It would neither be right nor in good taste to mention any names of chaplains, but one may instance the kind of work which one saw them doing. I have already referred to the dug-out club in a destroyed town. I may go on to tell of one who on his bicycle, sometimes late at night, would go away from the centre where he was stationed to outlying districts for the purpose of giving lantern lectures to our troops. When last I saw him he was arranging to give this particular entertainment to a number of our Indian wounded. This chaplain was the life and soul of a great parade service held in a square in one of the French towns, where, by his voice and his enthusiasm, he made the whole service go with fervour and effect. I remember how, on this occasion, numbers of French people came up to me and told me that they were certain that this outward acknowledgment by our soldiers of their devotion to God would be helpful to the spirituality of the whole town. The chaplains abroad have to be business men as well as clergy. The arrangements for services and other matters take up a considerable amount of time. At one base there are about thirty places to arrange for every Sunday, and in these thirty places over sixty services are held. It is no light matter for the Senior Chaplain to see that week by week everything is in order. This particular instance is not an isolated one, and is taken simply at random. Now that there is a Bishop as Deputy Chaplain of the Forces in France, everything should go on in a perfectly satisfactory manner and with great advantage to the chaplains themselves.
SPECIMEN OF SERVICE LIST OF ONE OF
OUR BASES AT THE FRONT
DIVINE SERVICES—SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 1915.
H.C.=Holy Communion, P.S.=Parade Service, E.S.=Evening Service.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
B. Details.
8 a.m., H.C. in Orderly Room.
10.46 a.m., P.S. in Y.M.C.A. Hut No. 1.
Reinforcement Camps.
6.30 and 7.30 a.m., H.C. in C.A. Hut.
11.30 a.m., P.S. (open air, weather permitting) at Y.M.C.A.
Hut No. 2 for all Divisions.
If Wet.
10 a.m., P.S. (9, 12, 14 Divisions), C.A. Hut.
11 a.m., P.S. (16, 17, 18 Divisions), C.A. Hut.
11.30 a.m., P.S. (19, 20, 37, 61 Divisions) in Y.M.C.A. Hut
No. 2.
7 p.m., E.S., C.A. Hut.
No. 18 General Hospital.
6.30, 8.16, and 11.30 a.m., H.C., Church Tent.
11 a.m., P.S., Church Tent.
6 p.m., E.S., Church Tent.
No. 1 Canadian Hospital.
6 a.m., H.C., Recreation Tent.
8 a.m., H.C., Nurses Tent.
9.16 a.m., P.S., Recreation Tent.