WORK AT THE BASE
At various centres in France are established Bases, where all the
necessary supplies and ammunition are landed, and thence transported to
the various Units in the Field. To cope with this vast system of
distribution an army of men is employed. It will help the reader to form
an estimate of the labour involved in this enormous undertaking if I
briefly refer to the various branches of the British Expeditionary Force
which are specially engaged in ministering to the Force as a whole.
(1) _Army Service Corps._--These are men drilled and practised
in supply and transport. They are ubiquitous, and without
them it would be impossible to maintain the operations in
hand.
(2) _Army Ordnance Department._--The men of this section are
skilled in the manipulation of ammunition, and in the
tabulation and distribution of a hundred and one articles of
equipment. It is a striking object lesson to make a tour of
inspection of this important Department of the Army. It
would be interesting to know how many hundreds of thousands
of miles of barbed wire have passed through the hands of the
A.O. during the war. Everything from a screw to a howitzer
comes within their attention. As to the supply of guns and
ammunition I am, of course, forbidden to say anything,
excepting to share with my fellow-countrymen the greatest
satisfaction that the grave difficulty noticeable earlier in
the war has to so large an extent been overcome.
(3) _Army Medical Stores._--Here again we have another striking
object lesson in the wonders of detail. Everything required
by Hospitals, Field Ambulances, Casualty Clearing Stations
is herein stored and ready to be dispatched in response to
the indents which are daily pouring in; the requirements of
the R.A.M.C., from a surgical bandage to an operating
table--to say nothing of drugs--must be ready for use. This
involves the most careful attention on the part of the
staff, which is, of course, composed of picked men.
(4) _Railway Engineers._--In each Base will be found one or more
companies of Sappers, who are responsible for the
maintenance of telegraphic and telephonic communications,
within the area of the Base; and also the construction and
upkeep of military railway lines and buildings.
(5) _Sanitary Department._--In Bases where permanent Garrisons
are stationed (in some instances amounting to many
thousands) much care must be exercised with regard to the
ordinary hygienic conditions of life; and under highly
qualified officers the most careful supervision is exercised
in this respect.
(6) _Army Post Office._--The correspondence of the Expeditionary
Force is enormous, and involves a large staff in keeping
'Tommy' well posted with news from home. The efficiency of
this important adjunct to our Army is as highly valued as it
is admirably carried out.
(7) _Army Bakers._--The men composing this Unit are of course
selected from a particular calling. Their work is beyond all
praise. In one Base with which I was more particularly
connected during the latter part of my service abroad, no
less than 220,000 two and a half pound loaves are baked
daily. This represents bread rations for 440,000 men. The
labour involved in such a vast production is very great.
Weekday and Sunday alike the Army Bakers are grandly
proceeding with their monotonous but most necessary work. So
complete is the system employed in the making and
distributing of 'the staff of life' that no Unit, however
far distant, receives bread older than four days. A French
General of high position, lately visiting one such Bakery,
expressed his unbounded admiration at the system employed,
saying that in the French Army bread fifteen days old is
very usually met with.
(8) _Army Service Corps Labourers._--These men are specially
enlisted from stevedores, dock labourers, etc. Their work
consists, in the main, of unloading vessels, and shipping
supplies on to trains.
(9) _Remounts and Veterinary Department._--It would rejoice the
hearts of all lovers of dumb animals to visit these great
repositories of whole, sick and injured horses. The saving
in horse flesh represented by these carefully administered
camps is of the utmost value to the Army as a whole, for
although motor transport is playing so important a part,
horses are a necessity in many phases of Army work.
(10) _Military Police._--Under the Assistant Provost Marshal, a
military Base is controlled by a staff of picked men, who do
their work most admirably. Their duties are varied; they
have the oversight of the conduct of the men, and are most
particular in regard to the appearance of men in public. Woe
be to the man who is not properly dressed as he passes under
the lynx-eye of one of these military custodians of the
peace. Such supervision is not even altogether uncalled for
among the officers of the new Army; one has been much struck
with the slovenly, and at times grotesque, appearance of men
who have suddenly assumed the position of officers and
gentlemen. The somewhat apt epigram which is current to-day,
is not wholly unmerited, "Temporary officers are expected to
behave as temporary gentlemen."
(11) _Convalescent Camps._--On men leaving hospitals, prior to
their rejoining their Units at the Front, they are usually
placed in Convalescent Camps, or in what are called Base
Details. Here they are employed in various light duties
until such times as they are fit for more active service.
It was at a Base comprising a Garrison of such Units as I have mentioned
that I spent the greater part of my closing months of service in the
Army. I was not attached to any hospital, but had placed in my care the
greater part of what I may call the active men. The work was of the most
interesting description, and following as it did a strenuous experience
with the fighting forces, I am enabled, in consequence, to form a fairly
sound judgment on the work of the British Expeditionary Force as a
whole.
On leaving home on March 16 for a fresh spell of service, I proceeded,
in obedience to orders received, and reported myself to Doctor Sims, the
principal chaplain, and received from him my orders as to my allocation.
On reaching my Base I was most cordially received by the Rev. E.G.F.
McPherson, C.M.G. Senior Church of England Chaplain to the Forces. This
officer, who ranks as Colonel, has had many years of distinguished
service in the Army, and is universally respected. Prior to his taking
up the position which he occupied when I reported to him, he was in the
retreat from Mons and the battle of the Aisne. The regard evinced for
him by all ranks is unbounded. On one occasion I was with him visiting
padrés at the Front, when an officer pointing to him said, 'There goes
the best loved man in the Army,' and I can well believe it. He is at the
present time rendering very important service with the Southern Command,
in the Salisbury training centre.
Allocated to me were the A.S.C., Army Ordnance, Mechanical Transport
Base Regiment (employed on Guard duty), Firing parties at funerals,
Escorts, etc., Military Police, Army Bakers, and A.S.C. Labourers.
My work at the Base necessarily differed largely from that at the Front.
The men being stationed at one place it was possible to arrange a
regular system of services; but these were at times exceedingly
difficult to sustain, owing to the very heavy pressure of work with
which the men had to cope; but notwithstanding such difficulties and
discouragements, I have every reason to be thankful for the great
opportunity which was afforded me.
It was my privilege to prepare men for Baptism, and on two occasions for
Confirmation. This solemn rite of our Church was taken on the one
occasion by Bishop Bury, and on the other by the Bishop of Birmingham;
at each service admirable addresses were delivered.
The Bishop of Birmingham--an old Territorial officer--has taken the
greatest interest in the work of the British Expeditionary Force, and is
thoroughly conversant with the whole line at the Front.
It was a great pleasure to meet the Bishop of London, just before
Easter, on his way to the firing line, where he received a wonderful
welcome from all ranks.
Spiritual work among soldiers is very real and deep. I question whether
there is any more difficult place for a man to endeavour to live up to
his convictions than in the Army; and to the Christian soldier, one of
the surest tests of the reality of his religious profession is the
simple matter of saying his prayers in the barrack room or tent. If a
man persistently does that, you may be sure there is something real in
his profession.
I have already alluded to the deep impression created by the experience
of being under fire. A somewhat remarkable instance in support of this
condition of mind came under my notice a few weeks ago. The officer to
whom it relates will, I am sure, pardon my introducing his experience to
point my moral. He was standing with a brother officer amid the ruins of
Ypres, when, realizing that the position was distinctly 'unhealthy'
owing to the heavy shelling which had commenced, he suggested a
withdrawal from the locality. They had walked but a short distance, when
a high explosive shell burst behind them, and a piece of the casing
whizzed between their heads. 'That was a near shave,' said one; 'let's
go back and see where it fell.' It had fallen on the precise spot where
they had been standing but a minute or so before. The result of the
condition of mind produced by this remarkable 'let off' was a visit to
the chaplain's office. On asking what I could do for him the officer
replied, 'I hardly know, but I want your help. I have never been
baptized, so I suppose I ought to be baptized and confirmed.' I pointed
out to him that prior to the participation in the Sacrament of Holy
Baptism, he had to settle with himself his personal relationship with
Christ. By the goodness of God I believe that point was clearly
established in his mind, and it was my privilege to baptize him, and
then present him for Confirmation at the hands of the Bishop of
Birmingham.
This affords another illustration of the wonderful working of a man's
mind who comes face to face with Eternity and the reality of God. Some
men at home will possibly be inclined to sneer at such a condition of
mind, but those of us who have been through it know full well the
emptiness of such home-bred objections, which certainly do not hold amid
the issues of life and death which are found at the Front.
I have met many friends at the Base, both among officers and men. It is
a pleasing duty to record the gratitude I owe to those in command for
their invariable courtesy to me, in the prosecution of my work, and the
splendid personal support rendered to me. The personal influence of the
officers goes far in securing the sympathy of the men.
I have never had more attentive congregations than those which have
formed the various Church Parades and voluntary gatherings which fell
to my lot to conduct whilst working at the Base.
On one occasion it fell to me to conduct a 'Quiet Day' for Chaplains,
Hospital Nurses and Orderlies, and responsible though the work was, we
felt it to be a great lift up, coming as it did amid the stress of a
very arduous life.
I frequently had the experience of visiting the different sections of
the Front, and on two occasions in particular gave addresses to
gatherings of chaplains, drawn from various Divisions. Those were unique
occasions, for one felt the tremendous responsibility of trying to help
men engaged in such important work. I knew that I was addressing heroes
without exception, men who were daily counting their lives cheap for
Christ's sake.
A most interesting experience befell me on June 18. With a brother
chaplain I was visiting in the neighbourhood of Ypres, when ascending a
small hill from which one could survey the whole line of trenches,
extending from Zonnebec to Ploegstreete, we passed by some reserve
trenches in which were a considerable number of men, resting from their
duties in the front line trenches. I had taken with me in the car a
large number of packets of cigarettes, generously sent out by my
parishioners, and on asking the lads if they wanted any, I speedily
found myself at the head of a great following, like the Pied Piper of
Hamelin. The men streamed after me in hundreds down to the lane some
distance off, where the car was waiting. It did not take many minutes to
hand out a big supply of smokes. While thus engaged, a sergeant made
himself known to me as having heard me give an address down at the Base,
and with considerable _naïveté_ he said, 'Cannot you give us a talk
here, sir?' Of course I could! and in less than five minutes there were
hundreds of men most picturesquely grouped on the hillside. It was
touching to see their faces as I spoke to them of 'the greatest thing in
the world,' the Love of God in Christ Jesus; and as I built up my
argument of the Divine love by means of the illustration of the love of
home, many a clear eye glistened. As I closed, I pointed out to them the
unique occasion of our meeting, June 18, 1915, therefore the centenary
of the Battle of Waterloo. There we were actually on Belgian soil,
almost within gun-sound of the celebrated battle-field itself. As we
sang the National Anthem I felt that never had I heard it sung in so
inspiriting a manner; and when I called for three cheers for the King,
the Germans in their front line trenches,--which were certainly within
earshot,--must have imagined an attack in force was about to take place.
Such desultory gatherings go far to cheer a padré's heart as he proceeds
on the daily round and common task.