VI
MISS HARRIET SPROT, THE MISSES PLAYFAIR, AND LADY BADEN-POWELL
TheYoung Men’s Christian Association commenced work in the camps in France as soon as war began. For many years it had been accustomed to provide huts in the summer camps at home, but since the war the organisation has increased to such an extent that it now covers a vast field of enterprise. TheY.M.C.A.huts and those of the Church Army have proved the salvation of the men, who, when off duty, had nowhere to go, while in the camps the canteens provide an opportunity for them to buy small necessaries, tobacco, or any supplementary food in addition to their Army rations. The work of the ladies in theY.M.C.A.huts in France is largely responsible for their great success. This work is arranged by a Committee under Princess Helena Victoria, with the Countess of Bessborough as hon. secretary, and it is owing to their insight and skilful organisation that it has been so successfully managed.
MISS AUDREY PLAYFAIR MISS LILIAS PLAYFAIRTo face page37
MISS AUDREY PLAYFAIR MISS LILIAS PLAYFAIR
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The workers, whose service is entirely voluntary, sign on for four months, pay all their own expenses—travelling, board, lodging, etc.,—and provide their uniform—dark grey coats and skirts with bluefacings. Many of them have been living in France for over two years, in the simplest accommodation, devoid of all luxury, and devoting themselves entirely to the work. The best illustration of what they are doing can be taken from the experiences of a few typical workers.
Miss Harriet Sprot manages a district which has its headquarters in a base town under the shadow of a great cathedral. Describing the average day of her workers, Miss Sprot says that their mornings till twelve o’clock are spent in preparation of the canteen counters, so that the quickest possible distribution of refreshments and other small purchases may be made to the soldiers in the short hours fixed by the camp authorities which they may spend at the hut. No money is taken over the counter—tickets have to be bought. “It is usual for the queue of men waiting to buy tickets to extend the whole length of the room. On a busy night it even stretches into the billiard-room and curls back half way up the main hut.” OldY.M.C.A.habituésknow the arrangements so well that no time is wasted, but Miss Sprot reports that it takes double the time to serve a newly arrived draft, to whom the French money and its purchasing power are sources of bewilderment. The heaviest part of the work is always at night, but the men are unanimously said to be so good-natured, patient, and orderly that, however dense the crowd, they all get served in time. When the hut closes, the workers may be justified in feeling that valuable work has been accomplished and the night’s rest well earned.
In every hut there is a small library counter where postcards are sold, notepaper is given out, books orgames are lent, and games of billiards are arranged, a bell being rung every twenty minutes to mark the close of each game. Miss Sprot writes: “To sit down here is considered a rest, but one can have a busy time.... Private A. brings his watch and hopes it will not be too much trouble to get it mended for him. You take down his name, and hope the watch will not get mixed up with some half-dozen others passing through your hands, and that you will be able to get it back in time from the watchmaker before Private A. goes up the line. He himself has apparently no misgivings; indeed, the implicit faith of himself and his fellows in one’s unworthy self is something quite touching. Many questions are asked and answered. I have been consulted on religious matters and listened to innumerable family histories. The first move in a confidential talk comes when Tommy pulls out his pay-book and spreads before you the photos of his relatives. To most of us the hour spent each evening at this little counter is one to look forward to.”
Another worker is Miss Lilias Playfair, who, with a group of other ladies, went to a base town in France in February, 1915. A canteen had been started in the only available place, a very small, inconvenient room; but, even so, Miss Playfair reports that it was “packed every evening, and most of the day.” Gradually the proper huts were built in the outlying camps and in the town, and there are now over ten huts, and two cinemas in this district, which Miss Playfair and her sister, Miss Audrey Playfair, manage in alternate spells. Describing her work, Miss Playfair says: “Besides serving at the canteens and helping with the arranging and ordering of food,we do most of the entertainments. I have organised a small orchestra which plays at different huts, and last year we had a most successful Pierrot troupe.... We hope shortly to produce a ‘revue,’ and two or three short plays. French classes are held regularly, and the men are keen to learn. It is hard work, as our hours are long, but it is very interesting, and the men are so appreciative and say that they do not know how they could endure things without theY.M.C.A.”
LADY BADEN-POWELLRussellTo face page39
LADY BADEN-POWELL
Russell
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How much the Tommies themselves appreciate the presence of theY.M.C.A.ladies may be seen in the following extract, written by a Tommy, describing what he calls a “heaven-sent organisation”: “When I entered the hut I was greeted with that glad smile of welcome which I shall always associate with theY.M.C.A.by real English ladies—the first I had seen for over seven months, except the nurses, of course. I only wish to God that I could adequately describe my feelings, and I know mine were the same as thousands of my brothers-in-arms. It seemed to me that, amidst all the awful turmoil and din, with the horrors of the retreat and the first battle for Ypres imperishably photographed on my memory, I had found a haven of rest.” Volumes could be written by the lady workers on the mingled humour and pathos in their interviews with the men. In a letter to a friend at home a worker says: “All the time out here life is so full of humour, if only one had the gift of describing it. At one moment one is doing something for a very correct General, and at the next one is in a hut having tea with a soldier, ex-greengrocer, quite charming, but the unmistakable type! Everyone who interests the greengrocer hasto sign their names in his Bible. Then one takes an Australian out shopping, and he tips one two francs for one’s trouble!”
Quite apart from their ministrations to the men’s material needs, the influence of theY.M.C.A.ladies in France has been invaluable—cheering, encouraging, and helping the men in countless ways in their brief hours of leisure, and relieving by their presence the endless monotony of their life of discipline.
Among the interesting features of theY.M.C.A.work are the Scout Huts started by Lady Baden-Powell at two of the bases. The ladies who work in them are mostly Scout-masters and wear the Scout uniform, old Boy Scouts amongst the troops being their most keenly appreciative patrons. Lady Baden-Powell went to France in October, 1915, to organise the work when the huts were built, and she worked for some months in the first two huts. In June, 1916, a Girl Guide Hut was built from funds earned by Girl Guides who, forbidden by their rules from collecting money, each did a day’s work for the fund. Lady Baden-Powell is putting her energies into developing the Girl Guide movement on the same scale as the Boy Scouts. Realising the responsibilities of citizenship which the opportunities of the war have brought to the women of the country, the advantages are manifest of a voluntary training for girls, on the lines which have been so successful with boys, and the Girl Guide movement is a step to this end.
MISS AGNES BORTHWICKTo face page41
MISS AGNES BORTHWICK
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