With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War — John Shaqi
With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great WarSellers, William E.
History
With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War
Sellers, William E.
Great Britain. Army -- Military life; World War, 1914-1918 -- Religious aspects
This weird service over, the officers present had to hurry away to
their respective duties with the rattle of German musketry in their
ears. As General Smith-Dorrien also left, he said to Mr. Macpherson:
"A true soldier's funeral, Padre. We couldn't fire a volley, but the
enemy have given him the last salute for us."
Aye! a true soldier's funeral, and the one which he would perhaps have
preferred to any other.
Bishop Taylor-Smith, who tells the story of the funeral, also says
that the very next day the same chaplain (Mr. Macpherson) had gathered
the men of a battery into a musty old barn for a short service, when,
in the midst of the service, the roof of the barn was lifted right off
by a shell which, however, failed to explode. The service came to a
summary conclusion, not because of fear, but because the battery must
stop that sort of thing, and gallop away into action.
Further stories by Bishop Taylor-Smith of the period to which this
chapter relates show under what weird circumstances the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper is sometimes administered.
A jute factory near Armentières was being heavily shelled, but down in
the cellar, while the shelling was proceeding, the chaplain calmly
distributed the elements to one hundred and twenty-eight officers and
men of the Monmouth regiment. The only light was that supplied by the
chaplain's flash lamp. The battalion went into action next day, and
several of those who had taken part in the Holy Communion were killed.
On another occasion a celebration was taking place in a house at
Houplines when shells demolished the houses on either side, and no
sooner was the service over than a shell struck that self-same house.
Close by was the crackling of rifle fire, for a shed in which the
ammunition of the West Yorks was stored had been fired by a German
shell.
In the same district an ordinary service--lasting about twenty-five
minutes--was held at the O.C.'s request in a barn round which shells
were dropping every moment. And yet so powerful was the singing of the
men that it almost drowned the din of the bombardment. The chaplain,
as he stood there conducting the service, thought how fearful it would
be if a big shell dropped into the midst of that company of praying
men.
After this who will call parsons cowards? I do not wonder that already
one of them, the Rev. P.W. Guinness (Church of England), has won the
D.S.O., and that Mr. Macpherson was among those "mentioned in
despatches." I shall tell the story of Mr. Guinness' brave deed in
another chapter.
One more funeral and this chapter shall draw to a close. The scene is
too beautiful to leave out, even if it does mean bringing three
funerals into one chapter. It dates from the battle of the Marne, and
the story is narrated by our old friend the Rev. O.S. Watkins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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