything," says the Kaiser--"Liege, Namur, Brussels, +Antwerp." "No, not everything. Not my soul." + +But the King of the Belgians was not alone in the claim which _Punch_ +puts into his life. Every Christian man fighting for his country, and +many another, wounded, frost-bitten, dying, can answer "Not my soul." +You cannot take that from him, it is his own sacred possession, and +the consciousness that he possesses it still nerves him to do and +dare. + +As the Rev. E.R. Day, Church of England chaplain at the front, says: +"There were men to whom we might almost kneel down in reverence. The +bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience of our men at the front are +such that French people could not understand it." + +It is not necessary to claim that these qualities are the sole +possession of the Christian man. It is, indeed, far otherwise. But the +Christian graces produce them best of all. Mr. Day is right when he +says, "Though apparently careless and light-hearted, one realised that +there was a deep-rooted religion in our soldiers, and that it was +indeed a fool's game to judge a man by his outward appearance." It is +largely because of that "deep-rooted religion" that the qualities of +"bravery, endurance, heroism, and patience" are produced. + +We must remember that our Army at the front is made up in no small +degree of men from homes in which God is honoured, many of them old +Sunday-school boys. They have been trained in religion, they have been +taught to pray. Some have forgotten much that they were taught, but +they have not forgotten the old hymns and prayers, and in their time +of need that "deep-rooted" religious instinct has asserted itself. As +one of them said to me, "I grew too old for Sunday-school, and I +wandered far away from God. For years I never prayed; but in the +battle of the Marne I began to pray again, and I have kept on praying. +I tell you what it is, sir, most men out there are praying now." Yes, +there is felt the need for God and so there is prayer. My point is +that, all things being equal, the man who prays is the best soldier, +because he possesses spiritual power as well as material. + + [Illustration: _Central News Photo._ + THE BISHOP OF LONDON AT THE FRONT AT EASTER. + Addressing men of the Army Service Corps from a transport cart] + +I purpose therefore telling in this chapter of the heroism of the men +who pray, while at the same time I do not overlook the heroism of the +Army as a whole. My purpose will be answered if I convince my readers +that, instead of religion impairing the courage of our soldiers, it is +increased and intensified thereby. + +May I first speak of the courage of our chaplains? Not every one +expects a "parson" to be brave. The pulpit has been spoken of by the +ill-informed as "The Coward's Castle," but hundreds of these parsons +have been transferred to the forefront of the fight. As I write this, +many of them are already fighting in the ranks, and many more will +soon be there. + +But the chaplain is not a fighting man. Not a shot does he fire, not a +bayonet thrust does he give. He sees the shot and shell bursting round +him, but he has not the stimulus of the fight. How have they borne +themselves--these men who have been transferred from the pulpit to the +battle-field? Two hundred of them are there. Has there been one +lacking in courage? I doubt it. The stories I have already told are +stories of conspicuous bravery. Let me add one or two more. + +I have already mentioned the name of the Rev. Percy Wyndham Guinness, +Church of England chaplain, 3rd Cavalry Brigade. He has been appointed +by the King a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, in +recognition of his services with the Expeditionary Force. The official +statement is: "On the 5th November at Kruistraat when Major Dixon, +16th Lancers, was mortally wounded, he went on his own initiative into +the trenches under heavy fire and brought him to the ambulance, and on +the afternoon of the same day, being the only individual with a horse +in the shelled area, took a message under heavy fire from the 4th +Hussars to the headquarters of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade." + +That is the bare official statement, but it is enough. We may read +between the lines bravery pre-eminent, and right worthily does he wear +the D.S.O. + +"T.P.'s" _Great Deeds of the Great War_ tells another story. "Some of +the ministers at the front are doing great deeds of sacrifice. As I +was coming away from the hospital, I met one of them accompanied by a +corporal. The minister stopped and inquired from me the way to the +hospital. Naturally enough, I asked the corporal what was the matter +with him. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, the minister +turned round,--and I don't think I could describe the admiration I had +for that man. He had walked about a mile and a half with a great lump +of shell in his back, the size of a man's hand." That was endurance if +you like, and it was the endurance of a Padre. + +I cannot better sum up the heroism of the chaplains at the front than +in the words of Field-Marshal Sir John French in his despatch +published on February 17, 1915. "In a quiet and unostentatious manner +the chaplains of all denominations have worked with devotion and +energy in their respective spheres. The number with the forces in the +field at the commencement of the war was comparatively small, but +towards the end of last year, the Rev. J.M. Simms, D.D., K.H.C, +principal chaplain, assisted by his secretary, the Rev. W. Drury, +reorganised the branch, and placed the spiritual welfare of the +soldiers on a more satisfactory footing. It is hoped that a further +increase of personnel may be found possible. I cannot speak too highly +of the devoted manner in which all chaplains, whether with troops in +the trenches, or in attendance on the sick and wounded in casualty +clearing stations and hospitals on the line of communications, have +worked throughout the campaign." + +The day after this statement was published came the despatches +mentioning the names of those noted for distinguished conduct in the +field, and in this--the second list--we find the names of no fewer +than sixteen chaplains, while the Hon. and Rev. Maurice Peel (brother +of Lord Peel) has received the new Military Cross. + +The stories, however, that I most want to tell are the stories of the +soldiers, officers and men. They were all alike, but my stories are +confined to the definitely Christian soldiers. Their spirit is +indicated in the following letter from Captain Norman Leslie of the +Rifle Brigade, who has since died for his country. + +"Try not to worry too much about the war, anyway. Units, individuals +cannot count. Remember we are writing a new page of history. Future +generations cannot be allowed to read the decline of the British +Empire and attribute it to us. We live our little lives and die. To +some are given chances of proving themselves men and to others no +chance comes. Whatever our individual faults, virtues, or qualities +may be it matters not, but when we are up against big things let us +forget individuals, and let us act as one great British unit, united +and fearless. It is better far to go out with honour than survive with +shame." + +That is the true spirit of the Christian soldier--"Better far to go +out with honour than survive with shame." + +But again I am oppressed with a superabundance of riches. The stories +of Christian heroism which could be told would fill this book. The +Church's Roll of Honour lengthens rapidly. I choose at random. + +There is, for example, Captain James Fergus Mackain, 34th Sikh +Pioneers, a zealous member of the Church of England Men's Society, and +before the war Honorary Secretary of its Union in the diocese of +Lahore. "Always bright and hopeful, brave and zealous, ever ready to +help anyone in any way he could, and yet so humble and retiring that +it was always his beautiful Christian character rather than himself +that seemed to stand forward. The quality of his handshake won all +hearts, and even now one seems to feel his vigorous grasp so +characteristic of his thoroughness. A great gentle plaything with the +children, a pacifying, controlling influence with boys and lads, a +quiet sure leadership with men, is it any wonder that such a man was +loved and honoured?" He, too, laid down his life for his country. + +There was Lieutenant David Scott Dodgson, R.G.A., who was killed in +action ten days before his thirtieth birthday. Since his death his +promotion to a captaincy had been gazetted. He was laying out a +telephone cable for the battery--a particularly dangerous and +important piece of work--and while doing so was shot. His father +served through the Indian Mutiny and saved the life of Havelock at +Lucknow. Like father, like son. + +There was Second Lieutenant H. Arnold Hosegood, 5th Royal Fusiliers, +who was killed in action near Ypres on February 24. A fine upstanding +man, six feet three inches in height, a daring rider, a good shot. +"Generous, chivalrous, and modest, he had a great gift of +friendliness." Before the war he was for a time Superintendent of the +Westbury Park Wesleyan Sunday-school, Bristol, and Secretary of the +Trinity Guild. He was only twenty-three years of age. + +There was Private Paul Holman of the H.A.C. He was killed while on +sentry duty on February 17. A comrade writes: "His first thought was +evidently that he must warn the guard; this he did, becoming +unconscious immediately afterwards." His colonel says of him: "He was +a splendid type of young Englishman and a fine soldier, greatly +beloved by us all--officers and men." He had just begun to practise as +a barrister before the war broke out. + +There were Second Lieutenant J.C. Baptist Crozier, Royal Munster +Fusiliers, nephew of the Archbishop of Armagh, and Captain L.A.F. +Cane, East Lancashire Regiment, who died leading his men to capture a +trench, and Lieutenant Compton, Royal Scots Greys, son of the late +Lord Alwyne Compton, and scores of other officers, of whom we may say +as was said of those of old, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, +wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of +lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from +weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight +armies of aliens." + +We expect, however, that officers will set an example of bravery to +their men, and though we mourn the large percentage of officers who +have fallen in the field, we would not have it otherwise. It is the +tradition of the Army, and a noble tradition too. + +Perhaps this is the place to record the death of the first +clergyman-soldier who has been killed in this war. The combination of +minister of the Gospel and soldier of the line is so remarkable that +the death of the first of these marks an epoch in the Church's +history. + +Captain Lionel Fairfax Studd, of the Rangers, 12th County of London +Regiment, died of wounds received in action on February 14, 1915. He +was the son of Mr. J.E.K. Studd, of the Polytechnic, and nephew of Mr. +C.T. Studd. He had been ordained by the Bishop of London to a curacy +at St. James, Holloway, at Trinity, 1914. But, on the outbreak of war, +he felt it to be his duty, after very grave reflection, to take his +place with his old regiment. Devoted to Christ, he was devoted also to +his country. + +The deeds, however, upon which I wish to dwell in this chapter are the +deeds of Christian non-commissioned officers and men. I must choose +with care, and the stories I tell will, I hope, show different phases +of Christian courage. + +Let me first tell how Driver F.A. Osborne won the French V.C. For +years Driver Osborne has been associated with the Wesley Hall +Brotherhood, Leicester, and although now on the field still counts +himself a member. + +I quote from the _Methodist Times_. + +"The story has been slowly imparted to us. In September the gloom of +the long and terrible retreat from Mons was lifted by the announcement +of the capture of ten German guns by the English. Then fugitive +paragraphs made reference to three men who had fought alone, wounded, +but undaunted. Only now can the whole story be pieced together, and it +is a veritable romance--tragic, heroic, glorious. + +"It was on September 1, 1914, in a village near Compiegne, that the L +Battery of six guns limbered up on reveille at 2.30, waiting for a +missing order to retire. The French cavalry they were supporting +retired unnoticed in the mist, and at 4.25, as the light grew, the +Germans were perceived, but were thought to be the French. At 4.57 +their battery of eleven guns and two maxims opened fire. The first +shell killed Driver Osborne's horse, and in three minutes the gun +teams were destroyed, only six horses being left. + +"Men fell in droves, but Captain Bradbury and the men available strove +to unlimber the guns, and in five minutes three were ready for action. +One was instantly disabled by a German shell, and Driver Osborne was +thrice wounded. A shrapnel bullet deeply grazed his cheek, another +caught his shoulder, a third grazed his ribs and inflicted a nasty +chest wound. The second gun was shattered in ten minutes, and then for +another hour and a quarter one gun fought the German battery. It was +an inferno. The screaming dying horses, the shattered groaning men, +the shells in hundreds digging holes of four to five feet deep, and +shrapnel bullets by thousands searching the ground made it a Gehenna. + +"Men fell fast. The officers were killed or wounded, but the one gun +fought on. Driver Osborne, thrice wounded, fetched the ammunition +from fifty yards away amidst showers of shrapnel. One shell dropped +within six feet, but did not burst; another hit a gun muzzle, but the +fragments missed him. He was running behind a shattered gun for +ammunition when a shell hit the wheel, and the concussion of the +broken wheel knocked his knee up, and he could go no more. An officer +started for ammunition instead and was instantly killed. + +"Osborne holds Captain Bradbury in high honour. 'He was a hero and a +gentleman.' His courage, promptitude, and resource inspired his men. +One by one the German guns were hit, shattered, silenced, and their +gunners fell, under the terrible accuracy of that one British gun. Ten +guns ceased fire, and the Germans fled from the other. The Middlesex +Regiment of infantry arrived at this point and found three men +wounded, covered with blood from horses and men, but working their one +gun with their ebbing strength. + +"Dashing forward, they captured the German guns, brought out the +English battery and rescued the wounded men. The three men, with their +fallen comrades, had saved the battery, destroyed the German attack, +saved the village beyond, and secured the English rear." + +For this splendid service Driver Osborne was rewarded with the +Medaille Militaire for distinguished conduct. This is the French V.C. +It is equivalent to the Legion of Honour in France, and carries with +it a pension of a hundred francs a year. + +Driver Osborne was also recommended for the British V.C., but it does +not yet appear to have been given. + +The first Wesleyan soldier in this war to receive the V.C. was +Bandsman Thomas Edward Rendle, 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. +The reward was, according to the official notification, conferred-- + +"For conspicuous bravery on November 20, near Wulverghem, when he +attended to the wounded under very heavy shell and rifle fire, and +rescued men from the trenches in which they had been buried by the +blowing in of the parapets by the fire of the enemy's howitzers." + +Still another story of Christian heroism, the hero of this being a +member of the Salvation Army. I quote from the _War Cry_ of October +17, 1914. + +"Jumping into a carriage of an already moving train the other day +(writes a _War Cry_ representative) I was seized by a soldier in +war-stained khaki, who gave me a tight hand-grip and said, 'Good luck +to you! God bless you and your people!' + +"'I'm afraid I don't know you,' I replied. + +"'Perhaps not,' he responded, 'but I know some of your people, and the +one I met in the firing line was one of the pluckiest fellows I know +of. We had been lying in the trenches firing for all we were worth. On +my right, shoulder to shoulder, were two Salvationists. I remembered +them as having held a meeting with some of us chaps about a week +before. As we lay there with the bullets whistling round us these two +were the coolest of the whole cool lot! + +"'After we had been fighting some time we had orders to fall back, and +as we were getting away from the trenches one of the Salvationists was +hit and fell. His chum didn't miss him until we had gone several +hundred yards, and then he says, "Where's ----?" calling him by name. +"I must go back and fetch him!" and off he hurried, braving the hail +of shot and shell. I admired his bravery so much that I offered to go +with him, but he said, "No, the Lord will protect me; I'll manage it!" + +"'So I threw myself on the ground and waited. I saw him creep along +for some yards, then run to cover; creep along, and take shelter +again; and, finally, having found his chum, he picked him up and made +a dash for safety. + +"'How the bullets fell around him! Into the shelter of some trees he +went; out again and in once more; and when he did get into the last +piece of clearing I couldn't wait any longer, so rushed forward to +help him. + +"'Then I got hit, and was, of course, bowled over. But your man +quickly came to me. + +"'What do you think the brave fellow did? He just put his other arm +round me and carried us both off! Darkness was fast coming on, and +presently he laid us down and bound the wounds, which he bandaged up +with strips which he tore from his shirt. I shall never forget that +terrible night! + +"'The three of us struggled on, we two getting weaker and weaker, +until just as dawn was breaking we all collapsed. + +"'How far we had gone I don't know, for the next I remember was that I +was in a field hospital. I could find no trace of my brave rescuer nor +his chum, and have heard nothing of them since. But he's a brave boy, +and if ever I chance to meet him again I'll ask his name, and the _War +Cry_ shall know it as soon as word can reach you.'" + +The next story is one altogether different. I quote it from the United +Free Church of Scotland _Record_. It speaks for itself. + +"It was a Sunday morning in Belgium. There had been a sharp +engagement, and the British troops holding a village had been +hurriedly forced by great masses of the enemy to retire. In the +confusion three Scottish privates and a corporal had been cut off in +the streets and had backed into the first open door they came to. The +occupants had fled, and they made their way up a long staircase, +intending to find the roof and watch events from there. But it ended +in an empty loft, where there was only a skylight beyond their reach. + +"'Better lie low for a while,' suggested the corporal as they stood +listening to the terrible sounds outside. The Germans were evidently +burning, looting, and killing. Now and again they heard screams and +the discharge of rifles: sometimes an explosion would shake the +building, showing that houses were being blown up; while the smell of +burning wood penetrated to their retreat. This went on for hours. The +soldiers knew they would be discovered sooner or later, and expected +no mercy, as the enemy would be sure to invent some excuse for putting +them to death. + +"Suddenly the corporal said: 'Lads, it's time for church parade: let's +hae a wee bit service here; it may be oor last.' The soldiers looked a +little astonished, but they piled their rifles in a corner and came +and stood at attention. The corporal took out a small Testament from +his breast pocket and turned over the pages. + +"'Canna we sing something first? Try ye're hand at the 23rd Psalm. +Quiet noo--very quiet.' + + "Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, + Yet will I fear none ill: + For thou art with me; and thy rod + And staff me comfort still." + +"There wasn't much melody about the tune, but the words came from the +heart. + +"Then the corporal began: + +"'Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the +soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body +in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them +shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs +of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value +than many sparrows.' + +"As he read there were loud shouts below: doors banged, and glass was +smashed. But he went on: + +"'He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life +for my sake shall find it.' + +"He ended, and his grave face took on a wry smile. + +"'I'm no' a gude hand at this job,' he said, 'but we maun finish it +off. Let us pray.' + +"He stood, with the book in his hand, and the others knelt and bowed +their heads. His memory went back to the days of family worship in his +father's cottage, and he tried to remember the phrases he had heard. A +little haltingly, but very simply, he committed their way to God and +asked for strength to meet their coming fate like men. + +"While he prayed a heavy hand thrust open the door and they heard an +exultant exclamation and then a gasp of surprise. Not a man moved, and +the corporal went calmly on. After a pause he began, with great +reverence, to repeat the Lord's Prayer. + +"That a German officer or private was standing there they realised: +they did not see, but they felt, what was taking place. They heard the +click of his heels, and they knew that he also was standing at +attention. For a moment the suspense lasted, and then came the soft +closing of the door and his footsteps dying away. + +"The tumult in the house gradually ceased, and soon afterwards the +storm of war retreated like the ebb of the tide, and quiet fell upon +the village and remained upon it. At dusk the four men ventured forth, +and by making a wide detour worked round the flank of the enemy and +reached the British outposts in safety." + +One other story will suffice. Sergeant William Taylor of the 1st Royal +Berkshire Regiment died of wounds in the Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, +on Thursday, December 10. A beautiful character, a devoted Christian +soldier, he was promoted on the field from the rank of lance-corporal +to sergeant for conspicuous bravery. On one occasion he stood over a +fallen comrade with bullets whizzing all around, until eventually the +comrade was carried to a place of safety. On another occasion Sergeant +Taylor volunteered with others to attack a position held by a strong +force of the enemy. The Berkshires lost heavily until reinforced, and +then the position was carried. He was the ideal soldier--the +"righteous man" who is "brave as a lion." + +The late Rev. T.J. Thorpe, who cared for him while he was in hospital +at Woolwich, says: "The Lord Jesus was very precious to him amidst the +agony of his last days, and he died more than conqueror." This grand +Christian hero was only twenty-four years old. + +Before I close this chapter, let me give extracts from two letters +sent home by two Baptist chaplains and published in the _Baptist Times +and Freeman_. + +The Rev. T.N. Tattersall writes: + +"I have made inquiries as to how the men behave in the trenches. What +effect has the imminence of death upon the character of the men? Some +use language more forcible than polite. Some find the Black Marias and +shells a source of entertainment. Some turn their feelings into the +songs of Zion. Many vows to God are made on the field of battle, and a +Christian soldier has a great opportunity of which he is not slow to +make use. In a chat with one such, Private J. Downs, of the Welsh +Regiment, a good Baptist, whom I found in hospital recovering from a +wound, he told me how he lost his chum. They were sharing a dug-out +together, and had agreed, should either fall, to write home the +terrible news. His friend said, 'You will tell my wife I am ready, +that to God I have given my trust.' Just before he fell he sang 'Jesus +is tenderly calling thee home.' Little did he realise how near was his +own call. A bullet struck him in the head. Last Thursday the letter +was written." + +The second is from the Rev. E.L. Watson, and forcibly depicts to us +the highest form of courage--courage that triumphs in spite of fear +and triumphs through Christ. Such courage is the possession of every +Christian soldier. + +"At another farm-house in absolute darkness and silence we reached our +second dressing station. The regimental medical officer was absent, +but the sergeant in charge was ready to deliver over his charge. I +stepped into what appeared to be a large living room covered with +straw, upon which some fifteen men were lying in absolute silence. No +groans, no word of complaint escaped the lips of a single man, no +asking for drink, nor claiming first assistance. I felt my way over +several, and was able to whisper a word of cheer here and there. One +badly wounded man guided my hand to that of a lad near by with the +words, 'Speak a word to that lad, chaplain, he must need his mother.' +Out of that darkness one by one they were carefully lifted on to +stretchers and put into the ambulances. + +"One incident impressed me very much that night in that chamber of +agony. Just as the last man was being carried out I heard a sob near +by me, and putting out my hand touched a stretcher-bearer who had +become jumpy. Poor boy, and no wonder. Only seventeen years of age, +and away from home for the first time. Empty stomach and soaked +clothes, bringing in and remaining with the wounded till relieved, +with death outside at every step. This first night of his experience +with war was trying his strength and testing his nerve. I took his +hand, and whispered a message, and I heard him go out with his little +company again towards the trenches over a fire-swept area. + +"Men claim that heroism always comes to the front in a crisis, and so +it does, but I have learned too that the heroic soul is not always the +fearless one. In the case of this lad the sense of duty overcame his +sense of fear, and away he went to face death, brave and heroic, in +spite of a trembling heart and unsteady hand." + +Yet one more picture of heroism, and it is, indeed, a strange one. +There is a touch of unconscious humour in it, but for all that it is +grandly heroic. + +Six Royal Field Artillery men, soldiers of the King and of the +Salvation Army too, have been holding daily prayer meetings just +behind the guns, and have succeeded in capturing several of their +comrades as "trophies." There was no "penitent rail" to which to +invite them, and so, notwithstanding the cold, they piled their +overcoats together, and kneeling at this improvised "rail" their +comrades gave themselves to Christ. + +What a picture it presents of absolute devotion and of the highest +Christian courage! The guns hardly cool from their deadly fire, soon +to belch out death again, the men in the depth of winter caring naught +for the cold or for the enemy's shot and shell, using their brief +interval to lead their comrades to Christ. Pray on, Salvation Army +lads! You will fight all the better for your country because of your +fight for the King of Kings, and if death stares you in the face you +will know that you have spent your last moments in pointing your +comrades to the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world. + + [Illustration: A NEW FORM OF RED-CROSS WORK. + The Red-Cross Motor Field Kitchen, under the direction of Miss + Jessica Borthwick, dispenses hot soup to the wounded on the + battlefield. + _Drawn by S. Begg._] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS + + Regimental Aid Posts--What Night Fighting is Like--The Young + Doctor--Making the Grave Bigger--Field Dressing + Stations--Where Caution is Required--Where Pluck is + Shown--When Does the Doctor Sleep?--Nothing but Tragedy--Those + Grand Tommies--Winning a V.C. Clasp--A Dreadful Scene--A + Kitchener's Train--Devoted Nurses--The Healthiest + War--Preventive Measures--Hospital Ships. + + +So complete is the organisation of the Red Cross at the front that it +is possible to indicate its work in four terms--Regimental Aid Posts, +Field Dressing Stations, Clearing Hospitals, Base Hospitals. Add to +these the Home Hospitals, to which the men are finally transferred, +and you have the work of the Army Medical Organisation at a glance. + +During this war the cryptic letters R.A.M.C. and M.S.C. have +interpreted themselves into actual glorious service which the British +public will ever delight to honour, and it will be borne in mind that +most of the Christian ministers who have enlisted during this war, +have enlisted into this branch of the service. They bear no arms, but +theirs is the highest of all service, that of ministering to the +wounded and dying. Such work as this requires heroism of the highest +order. + +Let us glance at each branch of the work, that the service of the Red +Cross may live before us. + +1. _Regimental Aid Posts._--Just a little behind the firing line, as +near to it as possible, often exposed to shell and rifle fire, is the +Regimental Aid Post. It may be in a cottage, possibly in a cow-shed, +perhaps only under the partial shelter of a hill, with a doctor and a +few men of the R.A.M.C. in charge. To it are brought as quickly as +possible the men wounded in the firing line. During recent months, +however, it has been impossible to bring the wounded even this short +distance during the day. It has only been at night that the men in the +trenches could remove their wounded hither, or the stretcher-bearers +could go out to seek for them. The fire has been so terrible that no +one could venture into the open. The men have had to lie where they +fell, often in agony, waiting until they could be carried to the aid +post to receive first aid from the doctor waiting for them. But the +doctor does not always wait; he goes where he is needed most, right +into the trenches, risking his life at every step, and there ministers +to those who cannot wait to be brought to him. + +The Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) vividly describes one such +outpost as I have indicated. + +"In the vicinity of the trenches star bombs were constantly being +thrown up, causing whole lines of trenches to be under the weird +flare. German search-lights swept the whole of the surrounding +country, bringing to light every movement of the troops not under +cover. + +"For one brief moment the shaft of light rested on me as I stood +watching the scene of battle. The experience is equal to an unexpected +cold douche. Night fighting under modern science is, I should +imagine, hell let loose, and the surprise to me is that so many should +survive the inferno. + +"From 8 P.M. to 8 A.M. the rush was terrific. In one of the field +hospitals no less than seventy odd wounded were treated, about twenty +of these requiring chloroform. + +"Be it remembered that each case is hastily but carefully dressed by +the regimental doctor at the Regimental Aid Post before coming in to +the field hospital for more thorough treatment, then one realises the +enormous amount of work that often falls to the men occupying these +positions of grave risk and tough work. + +"These gentlemen are night and day at the call of the man in the +trenches, and gladly make any and every sacrifice to render needed +medical and surgical assistance. Each trip they make to the line of +fire means that they carry their lives in their hands; for there is +more danger getting into the trenches than actually exists in the +trenches, because most of the fire passes over our trenches and sweeps +the approaches night and day. + +"Some few days ago, I had occasion to spend some time with a young +regimental doctor in his lonely outpost. We were drawn together by +common interests and promised ourselves a smoke night together. The +first case that met my gaze in the field hospital was my friend the +young regimental doctor, fatally wounded whilst going in the rush of +work to render help to the wounded. + +"Perfectly conscious, he said as he took my hand, 'You see, Padre, +they have claimed me at last. I always felt it would come.' + +"Calmly he dictated a brief message to his young wife and child, then +bravely waited for the end. He knew exactly the nature of his wound +and was quite prepared for the surrender of his soul to God. He +accepted his end as nobly as he had striven to do his God-inspired +work. The real tragedy of this is in the house yonder in England made +desolate by this cruel war." + +So does the Regimental Aid Post doctor give his life for his country. + +The Rev. Owen Spencer Watkins (Wesleyan) gives us another picture of a +Regimental Aid Post. + +"Near the trenches in a deserted farm by the roadside is the +Regimental Aid Post which last I visited. Two regimental doctors have +made it their headquarters--Captain Brown and Lieutenant Eccles--and +thither are gathered the sick and wounded belonging to the Manchester +Regiment and the East Surreys. I had been sent for to bury the dead. +As usual on such occasions, I went out with the bearers and ambulance +waggons after dark, and when I arrived I found three men waiting +burial. Two as they stood side by side had been killed by the same +bullet, the other had been shot whilst issuing rations to his comrades +in the trenches. + +"'You've timed your visit well, Padre,' said Captain Brown. 'There's +been a bit of an attack on. Enemy evidently got the wind up badly, and +have been loosing off wildly in the air. Bullets have been falling +around the house like hail; half an hour ago you couldn't have got to +us. One comfort is that if the bullets were falling here, they must +have been going high over the heads of our fellows.' + +"'Yes, we're ready for you as soon as ever the waggons are loaded, but +Eccles has a man of the East Surreys; perhaps the grave had better be +made bigger, and then you can make one job of it.' + +"A few minutes later we were passing through the farm-yard at the back +of the house, mud over our boot tops, into a field, in the corner of +which a little cemetery had sprung up. 'Twenty officers and men, most +of them Manchesters,' Brown said in an undertone. 'Winnifrith buried +three here last night, and two the night before. No, you need not be +afraid to use a light to-night. The weather is too thick for it to be +seen by the enemy, and in any case they're busy, for our fellows are +attacking. Listen.' Again the angry voice of the machine-gun, the +noise of rifle fire, so heavy that it sounded like the bubbling of +water boiling in some gigantic cauldron." + +2. We pass now to the _Field Dressing Stations_. It appears to be only +when the fighting is severe that these are needed in addition to the +Regimental Aid Posts. Sometimes the wounded are taken direct to the +clearing hospital from the Regimental Aid Posts; but when the wounded +crowd in upon the latter, they can only receive rough first aid +treatment there, and are passed back as quickly as possible to the +Dressing Station. + +This is carefully explained in a letter by Staff-Sergeant Barlow, +R.A.M.C., to the Vicar of Prestwich. "Perhaps it would be well to +explain where our work as a field ambulance comes in. We are not in +the sense of the word a hospital. In the first place a regiment is in +the trenches, and in close proximity to the trenches, the regimental +bearers carry their wounded to some place of cover or comparative +safety, such as a barn or farm-house, or in the case of a town being +shelled, cellars are used. These are called Regimental Aid Posts. + +"As a Field Ambulance we follow from one to two miles in the rear of +the firing line and form dressing stations, using schools or barns for +the purpose. Our ambulance waggons and stretcher-bearers go out under +cover of darkness to collect from the Aid Posts the wounded soldiers, +the waggons halting perhaps half a mile away, while the bearers cross +fields and roads to the Aid Posts where the wounded soldiers are. + +"This is very dangerous and requires much caution; lights are +prohibited, as even the flare of a cigarette becomes a good mark for +the enemy's snipers, of whom they appear to have many. + +"Each regiment forms its own Aid Post. One ambulance unit attends a +brigade. After the wounded are brought to the dressing station, the +wounds are redressed, and the soldiers are as soon as possible +despatched to the clearing hospitals at the base." + +Staff-Sergeant Barlow proceeds to describe his first impressions of +this awful work: + +"What were my first impressions? you may ask. They were such as I can +never forget. We were halted near a farm-house, the tenants of which +had cleared out, leaving fowls and pigs unattended. The pigs could not +have been fed for several days, as they were shrieking for food; we +called it crying. The pigs were fed with food from the lofts. Dinner +was served to the men (army biscuits and jam), in the midst of which +an order came for an ambulance waggon for a wounded man. + +"We were all astir, and it was the first casualty we had had to deal +with. The waggon went out, and later several stretcher squads and +other waggons. The remainder had to fall back about half a mile to a +small village to prepare a school and church for the receipt of the +wounded. + +"My first thoughts were: What is it like; shall I be able to stand the +sight of it? In the evening our waggons began to return, bringing many +wounded. The medical officers rolled their sleeves up and set to work. +My duty fell to assisting by taking off the dressings from the wounds, +the first one being that of a soldier with part of his elbow blown +away. It looked awful, but I got over it very well. Why? Because we +had not time to think of it. There were others to attend to, most +patiently waiting--and I think it is in such circumstances as these +that one can see the true pluck and courage of the British +soldier,--with here and there one pleading for attention. + +"Everyone worked hard; the hours passed as minutes, and when all were +attended and we looked in solemn silence around, I turned to a comrade +and asked the time. He answered it was after 4 A.M. I thought it was +midnight. We had dealt with 134 wounded, among whom were several +Germans. Under a shed in the school-yard lay five men who had died +after being brought in; they were reverently buried in the local +cemetery. Since this we have had worse and much of a similar nature, +but they have become a conglomeration of events. It is the first night +with the wounded that lives, and through it all a voice within me +continually saying: 'And this is war.'" + +3. Away behind the firing line, in some quiet spot unreached by shell +or rifle fire, is the _Clearing Hospital_. To this spot come the +ambulance waggons bearing their ghastly freight of broken bodies +gathered from Regimental Aid Posts and Dressing Stations. + +The doctors are busily at work. Night is their busiest time. We wonder +when the doctor at the front sleeps. We wonder with how little sleep +it is possible to support life. These men seem tireless. Hour after +hour through the night they toil on, probing here, amputating there. + +This is where we see in all its horror the meaning of that new word +"frightfulness." I cannot describe the scenes that may be witnessed. I +have before me, as I write, copies of _Guy's Hospital Gazette_ from +the beginning of the war, kindly supplied me by the Editor. It is +necessary that descriptions of the horrors should be written for +professional eyes, but I will not harrow the feelings of my readers. I +turn away from their perusal echoing the words of Staff-Sergeant +Barlow--"And this is war." + + [Illustration: A RESCUE PARTY. + Systematic search is made for the wounded, who often crawl away + in the hope of reaching their own lines. + _Drawn by Sydney Adamson._] + +I will rather let the Rev. E.L. Watson (Baptist chaplain) describe to +us, as he saw it, the work at such a Clearing Hospital. + +"In the same ward were many wounded upon the floor stretchers, lying +still in their soaked and muddy clothes just as they had fallen, with +bloody bandages showing up in dreadful contrast against their poor +soiled bodies. Some delirious, others lying in profound silence, but +noble fortitude. In a ward like this one sees nothing but tragedy. + +"In the receiving room the R.A.M.C. officers were working at highest +pressure to save life and limb, by steady hand and cheery manner +imparting confidence and hope to every patient in turn. + +"I could not help expressing admiration for the way in which each +piece of work was carried out, but the officer commanding simply +said, 'You know, Padre, we cannot sacrifice enough for the man who is +standing up to this hail of hell for us.' + +"I was surprised to see such a large percentage of officers among the +wounded. No wonder our men are proud of their leaders; where risks +must be taken, the officer claims this as his privilege and thus shows +the way in every undertaking. One brave major leading his men into the +German trenches, when hit, simply shouted "Go on!" as he fell wounded +in the head. He is being buried to-day, as every brave soldier +desires, in his uniform and blanket." + +It will be perhaps as well to look at a similar scene through a +doctor's eyes, and I therefore quote a letter from a medical officer +at a receiving base in France published in the _Scotsman_. + +"We get the wounded here at practically first-hand. They are brought +in with all possible speed, dealt with at once, and sent out to other +hospitals as soon as we can send them, to make room for the others who +may (and who invariably do) come. They're wonderful chaps, those +Tommies. Great stuff; too good to lose! They are brought to us at all +hours. Exhausted, covered with mud, hastily but well bandaged on +common-sense principles; and aye the quiet, plucky grin, or the +patient, enduring set of the jaw. + +"'What price this little lot, doctor? '--and the querist indicates +where the bullet entered his thigh. 'And me futball leg, too!' growled +another one, brought in dripping one night. 'And who will do the +schorin' fur the ould tame now? All the same, sir, I schored ag'in' +the man that did this, or wan av his side.' Man, they're wonderful! +They tell us, under the nervous stress in which we usually find them, +some things that have made me wish to lay my eye to the sights of a +rifle, despite my bay windows. They tell them in such a +matter-of-course fashion, too, that they simply sink in. + +"'When did you get this?' I asked a man wounded in both thighs. + +"'Yesterday morning, at eight, sir; chargin'. Dropped between their +trenches an' ours. Half a dozen of others there too, all wounded, lay +there all day. Those snipers poured lead into anything that showed +signs of life. Chap next to me was badly hit, and inclined to move. I +warned him twice to lie flat an' not squirm, as the Germans were +watchin' for every move, an' would plug him, wounded or not. He stuck +it steady for four hours. Then he tried to roll over, an' showed a +shoulder. Got it. Soon's the snipers couldn't see me after dark, I +started to drag myself back, an' met some of the boys out to look for +us. It was more than seven to one against us that day.' And so it goes +on. + +"It's a great experience this. As a surgeon, I know its value. But I +wish it was over. It's awful. The stream of wounded seems unceasing, +and sometimes I ask myself, when I've time to realise it at all, how +long I will be able to meet this strain. We must do our work, however, +and I'm proud to do it for those grand men the Tommies." + +It is, of course, difficult to single out for mention the names of +doctors who are doing this heroic work at Regimental Aid Posts and +Dressing Stations. Where all are heroic particular mention would be +invidious. There is, however, one outstanding name--Lieutenant Arthur +Martin Leake, R.A.M.C. I mention him because he has been the +recipient of a unique distinction. He served through the South African +War and there won the V.C. for conspicuous bravery. Having won the +V.C. it could not be given to him again, and so a clasp has been added +to the Cross. + +The brief official record is as follows: + +"Lieutenant Arthur Martin Leake, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was +awarded the Victoria Cross on May 13, 1902, is granted a clasp for +conspicuous bravery in the present campaign. + +"For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty throughout the +campaign, especially during the period October 29 to November 8, 1914, +near Zonnebeke, in rescuing while exposed to constant fire a large +number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy's trenches." + +So far as I know this honour is unique. Probably Lieutenant Leake +would say that he is no braver than scores of other doctors who are +nobly doing their work at the front, but he has had his opportunity +and he has used it, and by so doing has brought honour upon the whole +medical profession. Great is the man who fearlessly "takes occasion by +the hand" in the cause of humanity. + +When all that can be done for the men at the clearing hospitals is +accomplished, they are despatched to the rear. Those who, in the +opinion of the medical staff, can bear the journey to this country are +despatched thither direct via hospital train and hospital ship. The +majority, however, are taken to the base hospitals, where they lie +until they are well enough to be sent home, or death eases them of +their pain. + +In the early days of the war this transit to the base was difficult in +the extreme, and the wounded arrived there in a shocking condition. +It is as well, perhaps, that we should know what really happened, so I +copy a paragraph from _Guy's Hospital Gazette_ of November 7, 1914. It +is from a letter signed "G.H.F.G." + +"The train has just arrived and even now some few wounded are being +removed from the waggons, the gravest of all being given treatment in +an improvised hospital by the sidings, others less serious, though bad +enough in all conscience, are carried on stretchers to the central +goods shed, where the commandant, aided by a large staff of excitable, +bearded assistants, directs to what hospital they are to be sent. + +"For some minutes we watch the unloading of these waggons. Preceded by +orderlies the officer passes from door to door, entering some, and +questioning briefly the men lying full length or sitting in what +comfort they can upon the straw-covered boards. As the panel slides +back a fetid odour of pus reaches the nostrils; startled by the +unexpected brightness a couple of horses tethered at one end of the +truck stamp and whinney. Carrying an acetylene flare, which makes +weird effects of chiaroscuro on the bare walls and floor, an orderly +comes in and collects the histories of the men. One man, wounded in +the head, persists in taking him for a German, the others laugh and +point to their foreheads. A little further on, in second and +third-class carriages, men with arms in slings, and less serious body +wounds, crowd in the corridors and clamour for food and drink." + +What wonder after this that we are told that most of the wounds +received in those early days were septic on their arrival at the base +hospital? + +How different it all is at the present time! Now well-appointed +hospital trains move backwards and forwards from the clearing +hospitals to the base. For the first time we enter the nurse's sphere. +Everything changes when the nurse appears upon the scene. She loves +order. Cleanliness is her life. She is trained in all the little arts +of nursing which bring comfort and peace. She can do what no man can +do. The doctor is splendid at his own special work, the +stretcher-bearer, the ambulance man, and the hospital orderly at his. +But it remains for women to do what man can never do, and with her +light touch, and tender sympathy, to soothe and comfort and bless. + + When pain and anguish wring the brow + A ministering angel thou. + +The hospital trains are called "Kitchener's trains"--another tribute +to the great man who, from his room at the War Office, seems to +overlook everything and forget nothing. + +Miss Beardshaw, writing to her old hospital--Guy's--gives a +description of one of these hospital trains well worth reproduction +here. + +"Ours is known as the 'Khaki Train '--a Kitchener's Train; it is half +Great Eastern and half L.N.W. There are 220 beds, stretcher ones, two +layers. In between each carriage is a little department, a place for +plates, mugs, dressings, &c. The officers' and sisters' part is at one +end with their kitchen. Dispensary in the middle. Patients' kitchen +and orderlies' quarters at the other end. There are three medical +officers, one army sister in charge of wards A and B and the general +run of all our work. I have C, D, and E wards, and Miss Wilson has F, +G, H; a 'London' nurse has the three others. The army sister is an +old Guy's, so I think we shall be very happy together. There are +forty-five orderlies. The paint of the train white, bed frames dark +red, curtains green, and blankets dark brown, so the general effect is +very pretty. It is kept most beautifully clean, and the orderlies are +very proud of their train--the best on the line, they say. We go up +and down to the clearing station, so I am greatly looking forward to +seeing Sisters Kiddle and Ames. I do hope they will not be moved +before we get there. We often take convalescent patients about, often +to Havre. Have been between Havre and Rouen twice these last few +days." + +What a picture this gives us of organisation at its best! "Beautifully +clean!" Surely this is just what is needed, and we cannot wonder that +over sixty per cent. of the wounded are able ere long to return to the +firing line. + +4. And then after the journey in the hospital train _de luxe_, there +is the _Base Hospital_, with everything in perfect order, and all that +can be done for the wounded men. I have written about the work in the +base hospitals in the chapter on "Work at the Fighting Base." It is +not necessary, therefore, that I should linger here. I will, however, +add a tribute which the Rev. R. Hall (Wesleyan) pays to the nursing +sisters. Says Mr. Hall: + +"I must say a word about the nursing sisters. No braver and truer +women ever lived, kind and gentle and brave in the face of disease and +death. By day and night they watch and care for our comrades; many a +lad's dying hours are made more comfortable by the gentle touch and +loving word of these devoted women. + +"I heard one day that in another hospital seven miles away one of our +own men was dying. I went over and found that he was isolated; he was +dying of an infectious disease. He was in great agony. A sister stood +beside him, and was trying to comfort him and ease his pain, at the +same time the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. + +"I have been profoundly impressed by the work of this branch of the +Service. We forget sometimes that it is easier to face the shell and +the bullet in the excitement of battle than it is to watch hour by +hour and tend to those who are suffering from some deadly infectious +disease, or from some ghastly wound received in battle." + +Mr. Hall's tribute is surely well earned. In this war woman has been +as brave as man or braver. She has given of her best and dearest, she +has worked and prayed and endured. And away out there among our +wounded and dying, far from the excitement of battle, by day and by +night she has given herself--all she is and all she has--to the +service of her country. And in doing so she has earned the undying +gratitude of those to whom she has ministered, and of the land she +loves so well. + + * * * * * + +I turn now to consider another branch of Red Cross work at the +front--the treatment and prevention of disease. + +This has been the "healthiest" war ever undertaken by the British +Army. The great problem of all armies is how to keep out infectious +disease, and never before has the problem been solved. If still not +completely solved, it is certainly in the fair way to solution. + +In the campaigns of the forty years previous to this war the +proportion of sick to wounded was twenty-five to one, and of deaths +through disease to death by shot, shell, or bayonet, five to one. In +the South African War the proportion of sick to wounded was over four +to one. We all remember the terrible share that enteric had in the +wastage of that campaign. How the soldiers dreaded it. "Better," they +used to say, "three wounds then one enteric." + +Now enteric has almost entirely disappeared. Speaking in February 1915 +the Under Secretary of State for War said that so far during the +campaign there had been only six hundred and twenty-five cases in the +British Expeditionary Force and of these only forty-nine had died--a +percentage of deaths less than half as great as that among the victims +of typhoid in the forces still in this country. + +Of typhus and cholera there had not been a single case. Strange to +say, one hundred and seventy-five of the men had had measles, and +among these there had been two deaths. One hundred and ninety-six men +had had scarlet-fever and there had been four deaths. How far the +healthiness of the climate affects these figures it is difficult to +say, but it must be remembered that it has been a terribly wet winter. + +How far inoculation against typhoid has prevented the disease is also +an interesting question. The doctors have a note of victory in all +their statements on this subject, and the figures seem to justify +their satisfaction. + +Certainly preventive measures have counted for much. Early in the war +the medical officers of the various ambulances acted, so far as time +permitted, as sanitary officers, and in later days a well-organised +Sanitary Section has accomplished great things. The cleansing of +camps, the appointments of sanitary offices, the provision of baths, +and, generally, every possible attention to hygiene, have kept our men +exceptionally free from sickness, and no praise can be too high for +the men who have accomplished so much for the British soldier. + + [Illustration: ON THE MARNE. + The pet dog of a French regiment finds wounded soldiers and + brings the stretcher-bearers to them. This dog has learnt to + dig himself a hole when firing is going on. + _Drawn by E. Matania._] + +On the other hand, of frost-bite there have been over nine thousand +cases. It is questionable, however, if the vast majority of these +cases are really cases of frost-bite. Medical opinion inclines to the +view that most of these are a new disease known as trench foot, caused +by standing in the trenches with putties too tight and boots too +small. + +_Guy's Hospital Gazette_ publishes some remarkable figures. "On one +occasion a rifle brigade after marching fifteen miles went at once +into the trenches, and within forty-eight hours, over four hundred +were incapacitated through the foot trouble described in this report. +One hundred and eighty men of the Cameron Highlanders were in the +trenches without being relieved for eight days and only three suffered +from slight frost-bite. None of them wore anything upon their legs and +feet, except boots, which may explain the sparsity of cases." + +If this be so, then frost-bite of this description is also largely +preventable, and the recommendation of the doctors as to large, easy +fitting, and water-tight boots, less tightly bound putties, &c., will +prevent most of this trouble in future. + +On the whole, the country can congratulate itself very heartily on the +noble and successful work of the various Red Cross departments. The +doctors who have sacrificed their lives will not be forgotten, and +will be regarded as heroic as any officers who have led a charge from +the trenches. The nurses have earned a debt of gratitude we can never +repay. Nursing efficiency has gone far since "Our Lady of the Lamp" +moved with such tender dignity up and down the wards in the hospital +at Scutari. We would pay our tribute of admiration to the work of our +nurses in this war, and say, "Many daughters have done virtuously, but +thou--thou modern lady of the lamp--excellest them all." + +I must not close this chapter without a word about the well-appointed +hospital ships which ply backwards and forwards between the French and +British coasts, each with its doctors, nurses, and chaplains on board, +bearing a freight of suffering humanity, such as our coasts have never +seen before. Everything in order, everything in the way of comfort and +ease provided. It was a dastardly act to aim a German torpedo against +the _Asturias_. Fortunately the attempt failed, but what profit would +it have been if this life-giving ship had been sunk? Enough surely has +been done to take life. The object of such ships as these--ships which +cannot be mistaken for any others--is to woo back to life, until their +suffering humanity can be tenderly placed in the care of loving hands +and hearts at home. Here we are waiting for them, and here we have a +right to expect them, that, nursed back to health in the hospitals of +our land, they may, by and by, greet wife, and mother, and child, and +sweetheart in their own homes once more. + +But oh the cruel work of war! The legacy of broken bodies and broken +hearts! We look on, and look up to the City of God even now coming +down from God out of heaven. _Sursum corda!_ The hour of redemption +draweth nigh. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WITH THE GRAND FLEET + + Always "Ready, Aye Ready"--The Deciding Factor--One Hundred + and Fifty Chaplains--On the "Bulwark"--"The Church Pennant" + Postponed--Sunday on a Battleship--The Sailor and the Thought + of Death--Stories from the Fleet--From a Torpedo-boat--The + Shore Chaplain's Opportunity--Christian Bravery--"Save + Yourself; I'll let go." + + +Everybody is asking, Where is the Grand Fleet? And that is just what +the Germans would like to know. It has a marvellous facility for +appearing and disappearing. Occasionally we receive letters bearing +the address, "In the North Sea or elsewhere," and sometimes we think +it is more elsewhere than there. No postmark gives its location away, +no newspaper paragraph lets us into the secret. And then suddenly it +appears: + + Out of the everywhere into the here, + +and the Germans find to their dismay a part of it off the Dogger Bank, +and the sleepy Turk wakes up to find another part in the Dardanelles. + +It is like one of the mysterious powers of nature--unseen, but ever +exercising a powerful influence. Its existence is always felt--felt by +our foes with ever-increasing pressure, and felt by us with influences +always beneficial. + +It sleeps not and rests not. It is always "ready, aye ready." From +Admiral Sir John Jellicoe to the grimiest stoker, it is one in purpose +and in action. And because it is _there_, we sleep well in our beds at +night, and there are few of us, as we lie down to rest, but breathe a +prayer for those who seem never to rest-- + + "God bless our sons upon the sea." + +We have always been proud of our fleet, but never so proud as to-day. +It expresses the genius of our nation. Our way has always been "in +great waters." We talk of ourselves as "safe circled by the silver +sea," but the sea would not save us without our fleet. + +When the war broke out, we found ourselves asking, "How will it be +with us now?" With forty million mouths to feed and only six weeks' +supply of food in the country, how will it be with us now? + +Our fleet has solved that problem, and food has poured into the +country in plenty and everyone has been fed. It has been in every sea, +chasing our enemies off the ocean, protecting trade routes, convoying +troop-ships, and at the same time bottling up our enemies in their +harbours. + +Never was such a herculean task undertaken and never so well +performed. Battleships and cruisers, torpedo boats, and submarines, +all in their turn have done their work, and done it well. They are +waiting they tell us for "the day" of which the enemy boasted so much, +and when the day dawns they will be there. + +We realise that our fleet will be the deciding fact in this war. Our +soldiers have done splendidly and will continue so to do, but without +our ships they would be helpless, and if once we lose command of the +sea, the glory of our country will pass away. But we have no doubts +and no fears. They are _there_--and _here_--_everywhere_. + +The nation's gratitude has been shown in many ways during the war. +Busy hands have worked for it, and numberless prayers have risen to +God's throne on its behalf. As an instance of what has been done, I +quote the figures of "comforts" sent from _one_ girls' school to _one_ +ship--the _Ajax_. The school is the Girls' Grammar School, Bury, whose +headmistress is Miss J.P. Kitchener (a relative of Lord Kitchener). +Wristlets, 137; mufflers, 118; body bands, 120; socks and stockings, +35; sea boot stockings, 16; mittens, 142; jersey, 1; books and +magazines, 500. Of course all the articles, except the books, have +been made by the girls. In addition to these they have sent 1673 +articles to the soldiers. I wonder if this is a record for such an +institution? This, however, is only a specimen of what has been done. + +Somewhere with that mysterious fleet are a hundred and fifty +chaplains. No Free Church chaplains are afloat. It would be difficult +to carry more than one chaplain on a ship, and, of course, many of the +ships of war carry no chaplain at all. Where there is no chaplain the +commanding officer conducts the ship's service. Nonconformists at sea +have to lose for the time the ministry of their several churches, but +when in port landing parties redress this inequality. Some ships, +especially those belonging to Devonport, have a strong Nonconformist +element in their crews. + +The naval chaplain as a rule is an entirely different type of man from +his brother in the Army. He is monarch of all he surveys. He has to +face no competition in his work. He partakes of the freedom of the +sea. For the most part he is a right down good fellow, but, so far as +I can judge, he has not the type of spirituality of which we see so +much in the Army. He is all sorts of things rolled into +one--sea-lawyer, letter-writer, story-teller, lecturer, schoolmaster, +game-director, and a host of other things beside. He must be +absolutely sincere if he is to be any good at all, for he never gets +away from the busy life of the ship, and he of all men "cannot be +hid." Often he is the friend and counsellor of the men, sharing their +joys and sorrows. He is the go-between for officers and men, and if he +be efficient--and an inefficient man could hardly remain long on +board--he makes himself indispensable. + +Of course he shares all the dangers of the ship, and to-day if a ship +be beaten it is also sunk. Never were the dangers of the sea so great. +Dangers _on_ the sea, _under_ the sea, _over_ the sea, crowd around. +He never knows when or how suddenly the end may come, and it behoves +him to be ready, and brave. We are told that, when the three cruisers +were torpedoed in the North Sea, the Rev. E.G. Uphill Robson, chaplain +of the _Aboukir_, went down cheering the men he loved so well. The +Rev. A.H.J. Pitts, the chaplain of the _Good Hope_, died bravely with +Sir Christopher Cradock. A petty officer who knew him in another ship +says, "With him compulsory church was quite unnecessary. Nobody in the +ship would be absent from the service if he could possibly manage to +get there." + +One of the most terrible catastrophes of the war was the blowing up of +the _Bulwark_ in Sheerness Harbour. The Rev. G.H. Hewetson, the +chaplain, was on board and perished with the rest. He had only been +married a few months. + +"Only the other week," wrote a correspondent of the _Church Family +Newspaper_, "I met a stoker, who told me he, Mr. Hewetson, held +meetings for men every evening in his cabin, and he was constantly at +their elbow when spells from duty would permit, guiding them in 'the +things that matter.' It was also my privilege to know him as chaplain +to the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth, during his stay of nearly +three years, which terminated with his taking up duties on the +_Bulwark_ at the outbreak of war. He was a man of God, also a +sportsman of the highest tone, being an expert fencer, a runner-up in +the Army and Navy championships at Olympia two seasons ago. He was a +man of some literary ability, for which the Chaplain of the Fleet made +him editor of the _Church Pennant_, _i.e._ the Church magazine of the +Navy. Mr. Hewetson was an earnest believer in individual methods, and +invariably worked sixteen hours a day, visiting all recruits, +detention quarters, sick bay, and held no fewer than five services on +Sundays." + +I suppose we include our chaplains when we pray for those who "go down +to the sea in ships"; but surely these men who are there, not to +fight, but to preach and pray, claim a special interest in our +prayers. + +Prayers are read every morning on every large war-ship, and this is, +of course, the chaplain's duty, if one is carried in the ship. The +life and work of the day depends very largely on how this is done. + +On Sunday there is a sermon--just a quiet, homely talk from heart to +heart, and in these days we may well believe that men are thrilled by +the message as never before. Of course, during the winter storms +morning prayers on deck or Sunday parades are impossible, for many a +great green sea will break over the decks even of a super-Dreadnought. +At these times service is held below and men attend in relays. On some +of the super-Dreadnoughts there are little churches. The _Queen Mary_, +for instance, has one. + +I have asked a few representative chaplains to tell me something of +the spiritual work on board their ships. + +The Rev. C.W. Lydall, chaplain of the _Lion_, which took part in the +North Sea battle, says: "I can only tell you that in this ship our +religious motto has been 'business as usual.' I mean the war routine +has interfered as little as possible with our services, which have +been attended well. There has been a decided increase in the number of +communicants, and in many small ways the men have shown a fuller +consciousness of their dependence upon God." + +The Rev. Arthur C. Moreton, chaplain of the _Invincible_, which was +engaged in the battle off the Falkland Islands, writes: "The usual +services are held when practicable, and on Sunday and Wednesday nights +I have a prayer meeting with Bible-reading in my cabin." + +The Rev. M.T. Hainsselin, chaplain of the _Ajax_, writes: "The war has +made little or no difference to my routine of church work on this +ship. The only service I have added has been a second celebration of +Holy Communion in addition to the usual 7.40 A.M. one, to enable men +to come who could not be present earlier; and the opportunity has been +much valued. The other services of Morning and Evening Prayer are +continued as usual. + +"As you probably know, sailors do not as a general rule care much +about the Parade Service at 10.30 A.M., but I think I may truly say +that since the outbreak of the war they have come far more to realise +it as an act of worship due from them, and it has become a deep +reality instead of--as it was to many--a formality. + +"In the men's letters which I have had to censor, I have noticed a +very strong current of devout religious sentiment, hitherto +unsuspected, which encouraged me to think that one's ordinary teaching +is not so much wasted effort, as one is sometimes faithless enough to +think it is." + +How heavy the veil of secrecy hanging over the fleet really is, will +be seen from the fact that only one copy of the _Church Pennant_, +which lost its editor in the _Bulwark_, was issued between the +outbreak of war and Easter, and that in February last. The _Church +Pennant_ is the organ of the Naval Church Society, and records the +Christian work on board H.M. ships. Several reports of Christian work +are given in this solitary issue, but the names of the ships are only +indicated by initials. + +One report states that the place ordinarily used for celebrations and +evening service had to be given up to the doctors, but that Holy +Communion has been celebrated in the chaplain's cabin every Sunday. On +Christmas Day there were two communions and the number of communicants +was thirty-four. "The men in general are pleased to read religious +papers, and readily accept prayer cards." + +Another report says: "On board this ship we were able, in spite of now +and then roughish weather, to keep up our regular daily prayers and +Sunday services. On Sundays we had stand-up church and two hymns from +the hymn cards, and all the responses of Matins with one lesson and +one of the Canticles sung. We had the harmonium to sing to. These +services were brief, but very heartily joined in. After stand-up +Matins we were able always to have our celebration in the captain's +cabin--there being no other place in the ship available. The +attendance was very good and showed that the old prejudice against +coming so far aft is at any rate moribund. Sometimes the weather made +it a little difficult both for the priest and worshippers, but we soon +got used to the necessary balancing.... Everyone throughout the ship +was merry and bright; we only regretted not having a chance of meeting +an opposite number of the enemy." + +A third report is as follows: + +"First of all, nightly Evensong has been held by the chaplain ever +since the war broke out. On account of the smallness of our numbers, +we meet in the chaplain's cabin, and there the service is performed. +Every Sunday morning, at 7 o'clock, we have a celebration of the Holy +Communion; and on the second Sunday in the month this service is +repeated after morning service. Our flotilla forms rather a large +parish for the chaplain, and to supply its wants we have a service +specially arranged whenever it is convenient. After our usual 7 A.M. +service, we sometimes proceed on board another ship, and have a +celebration, to which all communicants from the other vessels in our +company are invited by signal. + +"The place allotted to us in each instance is the captain's forecabin, +which in this ship is as suitable a place as service conditions will +allow. On Sunday evenings we have Evensong at 8.30, followed by +hymn-singing, and occasionally we get a good attendance. But this, +like other services, suffers for want of good space, which is not +always easy to find on board ship.... + +"Conditions on board ship render any efforts with regard to church +work very difficult, and this is most marked during these trying +times. No doubt many more would join in our united devotions did their +duty allow. But we may well be content to go ahead and do the best we +can, even if it should be rather disheartening at times. And it will +be acknowledged that there has been at least some effort made to +continue our duty towards the Church of which we are so proud to +consider ourselves loyal members. Our daily evening service closes +with a prayer, in which all are remembered, and this is a means by +which all may help. We feel and know that those who are on shore are +doing the same, and praying for guidance and protection for us from +Him Who is above all this turmoil and strife, and Who alone is able to +preserve us from peril." + +Here is yet one more report: + +"Owing to the outbreak of the war the Temperance and Bible classes in +this ship have been discontinued, but the Daily Prayer Meeting has +been kept going in almost unbroken line. + +"The voluntary services on Sunday evenings have been well attended, +also the weekly celebration of the Holy Communion is very +encouraging." + +Putting the chaplains' letters and these various reports to the +_Church Pennant_ together, it is evident that the "business" of the +Church has been, so far as possible, carried on "as usual," and that +from a Church of England point of view it has been satisfactory. + +It does not, however, satisfy us. We want to get into the men's hearts +and minds and find out what they are feeling and thinking in these +strenuous times. Does the thought of death affect them? Have the +things of eternity become more real? Are they conscious of sin within, +and of their need of a Saviour? Light-hearted and merry as ever, have +they the joy of the Lord? + +All around them are terrible armaments. We are told that the 15-inch +guns of the new _Queen Elizabeth_ can send a shell weighing a ton for +a distance of more than twenty miles. The destruction which can be +wrought by one of these shells can be imagined when we read of the +havoc wrought by one such shell in one of the great forts of Antwerp. +It was not, of course, from a man-of-war, but its destructive force +would be the same. Says Sir Cecil Hertslet, our late Consul-General at +Antwerp: + +"Another of these great shells, weighing nearly a ton, fired from a +distance of about ten miles, rising three miles into the air, fell +upon the cupola of another of the great outer forts of Antwerp. It +went through the concrete roof of the fort, passed through the great +hall where the garrison of the fort was assembled; it went down to the +floor and lower still, and at last exploded, and with the explosion +swept away everything--forts, guns, garrison, disappearing." + +Are they conscious that they have such terrible engines of destruction +on board which on occasion they will use? Does the thought of it ever +appal them? Do they think that all around them are mines strewing the +North Sea, and that submarines are lurking here and there waiting to +launch the terrible torpedo? Do these thoughts ever come to a Jack +Tar, and how do they affect him? + + [Illustration: _Photo Credit, Southsea._ + A VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON A BATTLESHIP. + The church is "rigged" on the leeward side of a pair of 13.5 + guns. A most impressive service.] + +To the real Christian death has, of course, no terror. He swings +himself into his hammock at night, knowing that to him sudden death +will be sudden glory. But to the ordinary man-of-war's man has there +come an accession of seriousness, such as has come to the men in the +sister service? + +We can as yet only answer this question in part, and must wait for a +full answer until the veil of secrecy is lifted. + +And in order to get as full an answer as is possible we must turn to +the men themselves, and as we do so, we offer for all of them the +beautiful prayer which the Archbishop of Canterbury has put into our +lips: + +"O Thou that slumberest not nor sleepest, protect, we pray Thee, our +sailors from the hidden perils of the sea, from the snares and +assaults of the enemy. Steady and support those upon whom the burdens +of responsibility lie heavily, and grant that in dangers often, in +watchings often, in weariness often, they may serve Thee with a quiet +mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." + +We must remember that just as every regiment in our Army is to-day +leavened by Christian men, so is practically every ship in our fleet. +The work of our sailors' homes has been successfully done,--such +Homes, for instance, as those of Miss Agnes Weston, and the Homes of +the Wesleyan Church at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Devonport. + +The previous work of the Sunday-schools and of the Salvation Army has +also told, and the men have, many of them, become out-and-out +Christians. + +_They_ have no difficulty in speaking: + + What they have felt and seen + With confidence they tell. + +And theirs is indeed a fascinating story. They have a way of making +their presence felt. They cannot keep to themselves the love that has +been shed abroad in their hearts, and so they gather their comrades +round them, and have "good times" together, while God's blessing rests +upon their work. Sometimes they meet in the chaplain's cabin, +sometimes elsewhere, but night by night they meet, and in their own +way worship God. + +Let us listen to a few of their stories. They are most of them +Methodists or Salvationists, so we will turn to the Rev. J.H. +Bateson's reports in the _Methodist Recorder_ or _Methodist Times_, +and to the _War Cry_. + +Mr. Bateson says: + +"It is little that we know of our battleships in the North Sea. We +know that they are there, because the havoc of war is kept away from +our island home. The men, all Nelson's men, are doing their duty. A +letter from one of them will be read with interest: + +"'I must tell you we had a grand meeting last Sunday. We had thirty +present. More would have been there only we were rolling and pitching +heavily in a full gale, which lasted five days--the worst I have +experienced for many a year. Can you just try to picture us trying to +keep our feet and clutching at the piano (oh yes, we have one on +board), occasionally. We started off with, "All hail the power of +Jesu's Name," had prayer from our Blue Books, reading from Isaiah +xlii. 1-7, and a talk on the same, then "Rock of Ages," prayers, +"Nearer, my God, to Thee," Benediction, and Doxology. You should have +heard us sing! I'm afraid some of the home praise and prayer meetings +would be envious! This was our first attempt. I expect ere long we +shall have to have the meeting on the upper deck, for the numbers +will be too many for our enclosed reading-room. However, we intend to +keep the flag flying. 'Tis little we feel able to do, but we will do +our little best. It may, and should, have good results.'" + +Here is the account of another service sent home by an engine-room +artificer on one of H.M. battleships. + +"It is Sunday evening, the time about 7.30, when upwards of seventy +men may be seen sitting about the deck, under the fo'castle of one of +His Majesty's cruisers. Outside all is dark, one watch of men are +standing by the guns, trying to penetrate the darkness, in case of the +approach of the enemy. A watch of stokers and engineers is below, +humping the ship along. Another is resting, waiting for the time for +their next trick to come round. What do we see in the gathering of men +under the fo'castle? They have Sankey's hymn-books, kindly presented +by Miss Weston. In one corner is an harmonium, assisted by a couple of +violins. These supply the music. Presently a voice cries out, 'What +hymn will you have, men?' and the chorus of replies makes it difficult +to select one. This goes on for a while. Then all heads are bowed +whilst prayer is made. Our quartette party renders a few pieces, after +which ---- gives the address, and right fine it is. He has some +splendid topics, and, being a worthy Methodist local preacher, he is +listened to with rapt attention. Another suitable hymn, and the +benediction brings the service to a close. The roughness and +simplicity of the service would cause some people surprise. Yet the +shots get home. To hear the men sing is a treat not easily forgotten. +The writer was much impressed by the singing of the hymn, 'Some one +will enter the pearly gates by and by,' one side taking the question +and the other the answer. Once during the week about eight gather in a +cabin for Bible study and to talk of the things of God." + +What a picture these letters present of Christian life upon a +battleship! We could multiply them indefinitely, but must condense +instead. + +One young Christian sailor on a battleship tells of a Bible-class and +prayer-meeting, held every Thursday, conducted by a naval lieutenant. +Another tells of a Methodist class meeting on board conducted _twice_ +weekly. A third sends home the minutes of a meeting held by several of +the men, at which it was resolved to hold a meeting every evening to +be devoted to Bible study, except on Saturdays, when the hour would be +spent in prayer. The Bible study, it was resolved, should begin with +the Epistle to the Romans. We wonder if these sailor lads found any +difficulty in that difficult Epistle. It was further resolved that +every Sunday evening a Gospel meeting should be held, and that every +Christian brother should be expected to take part. And, finally, the +men's correspondent asks that Christian people at home will pray that +he and his comrades may witness a good confession, and that they may +tell forth "God's wonderful story of Christ's redeeming love." + +A naval officer who is a Wesleyan local preacher says: "We are still +going on well--class meetings in the cabin and meetings on the Sunday +night. Wouldn't it be fine to have all the Service local preachers you +could get for a service in the Central Hall after the war and the +platform full of Methodist sailors and soldiers?" + +Here is a touching little letter from a torpedo boat. It is full of a +simple trust in Christ, and pulsates with sweetest fellowship in Him. + +"The winter has been rather a trying one for us in this tiny little +craft, but really I never knew the companionship of a present Saviour +so thoroughly as I have since hostilities began. It would seem almost +as if I were His only care, and that He made me a special study. The +wonder of it all is the more marked when I remember how poor has been +my service to Him, compared with all the great benefits with which He +daily loads me. In answering my prayers, in subduing the storms just +when they were at their worst, in giving me a thorough victory over my +usual weakness, and in a thousand other ways He makes me to lie down +in green pastures, satisfied and at rest, contrary to all the seeming +laws of warfare. These things I tell you, not from any conventional +compulsion, but because they really are so, and because I should be +thrice unworthy of His name if I forebore to tell out what great +things He has done." + +I will quote one or two sentences, this time with reference to +Salvation Army work. A lance-corporal on board the _Centurion_ writes: + +"The chaps on board H.M.S. _Centurion_ expect much from us +Salvationists these youthful days. There are five of us on this ship, +and we are not only engaged in cheering up each other, but we are +distributing as much cheer as possible. Our ship is called the +'Hallelujah Ship.'" + +Another writes from the same ship: "We have had some glorious +soul-saving times." + +A Salvation Army sailor has been given permission by the commander to +conduct meetings on the upper deck of the _Majestic_. He tells us that +he is the only Salvationist on board that ship, but that there are +fifty Christian men there, and that others are giving themselves to +Christ. + +We hear of stokers coming up from the stoke-hole grimed with dirt, so +anxious to attend the services that they do not stop to wash, lest +they should miss the precious hour; of men praying in public who have +never prayed before; of heartfelt addresses delivered by men who had +no idea they could speak in public for their Master. + +There is no need, however, to multiply instances. We may take it for +granted that, in most ships, there is a little band of out-and-out +Christian men eagerly longing for spiritual fellowship, and finding it +in services to which they invite their fellows, and in which they have +the joy of leading many of their comrades to Christ. + +When a ship comes into port for a few hours there is the opportunity +for the shore chaplain. He holds services on board, distributes +"comforts," leaves behind him books and magazines, cheers the +Christian workers, and in his quiet way works wonders. And when the +men are permitted to come on shore what a welcome they receive at the +various Sailors' Homes, and hearts are gladdened and resolutions +strengthened, for the return to sea. The work at sea must be trying in +the extreme--the constant watchfulness, the eager waiting for the +enemy who never comes, the patrolling in the midst of winter tempests, +enough to try the nerves of the strongest--but all the time the +certainty that the old-time message will receive fresh illustration +each day--"England expects that every man will do his duty." + +The wooden walls have passed away, and steel walls have taken their +place, but the men are brave as of old--only better far and nobler. No +longer the scum of our seaport towns, pressed into the service against +their will, but men who are there because they choose and dare, and +who are willing any day to die for their native land. + +Christian bravery, too, is as much in evidence on sea as on land. Take +this little story as an evidence of that fact. It is full of the joy +of glad surrender for another. + +"A sailor who had just got converted at the Sheerness Hall, when he +rose from his knees at the mercy-seat, with the joy of salvation in +his face, said, 'I am glad to be saved. I was on the ---- (one of the +cruisers torpedoed) when she sank. I and another member of the crew, a +Salvationist, had been swimming about in the water for two hours or +more, and were almost exhausted, when just as we were about to give up +we saw a spar, made for it, and took hold. But, alas! it was not big +enough to keep us both afloat. We looked at each other. For a time, +one took hold while the other swam, and then we changed over. + +"'We kept this up for a bit, but it was evident we were getting +weaker. Neither of us spoke for a while, and then presently the +Salvationist said, "Mate, death means life to me; you are not +converted, you hold on to the spar and save yourself; I'll let go. +Good-bye!" + +"'And he let go and went down!'" + +When we have Christian men like that on our men-of-war, we need not +fear for our country, nor for the Kingdom of Christ. And so not only +now, but when the war is over let us pray: + + "O! hear us when we cry to Thee + For those in peril on the sea." + +I close this chapter with one more quotation. It is from the +_Methodist Recorder_. It may be a comfort to some who lost dear ones +in the _Hawke_, or in some of the other ships which have met a similar +fate. + +"On the Sunday before the _Hawke_ met her doom, one of our chaplains +conducted Divine service on the cruiser. As soon as he went on board +he was taken to the cabin of one of the warrant officers--a local +preacher--who is one of the few survivors of the disaster. About +thirty men gathered together. A few hymns were sung from the little +blue books, which have quite captured the sailors' hearts. The +chaplain read the latter part of Romans viii.--that great message of +inseparable love and glowing assurance. He then spoke from the words, +'All things work together for good to them that love God.' The men +listened most earnestly to the message. One of them asked that the +hymn--which has such sad but heroic associations,--'Nearer, my God, to +Thee' might be sung. The little service closed with prayer by the +warrant officer. As the chaplain shook hands with each man, one and +another said, 'Thank you, sir.' Arrangements were made to have another +service when the _Hawke_ next came into port. But that will never be. +To those whose hearts ache for the brave dead of the _Hawke_, there is +no sweeter message than that which was given to the men on their last +Sunday morning, 'All things work together for good to them that love +God.'" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CHAPLAINS DESCRIBE THEIR WORK + + Church of England Army Chaplains' Work at the + Front--Permanently Commissioned Chaplains--Hospital + Ministrations--Six Parade Services on one Day--Holy Communion + in Strange Places--Services under Shell Fire--Tonic Effect of + Difficulties--The Work of the Free Churches--The Salvation + Army and the War--One Hundred and Thirty Best Rooms--A + General's Testimony--He Plunged down on his Knees--In + Belgium--At Hadleigh--Send them to the Salvation Army--S.A. + Patrols. + + +Readers of this book will be glad to have first-hand reports of +Christian work among our soldiers. I have therefore asked +representatives of the different churches and religious organisations +to give their own statements of the work attempted and accomplished. I +do not purpose, therefore, in this chapter doing more than presenting +to my readers the statements received, merely introducing them with a +few explanatory words. + +The first is the Church of England report. It is written by the Rev. +J.G. Tuckey, one of the senior Church of England chaplains at the +front, and has been prepared for me at the request of the Rev. E.G.F. +Macpherson, the senior Church of England chaplain. Mr. Tuckey has had +long experience of army work. He served through the South African War +with distinction, and has served throughout the present war. Few know +the British soldiers better than he. + +I preface his report with a brief extract from a letter received from +the Rev. E.G.F. Macpherson and dated March 8, 1915. He says: "We are +kept very busy. In addition to my work in Boulogne, I have to keep in +touch with Church of England chaplains at the front, and on the lines +of communications. I went up to Ypres the other day, they were +shelling the place, and I nearly got a shell in my car. + +"The Church of England has a large number of chaplains at the front, +and they are doing splendid work for God. Their number, though, makes +it difficult for me to keep in touch with them all." + +But now for Mr. Tuckey's report. + +"You ask me about the Church of England work. Where am I to begin? How +tackle it? It is so vast. As to number of chaplains, all details can +be seen by reference to the _Army List_. It will be noticed that the +very vast majority of permanently commissioned chaplains belong to the +Church of England. The Presbyterians are now the only other body which +has permanent commissions. The Roman Catholics do not now allow their +men to accept them. They are only appointed temporarily for five +years, and even if re-appointed can never rise above the rank of +captain. This, of course, makes no difference to the Roman Catholic +chaplains appointed before the new regulations, but they will +gradually die out. As no doubt you know, the Wesleyans were offered +four commissions and refused. But though we have such a relatively +large number of chaplains to the forces, the work is so great that it +has to be supplemented by a very considerable and increasing body of +acting chaplains. + +"Permanently commissioned chaplains are divided into four classes, +the chaplains therein ranking as colonels, lieutenant-colonels, +majors, and captains respectively. + +"Now as to the distribution of Church of England chaplains on active +service. They may be roughly divided into two classes: + +"(1) Those with hospitals at the Base or on lines of +communication--these hospitals being of three kinds, namely, general +hospitals, the largest which are not moved; stationary hospitals, +which are supposed to be mobile; and casualty clearing stations for +receiving the sick and wounded from the front and forwarding them to +stationary or general hospitals, whence they can, if necessary, be +conveyed to England in hospital ships. + +"(2) Those with Field Ambulances. By this term we should understand +Field hospitals which receive the sick and wounded from their advanced +dressing stations, which in their turn receive them from the First-Aid +Posts just behind the firing line. + +"To these two classes have recently been added another, namely, Senior +Chaplains of Army Corps, whose duty it is to advise and direct +chaplains of the divisions composing the corps in their work. For +instance, I am now senior chaplain of the Third Army Corps. + +"I have now been in each one of these three classes, for I came out +with number four general hospital, though I was with them subsequently +for only a very short time. + +"The work of class (1) consists principally of ministering to the sick +and wounded, holding services when possible, especially on Sundays, +and giving the patients and staff frequent opportunities of the Holy +Communion and other ministrations. It may often happen that chaplains +of this class may find troops near to them, who are away from their +own chaplain. It will then be their duty to minister to them so far as +they possibly can. They, of course, also have to conduct many +funerals. + +"As to the chaplains of class (2), the Field Ambulance will be the +centre from which the chaplain should work in his brigade, and such +divisional troops (R.A., R.E., &c.) as are included in the brigade +area. + +"I was for some time with the Eleventh Field Ambulance in the Fourth +Division, and as I was the senior chaplain in that division, the +general asked me to take over the arrangement of things. My plan was +that each chaplain in his area should endeavour to hold five or six +large central parade and other services on Sundays, with perhaps +celebrations of the Holy Communion after two of the ordinary services. + +"Then, chaplains give special attention to particular units on +weekdays. Here all days are alike and so are all times. So I would +arrange with the commanding officer, and would set out on horseback +carrying the requisites for the Holy Communion, for I always, when +possible, had a celebration after the ordinary service. My servant +would ride behind me with the service books. In this way it was +possible to cover the ground in the division fairly well, and to see +that each unit had its due. + +"The ordinary services were taken usually in the open air, though +sometimes some large building, a barn, schoolroom, or shed was +available. Whenever it was practicable I had the Holy Communion +indoors, and for this service I invariably put on my surplice. I have +had to celebrate in many strange places--in lofts, kitchens of +farm-houses, engine sheds, stables, and even in a slaughter-house. But +there has been a devotion and a spiritual uplifting in these most +unwonted surroundings which have been good to see, and officers and +men have come to the Holy Communion in large numbers with a reverence +and an evident longing for communion with God which one does not +always see, even in the most splendid churches at home. + +"When my stay in the Fourth Division was drawing to a close, Mr. Hall, +whom you probably know, the Wesleyan chaplain at Chatham, was posted +to the Eleventh Field Ambulance, and came to live with me at my +billet. He and I did a great deal of work together, and he would tell +you about it, for he is at home now. I shall never forget how we went +together one night to a certain battalion which was going into the +trenches the following day. We first had the ordinary evening service +in an underground place, and afterwards there was the Holy Communion, +to which came 122 officers and men. The room in which we were gathered +was very dim, and we felt very deeply the immense solemnity of the +hour. + +"It was all very wonderful and very beautiful. During the actual +administration, the commanding officer walked behind me with a +lantern, up and down the rows of kneeling men, so as to make sure that +all were cared for. + +"We did not reach our billet until after eleven o'clock that night. +The next day some of those who had made their communion on the +previous night were killed in action. + +"Very often our service had to be conducted under shell fire. I recall +one amongst many instances. I was taking a service one weekday +morning for a battery in the garden of a house at Houplines. A great +number of shells went over us while the service was proceeding. +Afterwards we had the Holy Communion in the house. During the service +the houses on either side of ours were struck, and, finally, at the +close there was a deafening crash and we found that the house in which +we were had been hit, though not much damage was done. + +"These circumstances of difficulty and danger seem to bring out the +very best that is in men, and I have been immensely impressed by the +craving for spiritual help shown by both officers and men, and their +gratitude for anything I could do for them, as well as by the humble +reverence and real devotion of all ranks. + +"There are, of course, many other sides of a chaplain's work: the +ministrations to the wounded and dying in the hospitals, and advanced +dressing stations of the Field Ambulance, the burial of the +dead--often at night and in strange weird circumstances--the visiting +of men in the trenches when feasible, the writing of letters to +relatives, the censoring of letters, and a number of other duties. + +"It is often in a strange sort of place that one witnesses a poor +fellow's last dying testimony, in some cellar possibly, where a +wounded man has had to be conveyed so as to be safe from shell fire. + +"In times of comparative quiet, and when troops are resting, I +consider it most important that chaplains should try to organise some +directly spiritual work, and also recreation daily during the trying +hours after dark, until men have to be in their billets. For instance, +in this place we have a room and a hall; in the room we have a +Bible-class each evening, while in the hall there are papers and +games, coffee can be procured, and there is an impromptu concert every +evening. We have a stage with footlights, and a serviceable piano. On +Sunday evenings there is a well-attended voluntary service there. Both +places are well warmed and well lighted, with plenty of seats and +chairs. This is most important. + +"One great difficulty under which the Church of England has to labour +in this country is that, with very few exceptions, the Roman Catholic +ecclesiastical authorities will not allow us to use their churches. +This is, I think, to be deplored, and I cannot understand how people +can worship comfortably in their churches, while they know that +fellow-Christians are obliged to hold their service in the open air, +in cold discomfort, or in some quite unsuitable and mean building. + +"Possibly, however, it is for our good that we should have these +difficulties. These difficulties and trials are perhaps a tonic for +our spiritual life. And after all we learn what every campaign has to +teach us, and what I was first taught in South Africa, that often the +truest worship can be offered in most uncongenial surroundings; and I +have been myself strengthened and helped, and I have marked the +reverence and devotion of officers and men at some service beneath the +sombre skies of Flanders, or it may be in some comfortless or even +squalid building. + +"Out here one realises more what things really matter, and how to +distinguish the essential from the unessential. One has so much to be +thankful for and so much to help, strengthen, and inspire." + +Hitherto I have given Mr. Tuckey's statement in his own words. Nearly +all the rest does not concern the public, but ere he closes he +acknowledges gratefully the kindness of the Archbishop of Rouen in +allowing him the use of two churches or chapels, and speaks most +appreciatively of the hospitality of some of the _cures_. We may hope +and pray that he may be long spared to do such glorious work as his +statement indicates. + +Our next report is from the pen of the Rev. E.L. Watson. + +Mr. Watson is the senior chaplain at the front representing the United +Army and Navy Board. This Board, recently formed, comprises the +Baptist and Congregational Unions, and the Conferences of the +Primitive Methodist and United Methodist denominations. Until the +outbreak of the war, Mr. Watson was minister of the Baptist Church at +West End, Hammersmith. His report has been written at the request of +the Rev. J.H. Shakespeare, M.A., Secretary of the Baptist Union of +Great Britain and Ireland. I omit from it a few sentences covering +ground already dealt with. + +"The task that Great Britain has in hand is of such magnitude that the +demand for fighting men is without parallel. Proud we are of the fact +that every individual man now in the greatest army that Great Britain +has ever raised is serving of his own free choice, and happy indeed to +be of service to his King and country in the hour of need. + +"This great body of men is necessarily composed of many types, drawn +as it is from all quarters of the British Empire, and representing +every political opinion and all religious denominations, but +co-operating in perfect unity. + + [Illustration: A FIGHT IN THE AIR. + _Drawn by Christopher Clark._] + +"Every provision has been made for the material comfort of the men, +especially those in the firing line. Transport arrangements are in +themselves a marvel, every modern appliance being requisitioned for +the purpose. Letters and parcels can be received and posted every day +if necessary. In like manner, also, is fresh food supplied, thus +saving any unnecessary privation. + +"Equipment is also as perfect as British science and common sense can +make it. In these and many particulars the British Army has the +reputation of being one of the best fed and equipped armies in the +field, whilst the spirit of the men is recognised as second to none. + +"Not only has the War Office spared neither expense nor pains to place +everything that is essential within the reach of the average soldier, +but it has also recognised the necessity of keeping the men in touch +with those spiritual influences that count for most in the British +soldier. + +"To meet this spiritual need a new army of chaplains, in addition to +those already in the regular list, has been appointed and sent forth +with befitting rank to minister to their respective denominations. The +field is a wide one and unreservedly open to the individual chaplain +simply to care for his men as he may see best. Where desired and +possible every facility is given to the men to attend the means of +grace. It is also placed on record in the King's Regulations that, +without distinction, every assistance is to be given to the chaplains +in the performance of their duties. + +"Regimental work where possible is always a satisfactory task, for the +fortunate chaplain is then always identified with the men of his +regiment, thus getting to know each individual as in a regular +congregation. + +"Brigade work is more difficult because of the number of regiments and +width of operations, but even in this the work is within the reach of +the brigade chaplain. The most difficult and almost impossible task +falls to the lot of a Nonconformist chaplain who has charge of the +whole of a division. Besides the three brigades there are the masses +of men in the divisional troops. Under some circumstances the division +may have an area of some three miles of front and reaching back some +ten miles to the rear. + +"To cover this ground and get into touch with my men scattered +throughout the whole of the division and keep in touch with them is my +task. The demands are so great upon time and capacity that I simply +have to shoulder as much of the work as strength allows and pray God +that my very best may count for most. + +"For instance, there are three large and active field ambulances +operating in the division, where it will be remembered that most of +the collecting of the wounded is done under cover of darkness. +Consequently the dressing and operations are carried out immediately +upon their arrival, the cases rarely remaining more than a few hours +in a field hospital, being of necessity hurried away to the base +hospitals. Thus the time for visiting the sick and the wounded is +limited. + +"There are letters to be written for the badly hit men to the loved +ones at home. There are the dying to be comforted and pointed to the +Saviour. A word of cheer to be spoken to all. It is indeed in the +field ambulance where valuable service is rendered to men and staff +in a hundred ways. + +"To keep in touch with most of our men thus passing through the +ambulances, each ambulance operating in a different centre, +necessitates from four to six hours' duty each night. + +"Besides the work of the hospitals there are pressing day duties to be +performed. Burials must receive attention. Regiments must be visited. +Many calls are received from anxious and troubled men. Even the firing +line claims attention at times in the performance of duty. Wherever +the men are standing to their duty and where the greatest service +could be rendered there I have striven to be. Identification with the +men is the key-note of a chaplain's work. He shares in the +recreations, pleasures, dangers, and sorrows of his men, and is looked +upon as the soldier's best friend. + +"The strain is incessant, but the work is most encouraging and filled +with unequalled opportunities. + +"The men prove responsive to the spiritual touch and take full +advantage of the means of grace and communion afforded. + +"The circumstances of the front bring one into closest touch with the +men in such a way as is not possible at home, and it is indeed a joy +and a reward to feel that one is helping to keep the men in touch with +the faith and spirit of their fathers." + + * * * * * + +The public imagination has been touched by the part the Salvation Army +has played in this great struggle. Its contribution to the fighting +line and to organised works of mercy has been striking. I am grateful, +therefore, to General Booth for the opportunity of including in this +volume an authorised account of the Salvation Army's war work, +prepared by Brigadier Carpenter. + +"It is impossible to give in the brief space available anything +approaching a comprehensive idea of the work the Salvation Army is +accomplishing in the various new situations created by the war. The +more outstanding features of its activities can be summarised, but +such a statement appears--as do statistics to a lay mind--cold, +lifeless, uninteresting, whereas the tangible facts which they +represent glow with life and beauty and inestimable worth. + +"On the outbreak of hostilities General Booth held conferences with +his chief officers at headquarters in London, to determine upon what +lines of action Salvationists would be of most service to the +authorities and the people in the national crisis. + +"Our naval and military homes at Harwich, Chatham, Plymouth, and +Dover, and as many of our social institutions and halls as might be +found necessary, were placed at the disposal of the government; those +not taken for military requirements were offered to local governments +for use as relief and industrial centres. + +"With the formation of the Expeditionary Forces, General Booth +dispatched to the continent a contingent of officers to minister to +the troops in any way that might be found possible. These officers +were placed under the direction of Brigadier Mary Murray, Secretary of +our Naval and Military League. It might be mentioned that the +Brigadier is a daughter of the late General Sir John Murray. Miss +Murray went through the South African war at the head of a Salvation +Army Red Cross contingent, and for her services was awarded the South +African medal. + +"When the Prince of Wales Fund was inaugurated, Salvation Army +officers were appointed to most of the local committees formed in the +country, their close touch with the poor and their willingness and +practicality rendering them of great assistance in the wise +administration of the funds. In many centres, Leagues were formed for +looking out and caring for the wives and families of soldiers and +sailors. The women are visited in their homes, difficulties concerning +their allowances and other matters are straightened out; they are +invited to cheerful meetings held at regular intervals at the Army +halls, and when the sad news of disaster or death comes with its +paralysing sorrow into their homes, the Salvationist is at hand with +words of comfort and deeds of helpfulness. + +"One of our first calls to serve the troops of the new Army was in +Wales, when the men poured in from the valleys to enlist. Until these +men passed the final attestment and had been enrolled, they were not +under government responsibility, and arriving in such numbers as they +did they could not be immediately dealt with. The Military Commander +at Cardiff, explaining the difficulty in an evening paper, requested +help. Within an hour of the edition leaving the press the Salvation +Army had offered to cope with the emergency, and by six o'clock the +next morning had actually commenced operations. The Council Cookery +schools were handed over to us, and during the following days hundreds +of men were suitably provided for. Not only were their temporal needs +supplied, but our officers did much in the direction of advising and +helping the men in an endless variety of ways. New Testaments and +religious literature were distributed amongst them and their letters +despatched to friends at home. + +"More than 13,000 Salvationists have rallied to the Colours. Knowledge +of the temptations and discomforts to which these men, in company with +hundreds of thousands of their comrades in arms, are likely to be +exposed in camp strongly appealed to General Booth, who determined +upon providing as far as possible 'home away from home' for them. Thus +there are over 150 halls and rest rooms provided for the use of the +troops. + +"During the warm weather the work was carried on under canvas, but +with the approach of winter the marquees were replaced by wooden +buildings. The men may procure wholesome refreshments, read good +helpful literature, write and converse with the officers in charge; +and in the evenings bright, interesting meetings are conducted. +Attached to many of these rest houses is an authorised post office. At +some of our huts bathing accommodation has been provided. The rest +centres are in charge of experienced married men, and the presence of +a good sympathetic, practical woman amongst the troops is of untold +value. The wife, ready for any emergency, 'mothers' the men, +corresponds for them with wives, parents, and sweethearts, advises +them on a multitude of questions. She prescribes for their minor +ailments, does bits of mending and various other little kindnesses, +which all appeal to the best side of the men. These officers, as a +rule, have some knowledge of First Aid, and cases of slight mishap are +frequently ordered to the Salvation huts. + +"The troops bear hearty testimony to the blessings these havens of +rest and happiness have proved to be. Lord Kitchener himself has +expressed appreciation, and there have been many other most generous +expressions from highly placed officers regarding the Army's efforts +on behalf of the men. A general commanding one of the great camps +said, 'Please do not thank me for arranging sites for your buildings; +it is for me to thank General Booth and the Salvation Army for +rendering us such service. I know the value of the spiritual and moral +influence which the workers of the Salvation Army exercise over the +men.' The senior chaplain of a great camp applied for Salvation Army +officers to go and work amongst the troops, and himself defrayed the +cost of supplying and equipping a marquee for the purpose. 'Your men +go for the soldier's soul; that's why I want them,' he said. + +"The value of over 13,000 Salvationists scattered amongst the troops +and the fleet can only be faintly suggested here. A Salvationist is +trained, from the moment he kneels at the penitent form, to confess +Christ by his life and testimony; and never has he taken a braver +stand than he is doing to-day in the barrack-room, on ship deck, and +in trench. + +"The following incident, which has been multiplied a thousandfold, +illustrates the power of example. A rough, illiterate Salvationist +found himself in a barrack dormitory for the first time. Cursing, +swearing, and ribaldry were going on all around him amongst a crowd of +half-drunken, hilarious men. He knew he should kneel and pray, but +never before did he understand the full significance of the Salvation +Army song he had so often lustily sung: 'I'll stand for Christ, for +Christ alone.' Surely it would be easier to go into action than to +kneel and pray in such company! He turned hot and cold by turns, then +decided: 'Here goes,' and plumped down upon his knees. A few whistles +and jeers, a boot, a pillow followed, but he did not move. The +cursing gradually died away and there was silence in the room. + +"Next day several men sought him out to confess that they, too, were +Christians, but had not dared to face that fire alone. Next night +several of them knelt to pray unmolested, and by degrees the +Salvationist became the conscience of the company. A military officer +of high rank remarked to one of our leading men the other day: 'I +really did not know the Salvation Army until the war, but I have +watched your men. Now I deliberately place Salvationists with the +wilder of our spirits, and invariably find that after a week or two +the tone of the company has noticeably risen.' + +"During rest time at the front, Salvationists hold meetings behind +their guns and at their trenches. These 'unofficial chaplains' have +won many souls for Christ. During the coldest weather of this winter +some took off their greatcoats for their mates to kneel upon, and +there, within sound of the enemy's fire, they pleaded with their +comrades to turn from sin and seek the Saviour. One night twenty-two +men responded to this invitation. + +"The authorities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have appointed +Salvation Army officers as regular chaplains to the troops and +conferred military rank upon them. These officers are serving with the +Expeditionary Forces in Egypt and elsewhere. + +"In this country and at the base on the continent special facilities +have been granted to us for visiting the wounded in hospitals and also +the prisoners of war. Services are conducted in the German language, +and literature of that tongue is distributed amongst the German +prisoners by Salvation Army officers who have been engaged in our work +in the Fatherland. + +"It is an interesting fact that sufficient men to form an entire +battalion were recruited from our social institutions. Without +exception, these men came to us in a state of complete physical +unfitness. Drink and exposure, and in many cases other vices, had +robbed them of all the spring and confidence so necessary in the +soldier. After several months of good food, steady occupation, and the +message of cheer which our homes bring to their inmates, these men, so +recently the country's waste, marched out to serve their King and +country. Two of the number from one Home formerly held commissions in +the regular Army, but lost them through intemperance. Both were +Reinstated. One clever fellow, speaking several languages, was +attached to the Intelligence Department. + +"To our home-loving nation one of the saddest circumstances of the war +is the depopulation of Belgium. General Booth with his officers was +among the first to come forward with offers of help when the destitute +and stricken people poured into our country. Three of our homes in +London were at once thrown open to receive them, and at port towns, +such as Folkestone and Cardiff, where the refugees arrived in such +numbers that they could not be distributed, accommodation was provided +for thousands in buildings adapted by the Salvation Army officers. The +refugees sheltered in one of our London homes despatched a message in +French to His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace, expressing +profound thanks for the kindly reception they had been given in +England, and for the way the 'Armee du Salut' was caring for them. + +"The value of this effort has been fully recognised by the government, +and a communication from the Local Government Board on the subject of +the Army's work was expressed in the following terms: 'I am directed +by the Local Government Board to express the Board's appreciation of +the action of the Salvation Army, and its officers, which has been of +great assistance to them in dealing with the situation, which for a +time presented considerable difficulties.' + +"The assistance to the Belgian people was not confined to those in +England. General Booth despatched an experienced officer to Belgium +with orders to visit every centre of Salvation Army work in that +country. He succeeded in his mission and placed financial help with +the brave officers who had refused to leave their posts, though many +of them were right in the battle area, and had been exposed to the +utmost personal danger. Thus assisted, they were enabled to succour +hundreds of most deserving and starving people, and to continue their +spiritual ministrations to the people who clung to them for comfort +and support in their terrible experiences. + +"A work of first importance was also undertaken by the Salvation Army +at the request of the Belgian government, viz. the care of the wounded +Belgian soldiers in this country. When fit to leave the hospital ward, +the hospital authorities in whatever part of the country the soldiers +were being nursed--from Aberdeen to Plymouth--communicated with our +headquarters in London. The men were brought to the Metropolis under +Salvation Army escort and provided for by our officers until they were +fit to return to military service, or to civil life should they be +permanently incapacitated. Our land and industrial colony at Hadleigh +in Essex has proved to be a veritable boon as a convalescent depot for +these brave men. More than 8000 Belgian soldiers in this way have +passed through our hands. The efficiency of the arrangements for the +comfort and well-being of these men has earned unstinted praise from +the officials concerned of both the Belgian and our own governments. + +"On one of the worst nights of this winter a party of 200 Canadians, +Belgians, and a number of Russians arrived from across the Atlantic to +join the forces. They had no place to go to. 'Send them to the +Salvation Army' said the military authorities, and to the Salvation +Army they came. Coming in such an unexpected number in addition to the +hundreds of Belgians already under the Army's roof, they presented +something of a problem, but a little rearrangement soon enabled us to +warmly house and feed them all. The next night seventy more arrived +and were similarly cared for. + +"Salvationists are a poor people. Their only riches consist in love +and power to serve. Nevertheless, out of their scant means they +contributed between three and four thousand pounds to the Prince of +Wales Relief Fund, and also raised a further L2500 for the purchase +and equipment of a Motor Ambulance Unit consisting of five cars. The +unit is manned by Salvationists. It is no new thing to send ambulance +brigades to the front at war time, but it _is_ a new thing to see that +they are all conducted by Christian men. + +"The cars have splendidly stood the severe tests imposed upon them, +and the men in charge have borne themselves so well that they have +become known as 'The White Brigade.' No drinking, no smoking, no +swearing amongst them; always on time and carrying out the orders of +the medical staff with the utmost satisfaction, it is not to be +wondered at that our officer in command of the unit was promoted to +the charge of a section--with the management of twenty-five cars. A +second unit of six cars was despatched to France in February, with +which Her Majesty Queen Alexandra was pleased to identify herself by +personally dedicating the cars--now known as the 'Queen Alexandra +Unit.' + +"Apart from the work of the ambulance party, Salvation Army officers +are exerting themselves for the comfort of the troops in the battle +area and at the base hospitals. At Boulogne, Rouen, and Paris our +women officers are continually visiting the wounded. In Paris alone, +they visit seven hospitals for the British wounded. Hundreds upon +hundreds of letters have been written to anxious relatives and +friends, and where husbands have been in distress about their wives in +ill-health or poverty at home, a swift message across the channel has +been sent to our officer in the town mentioned, who has gladly gone to +comfort and assist the distressed ones concerned, and our Army sisters +have received scores of 'last messages' to wives and children as the +brave fellows have been passing away. Testaments, papers, stationery, +and chocolates are distributed, and a thousand and one of those gentle +heart ministries peculiar alone to women, whose hearts are filled with +love to Christ, are performed. Every week two large sacks of clothing +made by Salvationists in England are sent to the visiting officers in +France for distribution amongst the men. + +"At Boulogne, Le Havre, and Abbeville rest rooms, similar to those in +Great Britain, have been established. + +"Passing mention must be made of the patrols of Salvation Army +officers at the great London railway stations, such as Waterloo, +Victoria, &c. The special work of these officers is to care for men +stranded on Saturday and Sunday nights. Rooms have been opened in the +neighbourhood where the men are provided with blankets and +refreshments. Some of the men, whose troubles have resulted from +drink, have been led to renounce their drinking habits. + + [Illustration: _Drawn by Paul Thiriat._ + IN THE FORET DE LA NIEPPE. + An English private and a French sergeant bind each other's + wounds, and then faint from loss of blood. Both were rescued, + being discovered by a dog.] + +"In this brief review reference has largely been confined to the +Salvationists in Great Britain in connexion with the war. This serves +as an index of similar efforts which are being actively carried +forward by Salvationists in every part of the world, especially in +France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and +even in Germany. They are caring for those reduced to poverty as a +result of the war, caring for the wounded, succouring the refugees, +and lending the hand of help in many other ways. + +"We are unable to more than mention the splendid service rendered by +Salvationists in the United States, who organised what was termed an +'Old Linen Campaign'; 300,000 articles for the wounded--comprising +bandages, pads, &c.--in a large variety have already been made up, and +after being sterilised and labelled, sent forward to France, Belgium, +and Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +HEADS OF ARMY WORK AT HOME TELL THE STORY OF WORK AT THE FRONT + + Church of Scotland Commissioned Chaplains--One Hundred + Civilian Ministers of Scotland Offered Their Services--The + Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray's Report--Many Forms of Service at + the Front--From No. 10 General Hospital, Rouen--The French + Decorate Our Soldiers' Graves--Report of the 1st Echelon + General Headquarters--A Chaplain's First Lesson--After Neuve + Chapelle--The Work of the Y.M.C.A.--A Breathlessly Summoned + Council--Six Hundred Centres--A Glorious Nine Months. + + +I am indebted to the Rev. J.A. McClymont, D.D., V.D., Convener of the +Church of Scotland General Assembly's Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains, for the following account of Presbyterian work at the +front. It will supplement and bring up to date references to the work +of this great Church in the earlier chapters of this book. + +"Before the outbreak of the war six ministers of the Church of +Scotland held commissions as regular military chaplains, and all of +them, along with four of our Indian chaplains, who accompanied their +regiments from the East, are now serving with the Expeditionary Force. +The names of the former are Revs. W.S. Jaffray (1st Class), J.T. Bird +(1st Class), F.W. Stewart (3rd Class), A.R. Yeoman (3rd Class), J. +Campbell (3rd Class), and D.A. Morrison (3rd Class); of the latter +the names are Revs. G.E. Dodd, Andrew Macfarlane, G.C. Macpherson, and +J.H. Horton McNeill. In addition to these, about two hundred civilian +ministers of the Church have offered their services as chaplains at +the front. Among them are many eloquent preachers, many distinguished +scholars, and not a few accomplished athletes. Some have had valuable +experience as chaplains in the Territorial Force, or have served as +combatants in that force or in the Officers' Training Corps, while +others can produce evidence of experience and skill in connexion with +the Red Cross Society, the Boys' Brigade, or the Boy Scouts. Some of +them can preach in Gaelic, others have a knowledge of French and +German and other continental languages, and a personal acquaintance +with the countries in which the war is going on. Some have served with +acceptance in the Boer War or at a military station at home or abroad. +Keen sportsmen are to be found among them who can shoot, ride, cycle, +or drive a motor. + +"Until lately the number of additional Presbyterian chaplains allowed +by the War Office has been much smaller than was generally expected, +considering the many thousands of Territorials who have volunteered +for foreign service, and the immense multitude of recruits who have +enlisted in Kitchener's Army. The ideal arrangement would have been to +assign a chaplain to every battalion; but, instead of this, the +appointments were at first made to _divisions_ and _hospitals_, the +result being that after eight months of the war only eighteen +additional chaplains had been appointed for service at the front. +Recently the number has been increased to thirty-eight, making +fifty-four Presbyterian chaplains in all; and further additions will +soon be made. + +In the partitioning of these thirty-eight new chaplaincies among the +several Presbyterian churches, the War Office has been guided by the +Advisory Committee on the appointment and distribution of Presbyterian +chaplains. This Committee was created by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane some +years ago, and consists of a representative of the Church of Scotland, +the United Free Church, the Presbyterian Church of England, and the +Presbyterian Church of Ireland, respectively, with Lord Balfour of +Burleigh, a trusted elder of the Church of Scotland, as chairman. The +Convener of the Church of Scotland Committee on Army and Navy +Chaplains was asked by Lord Balfour to nominate eighteen of the new +chaplains, bringing the number of Church of Scotland chaplains on +foreign service up to twenty-eight. The Revs. H.Y. Arnott, B.D. +(Newburgh), H. Brown B.D. (Strathmiglo), Geo. Donald, B.D. (Aberdeen), +A.S.G. Gilchrist, B.D. (Applegarth), Professor Kay, D.D., James Kirk, +M.A. (Dunbar), Oswald B. Milligan (Ayr), A.M. Maclean, B.D. (Paisley), +A. Macdonald (Glassary), D. Macfarlane (Kingussie), J. Campbell +McGregor, V.D. (Edinburgh), C.G. Mackenzie, B.D. (Methlick), James +MacGibbon, B.D. (Hamilton), J.J. Pryde (Penpont), D.A. Cameron Reid, +B.D. (Glasgow), Thos. Scott, M.A., T.D. (Laurencekirk), Patrick +Sinclair B.D. (Urquhart), and Geo. Thompson, B.D. (Carnbee), were so +nominated. All of these and the other Presbyterian chaplains above +referred to, with the exception of three who have gone to the East, +are serving in France and Belgium under the direction of the Rev. Dr. +Simms, K.H.C., a minister of the Irish Presbyterian Church, who, but +for the war, would have retired on account of the age limit before the +end of last year, but is now the responsible and honoured Head of all +the chaplains of every denomination at the western seat of war. + +Many grateful tributes have been paid to the faithful services +rendered to their countrymen by Presbyterian chaplains in this war, +and four of them have had the honour of being mentioned in despatches, +two of whom are ministers of the Church of Scotland, namely, the Rev. +J.T. Bird and the Rev. A.R. Yeoman. So far, only two chaplains have +been wounded, namely, Mr. Yeoman and Mr. J.H.H. McNeill, who are both +ministers of the National Church. Before giving a few extracts from +letters and reports received from chaplains at the front, it may be +well to mention that upwards of twenty ministers of the Church of +Scotland and about fifty University students who were studying, or +about to study, in the Divinity Hall have joined the Army as +combatants--some of them as officers and some of them as private +soldiers--while others are serving with the R.A.M.C. Several have done +excellent work in connexion with the Y.M.C.A., notably the Rev. L. +McLean Watt (Edinburgh), who was unable to accept a chaplaincy for the +period required by the War Office, and the Rev. Hugh Brown +(Strathmiglo), before his appointment to a chaplaincy. + + * * * * * + +"Rev. W. Stevenson Jaffray, senior Chaplain to the Forces, writes as +follows: + +"'On the evening of October 2, 1914, I received telegraphic +instructions from the War Office to join the 7th Division, British +Expeditionary Force and reported myself for duty next day. On Sunday, +October 4--the last day and Sunday so many hundreds were ever to spend +in England--the Division was suddenly ordered to proceed to embark. +Few who were present at the open-air Parade Service that day are +likely to forget the scene of the great square, composed of such +famous units as the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, 2nd Battalion Royal +Scots Fusiliers, and 2nd Battalion The Gordon Highlanders, gathered +together for divine worship. The Division--the first British force to +land in Belgium--was, within a few hours of disembarking, holding in +check no less than five German Army Corps. How the various units added +fresh lustre to their glorious traditions is known to all who have +read the story of Ypres. + +"'The chaplain's work at the front is thrillingly interesting, +frequently dangerous, and often pathetic, and may be briefly described +under four heads. + +"'1. _Visiting men in billets._ + +"'The first duty of a chaplain is to get into intimate touch with his +men. He can hope to be useful and influence the men when, and only +when, by constant visiting he wins their confidence and goodwill. The +shyness, stiffness, and indifference so familiar to chaplains visiting +barrack rooms in peace time is altogether unknown at the front. On +active service the chaplain is welcomed as a comrade and friend. The +men are in billets for a fixed number of days, after which they return +to the trenches. Every endeavour is made to get into personal touch +with the men during the periods of rest, and to become acquainted with +their difficulties and needs. + +"'2. _Visiting wounded and dying._ + +"'The wounded are removed from the trenches immediately it becomes +dark and are brought to the Field Ambulance. The hospital work extends +far into the night--at times all night, for nights in succession, +particularly when a big fight is in progress. This is the most +important and impressive part of our work. After the patient has been +dressed by the medical officer, the chaplain kneels beside the +stretcher and gives whatever comfort and cheer he can. The heroic and +patient suffering of our men, their thankfulness and eagerness for +spiritual help and consolation, their thought for wives and little +ones, their absolute selflessness make one grateful and proud to +minister to such noble souls. Many messages are entrusted to the +chaplains. The wounded request a line to be written to allay the fears +of loved ones at home. The dying whisper such noble words as these: +(actual message) "Tell my wife I have merely done my duty." "I have a +wife and five little ones, God help them. I never thought I would come +to this, but I have done my best for my country." + +"'3. _Divine Service._ + +"'Sunday services are held whenever possible. When the men are in the +trenches on Sunday, arrangements are made to conduct service as soon +as they return to billets. These services are held in barns or, when +weather permits, in the open air. At each service I have endeavoured +to give the men a text or thought to strengthen and help them +throughout the week. The intense interest taken by all ranks in these +services renders them very impressive. + +"'4. _Soldiers' Clubs._ + +"'The comfort of men at the front has not been lost sight of. I was +requested by Divisional Headquarters to establish clubs in every +brigade area to break the monotony of life during the quiet winter +months. These clubs contain reading, writing, and game rooms and a +refreshment bar, where the men can obtain hot coffee. My thanks are +due to the Convener of the Army and Navy Chaplains' Committee, who +kindly sent me cases of general literature which proved most useful +and interesting to the men. Friends at home supplied games of various +kinds, as well as stationery, pencils, and such useful articles. +Lectures and concerts have been given, and everything possible has +been done to brighten the soldier's life.'" + + * * * * * + +"The Rev. J.T. Bird, M.A., C.F., writing from No. 10 General Hospital, +Rouen, says: + +"'In accordance with instructions from the principal chaplain I do +what I can to minister to Presbyterian troops within reach, where no +Presbyterian chaplain is available. This has usually meant, on +Sundays, holding a service in a Reinforcements Camp (infantry or +cavalry) in the morning, and two services in hospital: one in the +forenoon and one in the evening. One of the hospitals here is the +Scottish Red Cross Hospital--excellently equipped. I did what I could +for this hospital in the way of visitation and Sunday evening services +up till lately, when the Rev. A.M. Maclean of Paisley Abbey was able +to undertake these duties in addition to his work at a neighbouring +Infantry Camp. The attendance at my service held at the Reinforcements +Camp, at St. Nazaire and here, has varied from about 50 to 600, +according to circumstances. I have found the Church of Scotland Psalm +leaflets and the little blue booklet _With the Colours_ very useful +for all services. During the week one is kept busy visiting sick and +wounded in four hospitals; holding occasional week-night services for +convalescents and assisting to get up concerts for them; writing +letters for patients too ill to write themselves; and distributing +gifts of all descriptions (literature, cigarettes; woollen comforts, +&c., &c.) sent by kind people at home. + +"'The Sunday evening service has always been a united one (Church of +England and Presbyterian), and the Church of England chaplains I have +found very willing to co-operate in this way. + +"'I am glad to state that the number of Presbyterians who have died in +hospital has not been at all large, considering the large number of +patients treated, and this fact I think bears eloquent testimony to +the excellent equipment and comfort of the hospitals, as well as to +the skill of the medical officers and the great devotion of the +nursing staff. The mother of a wounded Seaforth Highlander, who was +lying in this hospital, came recently all the way from Inverness with +two other friends to see her son, and they all seemed deeply gratified +and impressed by the excellence and efficiency of the hospital. All +funerals of soldiers are announced beforehand in the French local +journal, and here, as at St. Nazaire, French ladies attend and +reverently place flowers on the grave after the burial service. They +specially decorated the graves for Easter. Such attention must, I +think, be gratifying to the sorrowing relatives. The Sacrament of the +Lord's Supper has frequently been dispensed, and the number of +communicants is always much larger than in time of peace at home +stations.'" + + * * * * * + +"The Rev. Professor Kay, D.D., A.C.F., writes from 1st Echelon General +Headquarters, France: + +"'A chaplain's first lesson, as I have learned it, is to give due +honour to the men he serves. All combatants have offered the supreme +sacrifice a man can make for any object; how can anyone not of their +consecrated number be worthy to say anything at all to them? Their +great vow is too sacred for words; the loss of comrades and the +uncertain future are felt but not discussed. The example of Christ +which made martyrdom an easy and a right thing for the apostles, the +new Covenant in His blood, the grace of His redeeming sacrifice--these +acquire fresh power and interest. The combatant understands them, if a +chaplain be an adequate minister of Christ's Evangel. + +"'An army on active service cannot guarantee food and shelter with +certain regularity; far less can it provide fixed routine for common +worship. Buildings, organs, choirs, Sabbaths are often unavailable. +The army must be always ready to move and to act; it is not possible +to set everybody free at one time. Hence one has to discover at what +times there will be leisure among the various units. Recreation in +clubs and reading-rooms is often easy to contrive, and hours for +worship can also be arranged. In hospitals periodic services are +possible. In any regiment there are likely to be various denominations +of Christians, and minorities must sometimes do without their own type +of chaplain. Hymns and Holy Scripture serve as uniting influences, and +the fair and friendly feeling among the chaplains in this vicinity +makes work easy. Work here makes it evident that the Church of +Scotland as by law established is only one of a wide Sisterhood of +Presbyterian churches. Canadian, English, Irish, Welsh Presbyterians +have been nearly as numerous as those from Scotland, and one +representative from South Africa appeared on the list. + +"'The battle of Neuve Chapelle caused a stream of casualties to flow +past this point for a week. Some died and were laid to rest beside +their comrades, their last messages being sent to their startled +kinsfolk at home. Some who were weary and willing to die took heart +again through sympathy and skilful nursing. One boy of seventeen in +sore torture was heard half-consciously crying: "Ah! bonnie Scotland, +what I'm suffering for you now"; he slowly recovered and did not +grudge his pains. Those at home for whom brave men are suffering and +dying should be done with tippling and trifling. + +"'The work at this point includes attendance at three hospitals and +the conducting of services for troops as required. During last week +there were only four cases "seriously and dangerously ill" and about +thirty men sick and wounded. At a Rest Depot a class was formed to +prepare for First Communion, and at a special service on Good Friday +eleven soldiers were admitted. The Sacrament was administered on +Easter Sunday morning, and there were about sixty communicants. These +included a few Baptists, Congregationalists, and others, who, if +members of their own churches, were admitted and invited to this +Communion. A Church Parade with an Irish cavalry regiment followed at +11 o'clock. In the twilight the largest soldiers' club in the district +was crowded for Evening Service. There the Bishop of London--candid as +King Alfred and persuasive as Alfred Tennyson--encouraged and blessed +us all, and his inspiring words hallowed the great enterprise which +brings us here.'" + + * * * * * + +The following statement of the work of the Young Men's Christian +Association at the front and at home has been written by the Rev. W. +Kingscote Greenland, at the request of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp. + +"No branch of the religious and social work among our soldiers during +the war, both at the front and in the home camps, has been so well +known and universally acknowledged and appreciated as that +accomplished by the Young Men's Christian Association. The press has +spread the fame of it far and wide and devoted leaders and columns of +details to it. Any exhaustive story therefore is as unnecessary as it +would be disproportionally large. What makes it imperative, however, +that at least a brief summary of its widespread and manifold +activities should be included, is that it has been a work of quite +interdenominational character--all churches equally contributing both +workers and money--and therefore the credit, if credit there is to be, +must be shared among all. The fact of it is that the Y.M.C.A. has +acted throughout as a species of central bureau or clearing-house, by +the ready and available means of which anybody and everybody desirous +of assisting in the moral and spiritual welfare of our troops could do +so without calling into existence new organisation and machinery. + +"And here it must be mentioned that two facts were, humanly speaking, +responsible for the striking emergence of the Y.M.C.A. into this +unique position. The first fact is that for fifteen years past the +Association has had great experience of this sort of work by reason of +its tents in all the Territorial camps every summer, so that the war +only meant an extension, though an immense extension, of activities to +which it was no stranger. And, secondly, the courageous spiritual +statesmanship and moral daring of the General Secretary, Mr. A.K. +Yapp, who on the outbreak of war, and in the holiday season too, +launched this policy. + +"The story of that breathlessly summoned council meeting in the +Headquarters of the National Council in Russell Square on August 5 is +a veritable romance. Telegrams brought holiday-making secretaries +hurrying from the seaside, and in a few hours it was decided to pitch +canvas tents wherever the new recruits for Kitchener's Army were +located, and issue a national appeal for the necessary funds. As +everybody now knows, this was done--hundreds of tents for +refreshments, reading, writing, and rest sprang up as if by magic all +over the land; thousands of pounds of money flowed in from high and +low; and the Young Men's Christian Association was swept forward in +the tide from being a semi-disparaged adjunct of the Church's care for +a certain type of young townsman, to that of a great ally of the +nation in its hour of moral, no less than physical, agony. The tale of +the swift adaptation of practically the entire premises, resources, +and plant of the Association to the military and naval emergency, +involving almost superhuman hours of thought and skill, can never +adequately be told. The whole country was mapped out, committees +formed, hundreds of workers engaged, stationery ordered, stores and +motor-transport acquired, the patronage of the King and the approval +of the War Office secured, and in a few weeks the machinery for the +safeguarding of the leisure hours of the troops who were flocking to +the colours was in working order. + +"Then came the late autumn with its rains and floods, and the +necessity for better accommodation than canvas tents. Wooden huts were +obviously required. But these would cost money--roughly L300 at least +apiece. A great appeal was issued for the necessary funds, and the +response was amazing. Several hundreds of thousands of pounds were +contributed, many donors presenting a hut and furnishing it, and as +winter closed in comfortable and warm and well-equipped huts replaced +everywhere the sodden tents. + +"As the military situation broadened and developed, the Association +followed suit, and huts were built and opened in the base towns in +France, Egypt, and India, while many young men were sent on board the +troop-ships as lay chaplains to take charge of the soldiers on these +journeys and to look after them on their landing in foreign and +colonial ports. + +"And so the situation as it stands at this present time of writing is +roughly as follows: 600 Y.M.C.A. centres in the home camps, of which +300 are permanent wooden huts. In France 50 centres, of which 36 are +huts. In Egypt 8 centres in charge of 10 young Christian men sent out +by the Association, and in India 30 centres, manned by 12 Association +workers. To this record must be added over 2000 camp workers, only a +very small proportion of whom are paid, and the innumerable ladies who +either serve at the counters or are quartered with local committees of +management. To this, further, several other inspiring features and +items must still be added. Under the Y.M.C.A. auspices, Princess +Victoria has a number of field kitchens across in France and Flanders +which supply the men at the actual front. Also, and by no means least, +scores of clergymen and ministers of all denominations give some, and +a few all their time, to conducting services and "talks" in the huts +in the evenings, while among the voluntary workers on Salisbury +Plain, at the Crystal Palace, the White City, Harwich and Felixstowe, +Hindhead, Milford, Southport, Alnwick and along the Tyne, and scores +of other camps, are to be found university professors and students, +men from all the theological colleges, retired city merchants, +ministers with leave of absence from their churches, business men +moved to leave their shops and offices in the care of wives and clerks +and managers, and almost every type of Christian man and profession +and occupation. + +"All this deals, as it will be seen, with the many externals of the +Association work, and takes little or no account of the various more +directly spiritual agencies. Almost every well-known evangelist has +given up his time to the Y.M.C.A. huts, including such men as Mr. W.R. +Lane, Mr. C.M. Alexander, and the Rev. Canon Hicks, while the work of +the Pocket Testament League and of Temperance has been wonderfully +successful. + +"Beginning on the Wednesday after Easter and continuing for seven +days, a special effort was made throughout the camps to make it a +Decision Week for the men of the new army. A pledge of acceptance of +Jesus Christ as Saviour and King was to be taken and a War Roll +signed. It is too early to give the final results, but already many +thousands have signed, and the reports of camp workers, chaplains, +clergymen, and ministers are most enheartening. + +"Of the actual meetings held, of the conversations that have taken +place, of the strange, moving, pathetic and thrilling incidents that +have marked this tragic and glorious nine months, much has already +been written, and books could be filled. Thousands of men of our homes +and churches have written and spoken most affectionately of the +service rendered to them in the Y.M.C.A. tents, and of the lessening +of their temptations thereby, while many hundreds of thousands of dear +ones have received letters written under the quiet conditions only +obtainable in the Association's huts, and, be it added, on their +millions of sheets of free notepaper. + +"Of the generosity of the public, the kindness and appreciation of the +generals and colonels and officers generally, and perhaps, most of +all, of the untiring and self-denying labour of those who have manned +the huts through these long months, short-handed, overworked, cheery, +and eager, in cold and mud, it is impossible fully to speak. Let it +suffice to say that the Young Men's Christian Association is deeply +humbled and proud, by reason of the honour God has manifestly +conferred upon it in giving it this supreme chance of serving the +interests of His Kingdom." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +WHEN THE MEN COME HOME + + Clergymen Serving in the Ranks--A Strange Burial + Incident--When the New Army Comes Back--Will the Churches be + Ready?--They are Coming. + + +The needs of the country led a good many men, already ordained to the +Christian ministry, to enter the new Army. The question whether they +should or should not do this was, as I have already indicated, a +matter of some dispute, but as the war went on a testimony gathered as +to the influence of such as did enlist. Thus "D." wrote to the +_Times_: + +"At our table, which served for meals and other purposes, sat opposite +to me a clergyman of the Church of England, to do his best with us to +fight and prevent his country being treated like poor Belgium. We knew +what he was, and what he had given up to join us, and his influence in +that hut, and in his platoon, was greater than that of the khaki-clad +official chaplain who paid us occasional visits. We all respected him +and knew his aversion to things which were often thought lightly of by +us, and one look at his good and serious face would often keep back an +oath, which would come out naturally to a troublesome steer or a slow +and careless sailor, and many a tale which would have been thought +appropriate in a smoking-room or round a camp fire remained untold in +his presence. This has been my experience of one man, and I am glad to +say that in this battalion there are already serving as private +soldiers some half-dozen clergymen." + + [Illustration: WHEN THE MEN COME HOME. + _Drawn by Arthur Twidle._] + +Let one of them also answer for himself. I do not know his name, but +he is a young Wesleyan minister who enlisted in the R.A.M.C. last +October, and who is, as I write, now at the forefront of the fight. +The following extracts from his letter were published in the _Daily +News_: + +"The call comes for stretcher-bearers, and I volunteer to go with No. +3. The medical officer comes out, flashes his torch, and gives the +order: 'Men to march in front of the waggon. Whole party walk--march!' + +"We are off. Ten paces ahead walked the medical officer, a captain; +behind him a sergeant and four men of the squad. Then comes the +ambulance waggon, with the great Red Cross on both sides, one man +driving. Inside are the stretchers (one man in the squad carries a +surgical haversack), and behind the waggon comes the drag-horse, with +a waggon orderly mounted on it. This horse will help us out of a ditch +or the mud, if the waggon gets stuck in it. + +"We head straight for the trenches. It is very dark; light rain +splashes on our faces, and there is a cold wind. Occasionally the +captain flashes his electric torch as we pass an outpost or a belated +infantry man returning from the firing line. The rattle of the waggon +sounds like the passing of heavy guns in the still night, and we +wonder whether we shall draw the enemy's shell fire. A road with a +waggon on it is a good spot to drop a 'Jack Johnson' on now and then. + +"Suddenly the sky is illuminated by a brilliant German star-shell +with a long white tail. Every figure, every tree, every stone in the +road is revealed for one moment to the enemy's snipers and artillery. +Egyptian darkness follows the flash, and out of it ahead we hear, +coming towards us, the tramp of many marching men. Their officer stops +us. + +"'I have left two men on the road--ptomaine poisoning. Pick them up, +will you?' he asks. + +"'Yes. Good-night!' + +"On we go again. The rain pours, the wind is rising to a gale. The +road is very narrow. The wheels of the waggon plunge into a deep rut +and send a spray of mud up into our faces. Soon we pull up before a +little building at the side of the road not far from our firing line. +It is the dressing station where the wounded are brought until the +waggons can come to convey them to the hospitals out of the fire zone. + +"Our captain and the sergeant enter the building, and a corporal in +charge of the place whispers, 'Sir, we have one dead here.' + +"'One dead! We did not know that. We have no chaplain.' + +"The sergeant whispers to the captain that I am a Wesleyan minister. +The captain calls me. + +"'Are you a minister?' + +"'Yes, sir.' + +"'Can you bury this man?' + +"'Yes, sir.' + +"'Carry on, then!' + +"What is his religion--the dead man? No one knows. One of the soldiers +has a Prayer-book on him, so we decide to read the Church of England +service. + +"Over the road, opposite the building, is a patch of ground--just a +cabbage patch. A grave has been dug, just a few minutes previously, +and the dead soldier lies in it uncovered, just as he fell in the +trenches. His arms are folded on his breast. A piece of cloth hides +his face from our sight. He lies two feet from the surface--no more. +Three of us stand by the grave. The corporal hands me an electric +torch, and I begin to read the burial service. + +"'Ping-ping!' A bullet whizzes over us. Out goes the torch--and we +finish with an extempore prayer. Five minutes later two of his mates +are filling up this soldier's grave, and another is cutting out a +rough wooden cross. Ten minutes more and we are away with our +ambulance." + +If they all acquit themselves thus we shall indeed be proud of +Kitchener's Army. + +The Christian work at the front becomes increasingly successful as the +months go by, until one wonders whereunto it will grow. We must not +exaggerate or make too much of momentary impressions of those at the +front, but such scenes as the following, pictured to us by the Rev. +Lauchlan McLean Watt in the _Scotsman_, will live in our memory. As we +read it we can hardly wonder at his closing words declaring that it is +Resurrection and Pentecost through which they are passing in France +and Flanders to-day. + +He had been in a deserted billet just behind the firing line, and was +about to move on when a couple of soldiers of the Black Watch appeared +on the scene. Here is the story he has to tell: + +"They touched their bonnets, and said, 'We're going off to the front +to-night, sir, and we thought we'd like to have the Sacrament before +we go. Can you give it to us?' 'How many?' I asked. 'Oh, maybe +sixteen,' was the reply. 'Well,' I answered, 'at six o'clock in the +shed next to this one be present with your friends.' + +"Off went the two with a deepened light in their faces, while I +prepared the place that was to be for some of them the room of the +Last Supper. A tablecloth borrowed from the officers' mess and a +little wine from the same source helped to meet our preparations. A +notice on the door that the place was closed for ordinary use until +the Communion service was over did not keep us free from interruption, +for the room was the ordinary one for the soldiers' 'sing-song,' and +men would come and beat upon the doors and clamour for admission, not +reading notices nor at first understanding. + +"The men began to gather, and sat down there as reverently as though +the dim, little, draughty hut were the chancel of some great cathedral +holy with the deepest memories of Christian generations. + +"'You might wait,' whispered one. 'The Camerons and Seaforths may be +able to come.' So we waited--a hushed and solemn waiting. Then quietly +some of them began to croon old psalm memories, and quiet hymns, +waiting. And at length the others came, stepping softly into the +place; and with them comrades, who explained that, though they were of +a different country and a different church belief, they yet desired to +share in the act of worship, preparatory to celebration. At length +about one hundred and twenty men were there, and we began. + +"It was the 23rd Psalm, the Psalm of God's shepherding, the +comradeship of the Divine in the Valley of the Shadow, the faith and +the hope of the brave. What a power was in it--what a spell of wonder, +of comforting, and uplifting in this land of war! They sang it very +tenderly, for it spoke to them of times when they had held their +mothers' hands, and looked up wondering in their faces, in the church +at home, wondering why tears were there. + +"It means a big thing still, to-day, for our Empire, this heart-deep +singing of our soldier men. I have never dreamed that I should see +such depth of feeling for eternal things. Do not tell me this is +Armageddon. It is not the end of things. It is Resurrection and +Pentecost we are passing through. A harvest is being sown in France of +which the reaping shall be Empire-wide. There will be angels at the +ingathering. + +"It only needed the simplest words to seal that sacrament. And next +morning, in the grey light, the men who had been touched by the +thought of home and the dear ones there, and the big throbbing thought +of consecration, were marching off to grip the very hand of death, in +sacrifice, like Christ's for others." + +The Easter visit of the Bishop of London to the front is fresh in our +memories. What a holy and triumphant progress it was! Vast bodies of +men have listened to the addresses of the bishop, and joined +reverently in the responses to the prayers. How grandly those glorious +hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "Jesu, Lover of my soul" have swelled forth +in the stillness which was only broken by the booming of great guns! + +The programme of the visit had been arranged with much care. There +were all sorts of services. Now the bishop was with the Flying Corps +gathered in one of their great hangars, now with the Household Cavalry +massed in the field, now with the Army Service Corps beside their big +lorries. To all sorts and conditions of men the bishop spoke, and it +seemed as though he had the right word for each man. + +He passed along the whole British front often within the range of the +German guns. At one part of the line, where there had recently been +heavy fighting, some five hundred officers, many of whom had only just +come from the battle, were present. The service was, of course, +voluntary, and the fact that those officers were present because they +_wanted_ to be there made the service all the more impressive. Veteran +generals knelt side by side with newly commissioned subalterns in +reverent worship on the hard stoned floor. + +Easter Day the bishop spent with the Territorial regiment of which he +is chaplain. I quote the description of the services from the +_Manchester Guardian_: + +"The regiment is in a most exposed position, and the bishop motored +into the village (a village that has been very much knocked about by +shell fire) in pitch darkness, only broken by the weird glare of star +shells fired from the German trenches about a mile away. A most +enthusiastic reception awaited him from the two hundred and fifty men +who were billeted in the village, the remainder of the battalion being +in the trenches. + +"Cheer after cheer greeted him as he entered the barn, where a +'sing-song' of the most lively nature was in progress. After giving a +short address the bishop went with some of the men to their billets +and had a cheery word for each. At seven A.M. on Easter Day he +celebrated the Holy Communion in a barn, the roof and walls of which +had been scarred and shattered by gun fire. Over two hundred men +communicated. As this service ended we found at least a hundred and +fifty men of other regiments outside the building, who had been +waiting since seven o'clock, and had been unable to enter the crowded +room. For these the bishop celebrated at once. Strange as the +surroundings were, with guns firing and the crack of rifles distinctly +heard, one would doubt if in any church, however beautiful, a more +reverent congregation had ever gathered together on an Easter morning. +On the evening of Easter Day the bishop preached his final sermon at +General Headquarters in the presence of Sir John French, many +distinguished officers, and a large body of men. One heard on every +side how much the bishop's presence and his words had inspired and +encouraged the gallant men who were present at the services. Easter +Monday saw him leave the front to visit Rouen and Havre before +returning to England." + +So once more old England greeted her sons across the Channel, and +commended them to Him who died and rose again for their Salvation. + +But we are beginning to look forward to the future. The war will end +some day, and then, what then? + +A new army will come back from the fight, veteran as regards its +fighting power, but new as regards its conduct and its spirit. Mr. +Asquith said this was a "spiritual war." It is so perhaps in a deeper +sense than Mr. Asquith meant. There has been "wrestling" out there, +not only against "flesh and blood," but against the powers of sin and +darkness. And there has been victory--victory over sin, victory in +Christ. And back they will come to us--these new men who have been +transfigured and transformed upon the battlefield. And the question is +to what sort of a Church will they come? Shall the fires of their new +love be chilled by the ice of our formality, or shall our worldliness +seem strange to these new citizens of the City of God? + +If we are not ready to receive these new men when they come home, God +will send in a terrible account to us which we shall have to pay. Woe +to the Church which quenches the fire of their devotion, to the +so-called Christian who lives in Ease-in-Zion instead of in Beulah +Land! + +Now is the time for the churches to prepare. We are told that the +enthusiasm of last September is dying out of our churches, that in the +busy work of the following months we have forgotten to pray. We are +even getting used to the war. Let the churches of our land bestir +themselves. These men will need our choicest care, as they deserve our +most brilliant example. Christ has not left Britain for Flanders. He +is here too, and we must seek Him in penitence and prayer, that when +the lads come home His Church shall be found ready for her Christian +task. + +What a welcome we will give them when they come! How the great hall +will be hung with flags, and the homely hearth will be gay for once! +What love light there will be in the eyes of the mother, the wife, and +the maiden! How hand will grasp hand, and all the world will seem +young again! They are coming--they are coming! + +But not all are coming,--some have fallen in the fight, and sad hearts +will weep in silence, and lives will seem worthless now they are no +more. But it will not all be darkness even to those who mourn, for it +is great to die with honour and in the service of one's country. And +many a home will cherish the memory of its hero, and look forward to a +meeting by and by. And Britain will emblazon their names on its roll +of honour--this man and that man has died for her. + +They are coming--they are coming, and we greet them one and all--the +men who fought for us and endured nobly on our behalf. + +Let us show them when they come a new Britain, freed from the curse of +drink, purified as by fire--a new Britain which has crowned Christ as +its King, fit mother of such sons as these! + + * * * * * + +The cross is still at the front--its power ever widening and +developing. It will go wherever our troops go, carrying with it the +life which is life indeed. Death cannot weaken its influence, it +triumphs over death, and many a soldier lad will it draw to itself, +and many a dying gaze will be fixed upon it, for it is there--always +there--when men need the truths it reveals. + + * * * * * + +The cross is still at the front--many crosses. It has become a custom +to fix crosses over the graves of our soldiers, most of them rudely +and hastily shaped, but crosses still. Some of them large and strongly +planted, others hardly showing above the earth. Not long will many of +them last. Over some of them the feet of soldiers in the rush of the +battle may tread, others may be overthrown by the storms of winter. +But they are there now, and some day may be replaced by more permanent +structures. Whether that be so or not, the truth they symbolise will +abide--Christ died, Christ lives. He died the just for the unjust to +bring us to God. He is the resurrection and the life. + +As we visit those graves by the wayside or in countless little +cemeteries, consecrated by our heroic dead, we thank God that over +them all is the Sign of the Cross. + + O dearly, dearly has He loved, + And we must love Him too, + And trust in His redeeming Blood, + And try His works to do. + + + + +_Spottiswoods & Co. Ltd., Printers, Colchester, London and Eton._ + + + + +_READY SHORTLY._ + + THE ROLL CALL + OF SERVING WOMEN + + A RECORD OF WOMEN'S WORK IN THE WAR + + BY MARY FRANCES BILLINGTON + + _ILLUSTRATED._ + + Large Crown 8vo. Cloth Gilt. 3s. 6d. + + LONDON: 4 BOUVERIE STREET. E.C. + + * * * * * + + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + | Typographical errors corrected in text: | + | | + | Page 109: 'look the law' replaced with 'took the law' | + | | + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + + * * * * * + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's With our Fighting Men, by William E. 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