It was enough; to Boulogne, instead of to bed, went the tired drivers and their assistants, leaving the port at midnight with the needful supplies, and they were back in Arras at 4 a. m., a few minutes before the attack began. So that the "Y" could have the stores for which the fighting troops would be in urgent need, they sacrificed their rest and toiled forty-eight hours at one stretch.
The Arras operations were typical of the steady fighting of 1918, when the Canadian "Y," like the troops it cared for, had little rest. They kept right up to the front lines, always on hand with free comforts at those points where the troops could be best served, the "Y" officers at times even going over with the attack bearing chocolate and cigarettes. Some were officially rewarded by the bestowal of medals and orders; but their real reward lay in the unofficial thanks tendered them by the men themselves.
The "Y's" activities on the western front, both in the fighting and rear zones, were far-flung, but they extended farther—everywhere, in fact, where there were Canadians. Its brotherly hand reached Dominion railway troops in Palestine. Isolated Canadians with the mixed Allied forces operating at Archangel and on the Murman Coast in northern Russia also found "Y" officers at hand, the latter carrying on their Samaritan mission under the most trying conditions of climate and distance.
In the rear areas, away from the excitement of battle, the scope for the Canadian "Y" service was as great as on the fighting front and as equally needed. At base camps the "Y's" presence was conspicuous and its social-religious activities widespread. The familiar huts were there, with their canteens, entertainments, and reading and writing facilities. At the base camp of Aubin St.-Vaast was a Canadian "Y" athletic ground—one not to be equaled in Canada—an ambitious enterprise built with the invaluable cooperation of the Canadian engineers. It contained, in one area, a football field, an outdoor baseball diamond, a running track of a quarter of a mile, three quoiting pitches, five tennis courts, a tug-of-war ground, a boxing and wrestling ring, a jumping pit, and fields for lacrosse, cricket, badminton, and gymkhana or mounted horse events.
Behind the lines, too, were the railway troops and the forestry corps units—the latter being scattered over France from Bordeaux on the southwest to the Jura Mountains in Switzerland—who were not overlooked by the Canadian "Y" in the bestowal of its many-sided services. Units of the forestry corps were also scattered over Great Britain, from the south of England to the north of Scotland. Many were isolated from the entertainments and social diversions afforded by towns, and their situation accordingly gave the Canadian "Y" great scope for rendering the brotherly service to which its personnel were devoted. Their enterprise in installing rooms and canteens in thirty-eight scattered locations compensated for many of the deprivations incidental to such lone camps.
Perhaps the most concentrated work performed by the "Y" behind the lines was not in France at all, but in England. It gave itself the task of keeping in close touch with the Canadian soldier during the months of his stay there. He might be in training or wounded or convalescent or on leave, or in stationary units such as the London permanent force and the forestry corps. Whatever his status, he was looked after.
In the training camps, where the "Y" work grew rapidly, more than keeping pace with the extension of enlistments and arrivals, and where recruits, fresh from Canada, were isolated in segregation for several weeks, the Canadian "Y" provided the only facilities available for amusement to the immured men, as well as enabling them to buy things they needed. Their morale and spirits were braced by entertainments. The camps were located at Witley and Bramshott. At the former three concerts a week were given by professional entertainers in eight different huts.
Similar provision was made for the wounded in the Canadian hospitals throughout England. Concerts were given in wards, while at one establishment—the Canadian military hospital at Orpington—the authorities placed a theater seating 550 at the service of the "Y".
The Canadians on leave made London their Mecca. Into London they poured, and they needed a rendezvous, a club, a home-from-home, and wholesome diversions. The Canadian "Y" personnel undertook the task; that was what they were there for. The Beaver Hut, situated in the Strand, in the heart of the metropolis, and the most famous hut overseas, was the outward and visible expression of their activities. It became the center of Canadians. There the soldier's every want could be gratified; there he left his kit in safety; there he dined, slept, played billiards, bought his Canadian titbits or his theater tickets (at about half the regular prices), read the papers and current periodicals, listened to an orchestra, or saw a play or moving picture, exchanged his French money for English without loss, obtained information about a multitude of things of which he was ignorant as a newcomer, and obtained facilities for sightseeing trips about London or in the provinces. Most important of all, there he ate. The Beaver Hut had a spacious dining room, which provided as many as 4,800 meals in a day, served in relays, at a price well below that charged by the most moderate of London restaurants. The meals were cooked and served by over 800 well-known Canadian and English women, who gave their services. More than that, the Canadian soldier could sleep there, though the space was limited to 180; but when the Hut lacked a bed for him the Canadian "Y" got him quartered elsewhere. Then if he was in want he was cared for.
With the Armistice and the demobilization period that followed the "Y" work was rather amplified than lessened. The troops had less to do; the "Y" officials had more. The American movement up the Rhine called for the provision of entertainments on an extensive scale, the troops having more time on their hands. There were theaters, and light and heat, and German orchestras to be requisitioned. Three large units were entertained in Germany—two divisions and the corps troops. Twelve theaters and fifteen canteens were provided for one division alone. For one brigade four moving pictures were nightly in operation, the men being entertained in relays of 2,500. Suppers and vaudeville were also among the diversions provided, while the canteens were so well patronized that in thirteen days the takings amounted to over $50,000. In Belgium a striking feature of the Armistice period was the free entertainment by the Canadian "Y" of an entire division at Liege, extending over two days.