The chief officer of the Serbian medical staff expressed true sentiments when he wrote to Mrs. Stobart: “You have made everybody believe that a woman can overcome and endure all the war difficulties ... you can be sure, esteemed Madam, that you have won the sympathies of the whole of Serbia.” [Illustration: MISS DOROTHY RAVENSCROFT _To face page 49_ ] IX MISS E. G. BATHER AND MISS DOROTHY RAVENSCROFT Miss Bather is one of the women whose sporting experiences in pre-war days have been turned to valuable account in the service of her country. Her knowledge of horses, gained in the enjoyment of hunting, has enabled her to undertake the serious and arduous work of running a Remount Depôt for the War Office under Mr. Cecil Aldin, M.F.H. Many girls who have hunted, or had their own horses, might think that they could easily do remount work; but it is not merely a case of being able to ride well, the riding is only the lightest part of the duties: it is a matter of settling down to a life of real hard work, requiring strength, courage, infinite patience and firmness. That Miss Bather has been able to organise a depôt successfully, and carry on the work entirely with the help of girl workers for over two years, is a tribute to any woman which can only be realised if the exact scope of the work is understood. The functions of workers at remount depôts are to receive horses and mules which are sent to them, and to make them fit for active service. The animals arrive mostly in rough condition--the horses being of all types, from the heavy draught-horse to the colonel’s charger. An expert has said: “To be able to do this work, a girl must love her horse for himself; but that is not everything--she must be practical, capable, strong, self-denying, and brave.” The horses are usually sent to the depôt in mixed batches of thirty or more, dirty in their coats, perhaps thin and out of condition, and often lame or suffering from various ailments. “It requires quite a lot of pluck in the first instance,” writes Miss Bather, “to unload from the railway trucks, saddle up, and mount those horses that look as if they had been ridden lately, and ride them, each rider leading another horse, to their destination some five miles away.”