THE CHURCH ARMY UNDER FIRE

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 31, Issue 8, 1 October 1940, Page 3

THE CHURCH ARMY UNDER FIRE

Lively Experiences at Arras and Boulogne

- A story of heroic effort during the weeks of bitter fighting m France is told by a Church Army worker who has just returned to England after canteens, cars and equipment were bombed to destruction arid the. Church Army district headquarters demolished m the Arras and Boulogne raids. The Rev. Walter Lack, who told the story, is an elderly priest whose work till now has lain largely m the mission field. "We began work," he said, "at Boulogne, where we got down to bur job; partly m the hostel and partly with the two canteens. Men on leave flocked to the hostel, where there was a rest and recreation room and a chapel. Prayers were said every night. We set up the canteens at the station. When the troops passed through we were up to our eyes m work giving hungry men a meal during the two hours of the break m their journey. Then we moved to ' Arras. ■''.-•" ■ . . ' .' -■ . i "All was quiet at first m our new district. We had our club, where there was a chapel and the Eucharist could be said. We had, too, our mobile canteen. At first the troops whom we served were rather like an army of occupation. Sometimes life was even' a little boring and uneventful. The monotony made every day like every other day— till the first bombs were dropped. "Then the place was. a pandemonium, of -noises. Three big, bombs fell on ; the town. After the heavy bombs came the light ' time-incen-diaries. These do not penetrate buildings, but stay on the roofs unnoticed, and do not at once do thenwork of destruction. > But^ as time passed, first two or three fires broke out; then six or seven; and at last thirty or more iires were buriiing at once, with little hope of their being extinguished by * the fire appliances •'■■at'-hahd;. ■■•■■'■'■'■ ■'■ ; r : -"v . ••"■' ':'■"'"' ■■'' '

After that no one knew where and\ when the bombs would drop next. We used •' the underground cellars which were so f amous.ih^the last war, In the confusion it was difficult to know what had happened to all of ~ our men at the Church Army station. One man was aosent from us, and we did not know where to find or 1 recall him. But when it was clear ' that the situation .was becoming desperate, military headquarters advised us to leave the town. We had no form of transport. Nearly all our cars had been commandeered by the army. So we decided to get a few things together and go into the fields till 'something definite happened.' "As a matter of fact we did eventually get a V.M.C.A. car and were taken out of Arras, and finally drove m a series of raids to Boulogne. We tried to return to find our missing worker, : who had gone to another, centre, but it was impossible. We learned later that his train had been bombed by a formation of 'planes, and he saved his life only by getting out and lying right beneath the car- 1 riages. One bomb lifted an engine bodily from the line and pitched it on to the platform. The last our man saw of the Church Army club was the sight of two young, boys lying there, one dead-, the other breathing his last. - "In the confusion it was impos-^ sible to know what happened to all tthe workers whom we knew. The Salvation Army unit had a number of women with it, and as far as we know they failed to escape." Thousands of refugees poured along the rpads, many misled by.: enemy radio announcements. Women with children m their arms travelled on, foot and there were crowds of bicyclists. The German 'planes, said Mr -Lack, followed the line of the roads mowing down the refugees with their machine guns. The young Church Army worker rode for twenty hours on a bicycle to Bou^ logne under machine gun fire practically all the tjme. He with other travellers hid m ditches and under hedges as the 'planes swept over them.- "'■ ' ' • ■'■„-. '■'■■ ■;■■■•; '' : -' ■:\ "When we amyed 'm Boulogne," continued' the priest, "there I'-'.was; a short respite of quiet. We made

our Communion m the chapel there. Then the ; bombardment: began all over again. V"'"The^"^as:"har.dty'-'a> : iatise.';iai'- the bbmbardment. We did not sleep ; we could not take off our clothes for days on end. We spent the greater part of the time m cellars. Children were still m the town and going to school till the last moment. Nuns with them appealed for bur aid, and we did what we could to help. Rer fugees poured m and men of .the i Air Force whose machines had been desr troyed and were humying to return to England for new machines to pilot into the battle again. ,-•- „-.; , ; "At length, as we were non-cbm-batahts and could do no work after the destruction of our centres arid equipment, we were taken oh board, a ship arid brought back to 33ng?land.", . : .■■-:,■ : -. ;,-■;./ •■■.' \ .'> : --: ■'■■'•■-■■■ -—Church Times.'