During one of my visits to Birmingham, I saw a Rally of the local
Scouts. One thing that struck me about them, besides their good work,
was their cheerfulness. The outside of their programme had printed
upon it portraits of eight of their smartest Scouts, and each one of
these has a big grin on.
Well, that is what I like to see; fellows who can work, and work
cheerily. It is just what our men are doing at the Front.
I saw a letter the other day from an officer describing how the men
lived a miserable existence crouching in the trenches, always wet and
cold and muddy, being shot at and shelled all the time, but they
welcomed the shells as if they were friends, giving them the nicknames
of Jack Johnsons, Black Marias, Woolly Bears, etc. He says of the men:
"If I were asked what struck me most, I would say that it was the
marvellous cheerfulness of the men living in such awful circumstances.
Every one to a man seemed happy. They are always ready for a joke, and
they see fun in everything."
And that is why we shall succeed in this war, because our men see the
bright side of it, and take things cheerfully and hopefully, even in
the worst circumstances. It is also the way to succeed in peace time
when doing work or suffering hardships or disappointments.
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