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."