This little record bears the impress of the character of its writer—simple, manly, open-hearted towards man, and devout towards God. I have read a great part of it with keen interest. Written without strain, from fresh personal experience, and with great sympathy for the officers and men of our Army, it gives a very lively picture of a chaplain's work at the Front, and the scenes and conditions under which it is done. Mr. Kennedy's commanding stature, and fine physical manhood, gave him advantag

Chaplain Major E.J. Kennedy, the writer of this little book, returned to his parish of St. John the Evangelist, Boscombe, in September 1915, having completed his year's service with the Expeditionary Force. Fired with a deep sense of the need of rousing the Home Church and Land to a clearer realization of the spiritual needs of 'Our Men' and armed with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the approval and consent of his Diocesan, he determined to spend a certain amount of his time in

'A telegram, sir!' and a mounted orderly who had ridden over from Larkhill, stood outside my tent at the Bustard's Camp, Salisbury Plain, at 5 a.m., on September 17, 1914. In that remote part of the world so removed from the benefits of ordinary life, we were yet in receipt of our daily papers at that early hour in the morning, and I was enjoying a twenty-four hours' history of the world, at the moderate price of a penny, when the brief tones of the orderly aroused me from its perusal. Its conte

My first experience of billeting was sufficient to prove the very arbitrary character of the whole proceeding. Imagine some one hundred and fifty men, and twelve officers, suddenly appearing in a small outlying street of the far-famed Belgian city, at the untimely hour of 4 a.m., and all clamouring for a night's lodging. To begin with, it was not an easy matter to arouse the slumbering people; and the billeting party had to wait long before each door, ere slippered feet were heard along passages

There was no mistaking the enthusiastic welcome accorded to the Seventh Division, as it moved south through the well cultivated country, thriving villages, and prosperous towns of Belgium. Already the deeds of German 'kultur' had reached the ears of the inhabitants; indeed, many of those who had fled from the barbarous enemy bore signs of the gross ill-treatment inflicted by the 'kultured' foe, in furtherance of the advice of General Bernhardi and others to carry 'terror' into the hearts of the

Life at the Front cannot fail to be full of stirring incidents; indeed, I very much question whether any experience comes up to it for interest and excitement. I am not speaking of the ding-dong trench warfare which has characterized the campaign on the Western front for so many months past, but refer more particularly to those early days when both armies were exceedingly active; and the operations very much resembled a game of chess, with not too long an interval between the moves. In the early

Until October, 1914, Ypres was generally regarded as a quiet Belgian town, celebrated for its most interesting and valuable buildings, and relics of a past age; but owing to its strategic importance in this war, it has from that time onwards been lifted out of its somnolent life into a world-wide importance, as one of the greatest battle-fields of the world. In explaining the great part which the Seventh Division took in this front-rank battle, I cannot do better than quote from The Times of Dec

In considering the constituent elements of an army, the first avenue of thought must lead to the primary essential—discipline. The realization of this most important military virtue is one of the most difficult for the young soldier to apprehend and appreciate, and yet it must underly the whole system of the army. By discipline, I do not merely mean smartness, which is involved in quick and correct response to the word of command; that, of course, is part of it; but I refer more particularly to

In the care of an army on active service the most complete arrangements exist for every requirement of the soldier. As far as possible nothing is omitted that will conduce to his comfort, well-being and usefulness. His food is, as we have already seen, most scientifically devised. His equipment is adjusted on the most anatomical principles. His arms are the most up to date that science and money can provide. His medical and surgical supplies are the most perfect that science can apply. And not l

Among the many sad sights witnessed in modern warfare, I question whether there is any more pathetic than a train of wounded men passing down from the Front. Every description of injury is noticeable, for shot and shell are not discriminating. From cases of the severest abdominal and head wounds, the patient being in a more or less collapsed condition, one turns to the laughing lad, with only a clean shot through his forearm, and who still has the exciting influence of the 'scrap' thickly upon h

At various centres in France are established Bases, where all the necessary supplies and ammunition are landed, and thence transported to the various Units in the Field. To cope with this vast system of distribution an army of men is employed. It will help the reader to form an estimate of the labour involved in this enormous undertaking if I briefly refer to the various branches of the British Expeditionary Force which are specially engaged in ministering to the Force as a whole. (1)   Army Ser

The completion of Mr. Kennedy's account of his work at Boulogne was not finished ere he entered into his rest. As the senior under whom he served during the latter part of his term with the Expeditionary Force, I have been asked to add a few concluding remarks, relative to his labours from the period his own narrative ends. Part of Mr. Kennedy's sphere of work lay just outside the Base at a certain place. Here was erected a camp of wooden huts, occupied by a considerable number of A.S.C. Dock La