THE ARMY CHAPLAIN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 75, Issue 6449, 21 November 1947, Page 5

THE ARMY CHAPLAIN

LONG AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHURCH AND “THE MILITARY” The following address on the part played by Army Chaplains in war, was given at Tuesday’s meeting of the Te Awamutu Rotary Cl»b by the Rev. L. F. Gunn. The address was listened to with great interest by members and visitors. Mr Gunn said:— The association of the Church with soldiering goes back to the earliest days of the history of England. The records of the Roman occupation of Britain do not throw much light upon the subject; but thereafter constant references can be found to this alliance between the Church and the army. As early as 430 a certain Bishop Germanus, led a most successful expedition into Wales against the Picts and the Saxons winning what came to be known as the “Hallelujah Battle.” In the days of William the Conqueror the Clergy were not only leading statesmen of the realm, they were also important landowners and as such had to raise armed forces to serve the King. It was the tradition in some Dioceses that the Bishop should train and lead his own troops. As the clergy were also among the very few who could read and write in those days, to them was entrusted the pay of the troops so that a good case can be made out for the Chaplains’ Department being the founder of the Royal Army Pay Corps.

Clerical Commanders

When we come to Edward I we find the end of the fighting cleric and the appearance on the pay roll of the Chaplain—Capellanus—the name by which he is still known to-day. There were two classes—the chaplain attached to the retinue of the feudal Lord, who received 1/- per day and the chaplain attached to the common soldier who received 6d a day. In the army that fought at Crecy we find three grades of chaplain—Chaplains first class attached to the retinue of the king who received 1/- per day, chaplains 2nd class who received 6d* a day and were attached to the barons and a third class attached to the Welsh, who also received 6d a day. While Edward 111 was engaged with his army in France the Scots thought it a good moment to invade England. They were met by an army hastily raised by the Queen and it is interesting to observe that in this army the First Division was commanded by the Bishop of Durham, the 2nd division by the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Carlisle, the 3rd division 1 by the Bishop of Lincoln and the fourth division by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Scottish army was defeated and as it is recognised to-day that commanding officers do contribute some thing towards an army’s success in battle, credit must be given to these clerical commanders. By the time of King Henry VIII there was a definite establishment of chaplains. Twelve were attached to the King, 5 to the retinue of a Duke, 4 to a Marquis, 3 to an Earl, and one to a Knight. The pay remained Is per day. In the days of Queen Elizabeth regiments were formed and in the Standing Orders of 1621 there is set out provision for what is called “Officers of the Staff”—a chaplain, a surgeon, a quartermaster, a provost marshal, a clerk, an auditor and a hangman. Instructions were issued as to the duties of a chaplain and provision made for suitable punishment to be inflicted upon him should he be found drunk when called upon to read the service. His pay was increased to Is 6d per day. Under Oliver Cromwell and his new Model Army the first Chaplain-Gen-eral appears. Cromwell also took from Army Commanders the right to appoint chaplains and gave it to the Army Council. Previously chaplaincies were sold by Commanders to the highest bidder or else given to friends.

In 1796 a Royal Warrant was issued setting un the Royal Army Chap-lains-Department. A Chaplain-Gen-eral and staff were appointed. The Chaplain-General on taking office found that 340 chaplains were absent without leave. These were recalled at once or else discharged. Rates of pay were increased to 7s a day for regimental chaplains, 10s for Brigade chaplains and 20s for the ChaplainGeneral who also received £6OO to assist him in establishing the Telegraphy so that the first ChaplainGeneral under Royal Warrant was also the first Chief Signal Officer. The qualifications laid down for selection of Chaplains were as follows:—“Zeal in his profession, good sense, gentle manners, a distinctive and impressive manner of reading the service and a sound constitution of body and of mind.” Such qualifications are needed to-day. Record of Service

The Royal Army Chaplains’ Dept, is now firmly established and has a splendid record of service in the British Army. In New Zealand there is no separate Dept, in the British sense; but Chaplains are appointed on the recommendation of the Chaplains’ Advisory Committee, a Committee in Wellington representative of all the Churches which advises the Army Dept, in the administration of chaplaincy work. Chaplains are appointed in the proportion of Church of England 5, Presbyterian 3, Methodist 2, Roman Catholic 2 and other Protestant denominations (a grouping of Baptist, Congregational and Salvation Army) 1. In the field chaplains were under a senior chaplain, the first in this war being Bishop Gerrard, who was succeeded by the Rev J. W. McKenzie, of Epsom. Mr McKenzie had the distinction of being the first Chaplain in New Zealand to receive the rank of Chaplain First Class— Full Colonel. The record of the Chaplains’ Department in this war with 2nd N.Z.E.F. is a worthy record. We had one chaplain killed at Cassino, several were wounded throughout the war, several made P.O.W.’s. All worked well as a team. We were of course fortunate in our senior chaplains.

The chaplain’s first duty is to remember that he is a chaplain. Rank is an asset; for official status is necessary in the army and such is given by rank; but it is a tragedy where a chaplain thinks at all of rank. He should never be addressed by his rank, His official address is the Rev

Mr Blank, C.F. Fourth Class, or whatever his rank may be. Overseas the set up was that chaplains were posted to Hospitals, Training Depots etc., and to Battalions and Regiments. Usually at each Brigade H.Q. there was a Roman Catholic chaplain to look after the Roman Catholics in each Brigade. A chaplain becomes part of his regiment and I must pay tribute to the assistance I received from every one in the regiment from the C.O. down. I served under three C.O.’s in the regiment to which I was attached and each of them, gave me every help possible as did all the other officers and the troops themselves. It was a thrill to be regarded as part of the unit. Cnurch Parade I believe in compulsory church parades for camps at home; but overseas the voluntary parade was undoubtedly a great success. We had services in all sorts of queer places, and while the motive for men attending services was varied, such services were among the most inspiring I have ever had the privilege of conducting. In addition to taking services and administering the Sacraments a Chaplain seeks to help in whatever way he can, and in particular to give his friendship to the troops. It was my privilege to be given in this way some very valued friendships and be able to help in various difficulties men came up against. In the rest period the Chaplain seeks to overcome the inevitable boredom, especially if there is a long and tedious period of waiting.

When a show is on the chaplain usually takes his place in. the R.A.P., and seeks to help there with the wounded. I would like to pay tribute to the splendid work done by the R.A.P. orderlies. I am afraid that some of the troop, though never the front-line men, thought that the R.A.P. orderly had a soft job/ The very reverse was the case. I never ceased to admire the way in which they went about in their bren carriers picking up and bringing in the wounded and caring for them. Personal safety was never considered by them when a wounded man had to be got at and brought in. They did a splendid job, a job that was recognised by front-line troops. The burial of the dead was the hardest part of the chaplain’s duty, as so .often the fallen were personal friends; but some of my most treasured possessions are letters received from the relatives—brave, understanding and inspiring letters. A chaplain always counted it a point of honour that the fallen were given a reverent burial and every care taken of the body and- its effects. Comradeship

No chaplain could serve overseas without learning a great deal. I would mention three outstanding things I feel I was able to gain from my service. The first is a new and better understanding of my fellowmen. A parson at home is very often kept at arm’s length and does not get to know men the way he ought to. In the army it was different, and I was able to appreciate in a new way the worth of other chaps. Further, the army revealed to me the value of team work and comradeship. The sacrifices men were prepared to make for each other were amazing and the loyalty and comradeship in a regiment outstanding. It is nothing less than a tragedy that the same spirit could not prevail in our several communities in peace. Finally, I am convinced that what the world needs today is the Church and Christianity, and the Church needs within its ranks men of the calibre of those with whom it was my privilege to serve in the army.