Whether any one has the right to make any statement with regard to
something which has only been studied for a short time is
questionable, and, therefore, I do not pretend to any dogmatic
utterance, but I wish simply to state the effect produced upon me by
my time abroad. My experience goes from thirty-five yards from the
German trenches right back to the most southern and westerly of our
bases. Bearing in mind that through the courtesy of Headquarters I
have been able to see everything under the most comfortable and
time-saving circumstances, it must be admitted that though my view
may have been superficial, it certainly was comprehensive. I had the
satisfaction of being able to give a kind word and a blessing even
where one was asked not to speak too loud in case our enemies should
overhear; I held confirmations in several places, and addressed
troops, both wounded and strong and hearty, on many occasions.
The first thing which struck me was the great courtesy and
consideration of everybody who was concerned with our visit. That
the authorities at Headquarters who were working, as I know, both
early and late, must have felt that one was a very unnecessary
addition to their troubles is, I should fancy, unquestionable; yet
not only did they never show it, on the contrary, they worked every
day to make our visit easy and delightful. I know that the Lord
Mayor of Birmingham, who spent nearly a week with me, feels this as
warmly as myself, and it shows the wonderful calm of an Englishman
that we were both so kindly treated, though we added in no way to the
happiness or usefulness of anybody. What I have said with regard to
the Staff at Headquarters applies also to all those who had to do
with us at all the various centres.
The next thing which struck me was the way in which the British have,
as it were, taken possession of the whole of that area for which our
people are responsible. You go through village after village, and
the ubiquitous person is our soldier. He appears out of farm
buildings, he leans over gates, holding difficult conversation, not
only with the young maidens of the village, but with dear old ladies
who can be seen taking a motherly interest in him. In the towns he
pervades the whole place. Always bright and cheerful, and yet
conscious of his responsibility, our khaki-clad young fellow
maintains his good character and earns the respect of the people. I
asked a French Archbishop and also a French Bishop, the jurisdiction
of both of whom is within our area, if they were satisfied with the
behaviour of our men, and on each occasion the answer was that they
were beyond reproach. We do not seem to be visitors in France, but
we almost appear to have taken root there. The buildings we are
putting up, the railway extensions we are making, the way in which we
have turned bare spaces into towns, all these things make one feel as
if we were permanent institutions and not birds of passage. It is
not altogether wonderful that some of the more ignorant French people
should say that they do not believe we are ever going away; whilst on
the other hand, some French officers told me that their confidence in
our alliance had become immensely greater because we had done
everything in such a stable manner, one man going so far as to say to
me that he considered one of the surest signs of our determination to
see this war through was that so many of our officers had taken
houses for three years certain. It is only just to add in regard to
a large number of the buildings we have put up that they can be taken
down, carried away and be put up over here with practically no
difficulty. Another impression produced upon me was one of
increasing respect for the adaptability of the Englishman. It shows
itself in innumerable military ways which I hardly have the right to
mention, but one may be permitted the general observation that there
is no kind of obstacle which we do not seem to surmount and even
sometimes to turn to an advantage. What we have done in turning to
good use even some extraordinary effects of shell fire upon buildings
made me more than astonished; perhaps I may be allowed one instance.
Somewhere in France there was a railway station and near it an
estaminet; both, as far as one could judge, were destroyed, with the
exception of a portion of a chimney. By some miraculous means which
I cannot describe, one went along all kinds of underground places,
then up some steps and into what I believe was a portion of the
chimney, and from there through a crevice one was able to see a good
deal of the German lines quite close by. When one came out again,
one could not in the least tell where it was that one had been. To
take a less warlike instance of our power of getting over
difficulties: a certain officers' mess is established in a French
farm which a few months ago had a duck pond which gave forth an odour
which was both unpleasant and unsavoury. Consequent, I believe, upon
the enthusiasm of a particular major, within four months the pond was
empty, the ground was levelled, the seeds were sown, and when I was
there the pond had become quite a respectable lawn-tennis ground. It
is safe to say that one's gardener would have expected to have four
years instead of four months for such an operation.
I may give, perhaps, another instance of this special quality of the
Britisher. The Artists' Corps went out to France for ordinary
duties; they have now become an Officers' Training Corps, and an
enormous percentage of them are holding commissions in every kind of
regiment.
Not only so, but they are largely instrumental in carrying on a kind
of Sandhurst on French soil; they are, I believe, influential in the
management of a bomb school, and last, but not least, they have a
band in which the soldiers rejoice, and of which I wish there were
many more at the Front.
I am personally greatly indebted to the Artists; first, because a
very charming officer of their number was placed in charge of me for
a considerable time and bore with me in patience; secondly, because I
found such a hearty welcome from them at their mess and so many
friends amongst their number; thirdly, because they turned up so well
at the Parade Service at which I was the preacher!
The next thing which struck me was the calm in the trenches. Over
here in England we seem to live in a continual change of feeling. We
get the account of some engagement in which we are successful, and
immediately we conclude the war is going to be over to-morrow, and
people who are wont to go abroad for a holiday think it is time they
went to Messrs. Cook's office to see about their tickets. But on the
way they see the placard of an evening paper which tells of some
minor disaster to our Forces, and then they return home, they call
together the family and they tell them that the future means either
the destruction of the country or twenty years of misery and poverty;
the bulk of the misfortune, of course, being sure to rest upon their
own individual shoulders. It is refreshing to get away from this
atmosphere and to go into the trenches where everybody is doing his
bit of work, content with somewhat unpleasant circumstances so long
as through him England is served. Whenever, in future, I am inclined
towards a fit of pessimism, I shall shut my eyes in order to see once
again, with the vision of the spirit, a stalwart Britisher of the
Worcester Regiment, not very far from the German lines, on a certain
afternoon, when a most appalling thunderstorm was raging and some
German shells were falling. He was munching the thickest slice of
bread and jam that I have ever seen, and looking with a mild contempt
at the intruding figure of an unknown padre whom a considerable
number of his comrades were greeting because they recognised in him
their Bishop. He put down now and again his refreshment in order to
do some bit of work, but he was just as calm and collected as if he
had been in his Worcestershire village and not in the trenches.
That which carries our men through so many difficulties is another
thing which impressed me--namely, their unfailing sense of humour; a
humour which is never really hurtful even when exercised upon some
one deserving of satire. When he christens a road along which there
are a couple of miles of Army Service carts "Lorry Park," when he
finds every kind of strange anglicising for Flemish or French words,
we know that he is not only having some fun for himself, but also
providing amusement for those who come after him. The same humour
shines out when he is in hard case. A chaplain told me that he had
been addressing informally some wounded men who had just arrived from
the trenches. He was expatiating upon the glories of the Victoria
Cross because he noticed some of the men came from a regiment one of
whose number had recently received that coveted distinction.
Suddenly his eloquence was disturbed by a voice proceeding from a
man, both of whose feet were swathed in bandages, who remarked,
"Never mind the Victoria Cross, give me the Victoria 'Bus!"
Obviously the soldier's sense of humour was conquering his pain, and
his remark made the rest of the party forget their sufferings for a
short time. The only excuse that I can find for the fluctuating
feelings of the people at home is the remarkable way in which they
minister to Tommy's love of fun. He has every kind of quaint name
for the people in "Blighty"--the name which, though derived, I
believe, from an Eastern word denoting home, nevertheless expresses
something of the attitude noticeable at certain periods, both in
people and Press in England, and which appeals through its
appropriateness to the humour of our soldiers. But at the same time
there is a wonderful thankfulness shown in the face of officers and
men when the time arrives for the short spell of leave. The old
country and the friends left behind there are, after all, the things
closest to the hearts of our men.
The next thing upon which I would comment is the great mutual respect
between ourselves and the French. Every time I asked any of our
people what they thought of our Allies the answer was one of
unhesitating commendation, whilst in the same way when I spoke to
French officers or men, they expressed themselves in terms of
absolute trust in our nation and her statesmen and soldiers. As one
who saw the French during the war of 1870, when--being a boy--I was
very susceptible to impressions, I can hardly express the difference
I notice between the nation then and now. In the former war there
was excitement, impulsiveness, over-confidence, want of ballast;
to-day there is quietude, earnestness, and withal, assurance of
eventual victory. More than once I journeyed through a considerable
part of the French lines, and I assert with confidence that the Army
of France at the present time is incomparably superior to that which
she placed in the field in 1870. As to her civilians, I only saw
women, children, and old men; I did not, in all my thousand miles of
travel, discover a single able-bodied person of military age out of
uniform.
The harvest, a very good one, was in full swing. Every family was
out in the fields, all doing something towards the in-gathering. I
have a picture now before my eyes of seven people, all undoubtedly
coming from the same house, working away hard, whilst at the tail end
of the procession appeared what might have been the great-grandpapa,
no longer capable of bending down for harvesting, but who,
nevertheless, had his piece of work in carrying about the baby, who,
of course, could not be left behind alone in the house. The whole
nation is doing its utmost; can we quite honestly say the same of
England?
[Illustration: VERMELLES--THE CASTLE RUINS]
Another subject which was constantly commented upon and appreciated
at the Front was the thoroughness with which the Germans had done and
were doing everything. It was a matter of genuine regret with our
people that they could not be as wholehearted as they would wish to
be in appreciation of our enemies, in consequence of the way in which
they had sullied the fair fame of noble warfare. If there is one
thing a soldier wishes to do more than another it is to be able to
speak with respect and admiration of his opponent, and,
unfortunately, what the German would have gained by his magnificent
methodical thoroughness, he has lost through his dishonourable and
brutal conduct of the war. At the same time, it should be fairly
stated that in the judgment of those to whom I spoke the destruction
of churches by our foes has not been so wanton as is sometimes put
before us. It was suggested to me that in all probability the church
was often destroyed for the same reason as a high chimney, because it
formed an excellent observation post.
Before I leave the subject of the men at the Front, one of their
constant questions must be noted, which was whether they might expect
as much keenness on the part of our civilian population as was being
shown by those under arms. "We are doing our bit, but we shall need
increased, even greatly increased, assistance; I suppose we can be
sure of getting it." Those words still ring in my ears.