A Sheaf of Extracts.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VIII, Issue 12, 1 June 1918, Page 93

A Sheaf of Extracts.

Rclafiita to €biirc» jiritiy Ws.

From .'Sir', Archibald,, Murray k, despatch on the operations. at Gaza: — ' ' 'The impossibility of tgranting : leave- home on any, extended; scale ..has rendered the '. Army. ;in the '„ .field."; dependent on. : rest:' camps, and. •yoluntary." institutions .for that : rest .and relaxation so necessary r in. yiew J. of ; the : arduous , conditions of campaigning m the ; desert; and m tropical, heat. I wish to take this, my last,! opportunity of expressing /the , thanks ; of, the -whole Field Force to those ladies and gentlemen who have dpne.se much to obviate .the,, deprivations .imposed .-.■• on it r; by . .those conditions.,, ; .Especially ■ar.e; they due to, the Church ; ; Army,,. ..;. whose . Recreation r Huts ; are. v provjde'dj /not ronly m the .•rest : c4mps> : ,but-, ...also : throughput , the front.- ; ; It, would •, be hard) to exag'gerate-, the -value; of these institutions, both m \ , sustaining > the morale and, the health of fthe.itroops." i From , Mr Philip : Gibbs;'; cpmmuijique m jjthe f 'Daily,; telegraph .V, . j a nd ; '/Dailyv : ,Chrp,nicle, ' \ , ■, 28th : , ' Npyember:— r . ... _... . r . ; , : .:-,- ; , ; . „: 1: i r ; „,r : ';'There are no. ; estaminets ; behind the ilines of this .fighting. -front into which our.men can go,'fpr.singvsong for an hour or two on their way to ■ the fronty' and' iiP v^hple billets m which they can ; rest when tliey : are.'relieved inthe lines;' and they 'seem like men m the middle' of a ! greafr desert, enormously far ifrom ; th : c civilised world, -enormously lonely.-! They are lonely except for; their 'own; comradeship and their , own, playfulness, ■ and the help of padres . and other friendly souls of the Church Army . •■;. . • ;who put. up: tents and shuts m this wilderness, iand arrange ;a^ little ment of body: and spul for; men :who would otherwise be : parched for such .things.!' ■ ;.■ .-. ; ■ ■.' !—.■■■ •.■".•■.■.- „.•;-;:■ ■>■ From a letter from a private soldier somewhere on , the, Wesfc front :-r-; ''I came across a; Church Army Hut well m the line. , I- think; it is about the only hnt I have seen dose up.v' Tea and: coffee^ : ;etc, .and games -i-are a great comfort to i Pur- men, ahdetwhoever is m charge of this hut- deserves great praise for his pluck, because it is m a very hot quarter which comes under ? heayy <, shell-fire. ;" >^. :•?.>£,.•. |^ From a pHvate in'R;A\Mlo;' ! ()n the West front •: ' "For the past two months we have been m an area where there was very heavy shelling, so much, so that it was ' impossible 1 to ■erect 'a Recreation Hut 1 near 1 Us,. 'but we. were not' long'; m finding - a -Church ; -£riny ; H!iit, : was; about; tweiity minutes' ys|alk:furthei*b9,eki 'Each' Sun'daj^a^ ber ; ';6f .' "our ambulance "us"cd tb ;; make the 7 jburney 'tMthferJT to ; jthe

full the live, cheery and inspiring services. By far the most helpful of them all was the Celebration of Holy Communion which, immediately followed the Sunday service. There always followed an informal time of hymn-singing, seeming to stamp all that had gone before with greater sacredness, and sending one away with a deepened spiritual life. The attendance /at these gatherings was absolute proof of their appreciation by the soldiers. The life of here (the superintendent of the hut) was not a mere serving of tables, but a life by which he has made every, effort to get into personal touch with the soldier."

The war goes on; and the sailors and soldiers of the King, from these islands and from many daughter lands, are fighting m many fields. Wherever they are, whether m the bitter cold of the far north or under the sun of Palestine, whether m the mud of Flanders or the hot sands of Egypt, the plains of Lombardy or Macedonian Hills, there, speaking broadly, the Church Army goes too. And so, please God, the Church Army will go on so long as there shall be need for its services to the men who are serving us all amid toil, discomfort, danger, wounds and death. — "Church Army Review."

The Church Army authorities recently received the following interesting epistle from a Tommy . m the trenches; it is only an example of many such letters: — ■

"Dear sir kindly if possible forward me 1 of them Soldier Pockot comparion I applied for 1 of you some 18 month* ago, and i found it was 1 of the handiest books atiomry ( ? A Tommy) could have m thsse days, m that 18 months i learnt all i wanted specially m french, and now i have lost my book i hae Lost my best friend it was very handy to me and also my comrades too, dear Sir, if you can send me on 1 of these books i should always Worship it where i am my new address is (so-and-so) B.E.F. f ranee dear Sir i shall be pleased to hear from you at your earliest request I remain your Mr : above address.