TWO WONDERS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1940, Page 2

TWO WONDERS

B.E.F. DELIVERANCE. (Auckland Star). LONDON, Juno 10. Piece by piece the epic story of the great deliverance of the B.E.F. from the hands of the enemy is being unfolded Two great wonders stand forth; and on them turned the fortune df the troops, writes 0. B. Mortlock in the “Dad} Telegraph.” I have talked to officers and men who have got safely back to England, and all of them tell of these; two phenomena The first was the great storm which broke over Flanders on Tuesday, May. 28, and the other was the great calm which settled oil the' 1 English Channel during the days following. Officers of high rank do not hesitate to put down. the. deliverance of the B.E.F. to the fact of the nation being at prayer on Sunday, May 26. I am told that after careful survey of the position had been made the maximum number whom it was thoughtt could possibly escape death or capture was 30,000. Instead of that, more than ten times the number were, safely embarked. Thanksgiving At Concerts, The consciousness of miraculous deliverance pervades the camps in which the troops are now housed in England. An instance of that occurred soon after a large camp had been more or let* improvised, and many willing helpers were rivalling each other in giving comfort, refreshment and entertainment to the men in their first hours of relaxation for many days. Among other arrangements was an E.N.S.A. concert, and, in the midst of it

at the request of tile men, the chaplain conducted an act of thanksgiving consisting of. a hymn and prayers.apd a few simple words. Since that night every E.N.S.A. concert in that camp has had a short service of prayer and thanksgiving.

One chaplain told me that he was ill a party who were taken aboard a minesweeper, They were, all drenched to the skin, .having been up to the shoulders in water. On deck it was impossible for anybody to stand. Presently there was a call for the padre to say a prayer. With the help of men on either side of him and behind him, the chaplain got up and the whole of the bedraggled ship’s company joined with him in offering thanksgiving to Ord for their wonderful deliverance. ' ;

Chaplains have added their testimony to’ the wonderful order and calm with which the men awaited their turn in lines drawn up on the beach ,to go aboard the craft that came to their rescue. -Although they were bombed from the an and also shelled, “there were surprisingly few casualties. Men moved forward. as they were directed and stood their ground until the order to embark was given. .The story of the strange armada which took the men from the beaches of Dunkirk is already familiar in outline. In its complete fullness it will probably never be known, but it is undoubted tha. there was such a calmness over the whole of the waters of the English Channel for that vital period of days, as has rarely been experienced. Those who are accustomed to the Channel, testify to the strangeness of this calm; they are deeply impressed by the phenomenon of nature by which it became possible for tiny craft tp go back and forth in safety. So the two miracle's made possible what seemed impossible. In the darkness of the storm and the violence of the rain, formations which were eight to twelve nines rrom Dunkirk were able to move up on foot to the coast with scarcely any interruption from aircraft, for aircraft were unable to operate in such turbulent conditions.

Again and again men relate, “Our padre came off 'last with /the C. 0.” Others tell how, on the beaches when they were being bombed, the chaplain would be walking up and down the line trying to keep the men in good heart and not finding it at all a difficult task. A sergeant-major of the Guards who saw twelve of his own sergeants killed said, “Our chaplain was magnificent.” Foot-slogged Twice as Far. A captain and a commander of the Royal ivavy who were engaged, m the operation oi embarking the troops said: When the retreat became inevitable it was decided at G.H.Q. that those who were not essential to the movement and the rearguard fighting should be ‘sent on ahead to make their own way to Dunkirk. The chaplains remained behind. 1 heard of one padre who was at the larthest point of all from the coast when the withdrawal began. All tinway back he was ministering to the wounded and the dying encouraging the others and, again and again, after traversing with great difficuty and-un-der fire a section of the road which brought safety nearer, he would go back along the line to minister sacraments and consolations of religion to all who needed them.

“He must,’’ said one officer of his division, “have foot-slogged on that awful road at least twice as far as anybody else.’’ Another chaplain, a man well over military age, improvised a hospital in a natural shelter. Though without doctors, nurses, instruments or medicines, lie was able, by invoking the help of the local French inhabitants, To get the hospital started, and with some R.A. M.C. doctors belonging to G.H.Q. it treated over 300 patients in the few days of its existence. A chaplain who celebrated Holy Communion on the sand dunes of Dunkirk had his congregation scattered fiv e times by fierce low-bombing attacks, but after each as-

sault they reassembled and lie took up the service wlicie it was broken oil, except that all joined in thanksgiving loi their safety and prayer for the wounded

and the dead. | Other services had been held on the j road as opportunity served, and always | at the desire of the men. One chaplain held eight services on one day, and cele- I brated Holy Communion four times—once in a barn during enemy air bombardment. Immunity Under Fire on Beaches. Chaplains have remarked on another circumstances that seems almost miraculous —the strange immunity by which the troops at times were favoured. One of them told me, for instance, how he law down with 400 men who were ma-chine-gunned systematically, (up and down, and bombed by about 60 enemy aircraft and in the end there was not a single casualty. Another chaplain was likewise machine-gunned and bombod as lie lay on the beach, and when, after what seemed an eternity, he realised he had not been hit he rose to find that the sand all around where he had lain was pitted with bullet holes and that his figure was thus outlined bn the ground.

There are, of course, many things that a chaplain can do when a battle is raging, and one of the most valued is .the taking of last messages from dying men for their loved ones at home. It was while thus attending to some badly yvounded men that one of the chaplains was taken prisoner. He had refused to retire when he was given the chance.

Chaplains also can he a tonic influence with the men who know and trust them. One of them told me that he found it an excellent plan after the enemy attack had begun to get news from the liaison officer and to pass it along to the men who were holding the line. Those who know how difficult il is for the men in the thick of the fighting to know what is actually happening will realise what a happy though I. iand useful job of work that simple service .was. Anxious to Rejoin. ■ Some nf the ichaplains were, of course/ going over ground which they knew in the last war, and one of them told me that a s he went through Poperinghe with his unit he kept a sharp lookout for the old Talbot House, where Toe H had its beginning. There it was, still standing, though houses on either side had been shattered and crumbled into ruins.

| Now the chaplains ace eager to join their re-formed units and take up their I work where they left oft. One of them reported that lie had 63 candidates tor confirmation under preparation and he is hoping to gather most of them together again. One thing can be certain, about tomorrow’s thansgiving in the churches. From none will the* thanks ascend with greater sincerity or deeper fervour than from the officers and men who have seen the Hand of God, powerful to save, delivering them from the hands of a mighty foe, who, humanly speaking, had them utterly at his mercy.