Not only are they in England, but in Scotland and Ireland, and by and by upon the Continent also. When the Canadians came they found the Y.M.C.A. ready to receive them. Six buildings were erected for their use, and the largest of these measured a hundred feet by thirty, with wooden walls and floor, and a canvas roof.
Coffee is served in these extemporised Soldiers' Homes from five o'clock in the morning to the end of the day. Everything that it is possible to do for the soldiers' comfort is done. In one of these tents 5000 letters were written and posted in one week. In the evenings "Singsongs" are arranged, and hundreds of thousands of a popular Christian songbook have been sold. Literature, largely provided by such agencies as the Religious Tract Society, abounds.
On Sundays the "Homes" are given over to the ministrations of the chaplains. All denominations are welcome, and the freedom of the buildings is also allowed for services to the Roman Catholics and the Jews.
Over 3000 voluntary helpers have taken part in this work as well as the staff of the National Headquarters, while 95 per cent, of the general secretaries throughout the country have acted as supervising agents. We do not wonder that the Association has received the thanks of the Government.
May I describe one service in a Y.M.C.A. tent? It is Sunday evening. The various Parade services of the morning have been held, the Church of England in the open air, and the Congregationalists and Wesleyans in the tent. But now a sergeant is in charge, and for half an hour he allows the men to choose what hymns they like, and right heartily do they sing. But now an Anglican archdeacon is on the platform, and with eager words and practical advice is urging the soldiers to live as Christian gentlemen. Then follows a Wesleyan minister with many a story and many an appeal. Then a Congregationalist minister, in quieter vein but with restrained earnestness. There are Christian songs between the addresses and many an audible response from the "Tommies" to the word of exhortation spoken. It is a re-union of the churches, proving that at heart they are all one in Christ Jesus, and it is made possible by the work of the Y.M.C.A.
In the case of the Canadians, the Y.M.C.A. is actually a part of the military force, and that is a remarkable thing. Six of the Canadian officers of the Association in the first contingent were at the same time officers in the Canadian Army, and were told off to the service of the Y.M.C.A., but they were none the less officers for that. In this way the Association is recognised, and the officers can go with the men right into the trenches, and do. Fine men were these first six officers, four of them with the infantry brigades, one with the cavalry, and one with the artillery.
The Salvation Army is also doing this work in its own way, but on a smaller scale. Writing to the Times in October 1914, Commissioner Higgins said: "We have established centres of work by permission of the authorities in about forty camps, and others are in course of preparation. We have many indications that the men highly appreciate what is being done. In one centre alone, on one day recently, we received 2000 letters for men in camp.
"In addition to personal help—which is so valuable when men are separated from their families and friends—there are opportunities for reading and writing, simple recreation and rest, and we are, so far as possible, holding bright and happy meetings, where men who know something of the power of Christ are able to urge upon their comrades the love and service of God. It seems to us that these cannot but be of the highest advantage to the men when they come to face those dreadful ordeals which must lie before many of them. Salvation Army officers have been appointed by the authorities concerned as chaplains for various units, both in the forces coming from Canada and New Zealand."
Everyone who knows anything of Christian work in the British Army knows how efficient is the service rendered by the Salvation Army, and its Salvation soldiers are always at work bringing other soldiers to Christ.
The Church Army is, and also has been, at work. Prebendary Wilson Carlile reports that it has supplied tents in a number of the larger stations, tents which were welcomed everywhere, and in which the same class of work has been done as in those of the Y.M.C.A. The "Lord Kitchener" tent in Hyde Park, close to the Marble Arch, has proved to be an admirable institution, and has afforded an object lesson as to how this work should be done.