The post of honour : $b stories of daring deeds done by men of the British Empire in the Great WarWilson, Richard
History
The post of honour : $b stories of daring deeds done by men of the British Empire in the Great War
Wilson, Richard
World War, 1914-1918 -- Anecdotes
“We have a chaplain,” wrote one, “who comes up into the front line
every day no matter how dangerous and rough things may be; in fact he
always makes for the most dangerous places on principle.
“One day, during a very hot bombardment, instead of leaving the
trenches, the ‘padre,’ as he is called, strode up and down the line,
cheering and helping.... All the men worship him. I shall try to find
out his name, but at present he is ‘the padre,’ the simplest, finest
gentleman I have ever met, and he has stood the test.”
The presence of a man whose religion made him absolutely fearless must
have been very helpful to those whose duty it was to do the fighting.
One of the chaplains, at least, laid down his life while engaged in
this work of encouragement. He was in the danger zone for some time
doing all he could to cheer his men. Then he made his way to the
ambulance car and sat down near to it to say good-bye to some of his
comrades, for he was going home for a time on leave. Suddenly a great
shell burst close by and he was so badly wounded that he died shortly
afterwards.
Another chaplain, the Reverend Edward Noel Mellish of Deptford, won
the V.C. for deeds of great heroism. Our men had made a push and had
captured a portion of the German front trench. But the German fire
made the space between the two lines a very field of death. For three
days there was heavy fighting in this quarter, and there were many
casualties among the British soldiers.
The chaplain took upon himself a duty which was not part of his regular
work. He had watched man after man fall wounded in that fire-swept belt
of land, and he made it his business to go out to help them. During
the first day he brought in no less than ten men who had been wounded.
As soon as he reached them he did what he could to dress their awful
wounds and to revive them. Three men were killed as he tended them. But
he brought in the others to a place of safety.
That night the company to which he was attached was relieved and
another took its place. But the chaplain did not leave his post. During
the next day he went on with his work and brought in no less than
twelve men! When night had fallen on the third day, he got together a
party of volunteers and led them out to rescue the wounded. Many poor
fellows were brought into a place of safety.
Chaplain Parham won the Military Cross for work of a similar character
in Gallipoli during August 1915. He was attached to a brigade which
took part in an attack on the Turks at Suvla during which the shrubs
on the battlefield were fired by shells. With the help of his servant
he rescued many wounded men and carried them to a place of safety
beyond reach of the flames. On the next day he got together from his
own brigade a party of volunteers to act as stretcher bearers; and the
devoted little band did excellent work in bringing in the wounded under
heavy fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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