‘No, you’re not going to die. Who said you were?’
He rejoined, with tears, ‘Chaplain says I must be prepared; but I’d rather trust in you, Doctor.’
Which he did, with the best result.
The visiting of the acutely ill required judgment; for if it caused fear and excitement instead of comfort, it could be harmful; and at times both Sister and doctor might be anxious to ward off the chaplain’s visit, and yet hesitate to interfere with his prerogative.
Under Army Orders, church parade was compulsory. It was unfortunate that it was almost the only thing which was compulsory at Endell Street. In church, the men sat rigidly during the sermons, their eyes fixed on the preacher with an appearance of attention, which must have been very helpful to him. The methods of preaching varied with the chaplains. Those who were young, favoured local colour. The Bible would be referred to as a trenching tool; the Prayer Book as an enamelled mug, and the Twelve Apostles were termed staff officers. Stories of the piety of men in the trenches or other hospitals were given and letters from men to the chaplain were often quoted. One preacher was fond of inventing allegories, and conversations between himself and imaginary soldiers, which mystified the men very much. And another who was in favour of Women’s Suffrage, preached on the ‘New Womanhood,’ and exhorted his hearers not to regard those in charge of the hospital as ‘playthings,’ but as ‘their own equals in every respect’; the women being for the time in the position of the men’s superior officers!
In the summer of 1919, an Education officer was added to the staff of the hospital, and a few of the men were persuaded to take classes. The first of these officers was unfortunate in having a hesitating, uncertain manner and a bad delivery, which made the men call him ‘Mr. Er-er.’ The second was very deaf. As a rule, the patients showed little desire to study anything, and only about two per cent. welcomed the scheme, on which the country was spending such enormous sums of money. Teachers in every branch of knowledge were produced. One came to teach shorthand; another, book-keeping; others, history, German, singing, or typewriting. The Jewish men were the most anxious for lessons, but they preferred instruction in voice-production or singing, and one wished the army to train him for the operatic stage. The attempt was not very successful. It did not equal the real education which the librarian had carried on during the years that had gone before.
STRETCHER-BEARERS AND SERGEANT-MAJOR HARRIS
(Photo, Reginald Haines)