BY THE REV. NEIL CAMERON, ST. JUDE’S, GLASGOW.
AT the request of several friends we have decided to write a brief report of some of our labours among our soldiers and sailors in England.
We may say, to begin with, that these labours were more a relief to our mind than labour; for these men were never absent from our thoughts, night or day, since they were called up. We happened to be at Portree when the Skye young men were mobilised, and we felt that their need was very great of some men being sent with them to speak to them of the eternal concerns of their immortal souls. That many of them would never see their homes again touched the hearts of the Lord’s people on a very tender cord; but what caused them much serious concern was that the most of them were without God and without hope. This caused that, on the Friday of each Communion in our Church since, instead of the usual “question” meeting, the day was spent, by universal consent, as a day of prayer for our soldiers and sailors. Many a solemn prayer ascended to the Lord for an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on these men so as to lead them to repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The appeals made to the Lord by our praying men on these occasions that He would put a cover on their heads in the day of battle will not be unanswered. The wonderful liberality with which our people and a few other sympathising friends have responded to the appeal made for a fund to carry on the Mission is positive proof that our effort to go with the Word of God to these men had their most hearty approval. Further, we believe that the Lord approved of it, and we hope that some at least may praise Him eternally for having sent His word to them under such circumstances. The Lord works on men’s minds by terrible providences sometimes so as to cause them to consider their ways. This is seen, for instance, in the case of Manasseh. He would not listen to the Lord’s word spoken by His prophets until the Lord reduced him to extremity by war and imprisonment. These terrible visitations brought him to his right mind, and to his knees in prayer to the Lord God of his father. These things are written for our learning and encouragement. It was under the impression of such thoughts as these that we took up this work, and endeavoured to carry it on so far. I feel bound to take notice of the indebtedness of our Church to Messrs. W. Grant and J. Macleod for their successful indefatigable efforts to have arrangements made by which the Word of God could be brought to our sailors and soldiers in the several places in which we have been labouring among them. They got things so arranged that on our arrival on the scene we had only to go to the places set at our disposal for preaching. Personally, I desire to thank
these young men for their labour of love. The extraordinary kindness and hospitality extended to us by Superintendent Mackay and his worthy partner made us feel at home in London. May the Lord repay them for the great pains they took for our comfort, and make them by His grace fellow-heirs of God’s infinite mercy in Christ through the Gospel!
I left Glasgow on the nineteenth day of November, to take up the duties which the Rev. Ewen Macqueen had carried on during the previous six weeks. On my arrival in London kind friends met me at the station. As I learned from them that many of the Royal Naval Reserve men at Portsmouth were to join a cruiser on the following Monday, it was decided that we should go there for the first Sabbath. Mr. W. Grant accompanied me there on Saturday evening. Mr. Donald Macdonald, a deacon in St. Jude’s congregation, and two other friends, came to my lodgings and spent a good while with me. On Sabbath a Gaelic service was held at 3 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. in Portsmouth Naval Barracks. There was a good congregation, and one could not desire a more attentive audience. After the night service, within the Barracks gate, we parted with many of the men who were under orders to sail next morning. This was quite a new experience to us. To part with men who were to be exposed to the terrible dangers of naval warfare now-a-days gave wide scope to one’s imagination, which caused the heart intense pain. In commending these men to God’s care and keeping, one felt his whole heart going forth with his words. This was my experience in all the services during my sojourn in England. A Gaelic service was held at Portsmouth every Thursday night during the six weeks. The last Thursday night all the men present had got leave to come ashore to attend the service, but they had to go straight back to their boats that night. This brought the Gaelic services at Portsmouth to an end meanwhile.
There were several men at Portsmouth who were truly God-fearing. These held prayer meetings regularly in the Barracks on Sabbath and week-day nights. This fact, I have no doubt, had a very good effect upon the outward conduct of the Highlanders, who appeared to us to be orderly in their behaviour. The Commodore of Portsmouth deserves great praise for the consideration he manifested toward the spiritual concerns of his men. He gave them the use of a hall in the Barracks to hold prayer meetings in, and did all in his power to allow the men to attend our services after we appeared on the scene.
The services conducted by us at Chatham were held every Tuesday night. We went there the first Tuesday night after our arrival. There was a large number of R.N.R. men there at that time. The effort made by these men to attend the services showed that they appreciated them. The serious attention with which they listened made it a pleasant and easy work to address them. This was so conspicuous that a gentleman, who accompanied
us from London, said after we got home: “I am sure you never had a more attentive audience.” This was certainly the case. When we saw the number of men that were there, we made up our mind to go to them for a Sabbath. Accordingly we went there for the fourth Sabbath of our sojourn in England. The feeling that one was speaking to men who might be listening to the word of God for the last time caused one’s whole soul to go forth with every word. They were being sent away in batches to join war ships; so that before we came away a large number of them had left. Still there was a considerable number present the last night we were there. On the whole our experience among these naval men will be always a pleasure to us. May the Lord, of His superabounding mercy, implant His fear in their hearts so as to make them wise both for time and eternity; may He uphold and protect them from all the terrible dangers to which they will be exposed; and may He bring them back in safety to their own homes and families!
As at Portsmouth, there were a few God-fearing men at Chatham. They held prayer meetings every night of the week. One of the chief officers of the port, Chief Boatswain Morrison, presided generally at these meetings. The good effect of these prayer meetings was quite discernible on the men who attended them. This officer did all in his power to assist us in our work there. Personally, I felt thankful to the Lord that He ordered so that such good grains of the salt of the earth were among these naval men.
The second Sabbath of my time was spent at Kimbolton. We intended to go to this place for Friday night, and come back to Bedford for the Sabbath. When we sent word to this effect, the Adjutant of the Lovat Scouts urged that we should go there for the Sabbath as their chaplain had been absent for some time. After considering his request we felt inclined to go. This gentleman showed us a great deal of consideration and sympathy in our efforts to declare God’s truth to the men under his charge. The first service had to be held in the open field. Both the officers and men were very orderly, so that we found it easy to address them. We held a Gaelic service in the evening when a considerable number were present. There would have been many more were it not that fever had broken out among them, and that a number of them were isolated from the rest. Of course they were all present at the first service as the danger of infection could be averted in the open field. I went back again to them on a Friday evening, but owing to unforeseen circumstances the most of them were prevented from attending. A large number of these men hailed from Skye, Uist, Harris, and other places on the west.
On my way back to London on Monday, I came off the train at Bedford to hold a service there. Only a few of the men here turned up, as they were ordered to attend a lecture at the hour fixed for our meeting. However, we met a few young men whom we knew, and were very pleased to have seen them. We intimated
at the conclusion of the service that we intended to be there the following Sabbath. On that Sabbath there was a good attendance at 3 p.m.; at 7 p.m. there were not so many present. The condition of our young men there caused us much sorrow. They were like sheep having no shepherd, nor anyone to care much either for their bodies or souls. This caused us to decide to go oftener there. There were several things that interfered with our services at this place.
First, the fact that the Gairloch and Lochbroom young men had been sent to the front during Rev. Ewen Macqueen’s time made the attendance much smaller. Secondly, the officers in charge seemed to have no concern as to the spiritual instruction of their men. This caused that it was difficult to get word to the men as to the services. Further, the men had to turn out to musketry practice on the Lord’s day. This causes these young men much grief, and it has also caused our people sincere grief when they were made aware of it by the Rev. Mr. Macqueen. It really caused us great anguish of spirit, and we are sure that the officers who compel them to break the Lord’s command will be yet sorry for their conduct either in time or eternity. There was another cause. Measles, and many cases of pneumonia, broke out among the men, and a large number of them were prostrated by these diseases. The War Office converted a large school in the town into an hospital. There we found a large number of these young men on Sabbath night after we came away from the service. This was on the fifth Sabbath. We spent a while among them. Some of these young men were in eternity before we came back for the last Sabbath. We spent two hours in the hospital that Lord’s day, spoke to most of the young men, and made an effort to pray beside their beds. We learned from the doctor in charge that there were one hundred and forty-five there that day. We felt as if our heart would break for these poor young soldiers. They lay there far from home and friends, though I would not like to convey the idea that they were without outward comforts. We have learned since that many of them have been removed to an endless eternity. With their parents and relations we desire to express our heartfelt sympathy. May the Lord lead them to Himself for consolation in their painful bereavement and grief!
These painful dispensations, we are fully convinced, have been, in the Lord’s hand, the means of making a few of these young men more serious about the great concerns of their souls and eternity than ever they were before. May the Lord grant that His word and these distressful dispensations of His divine providence may lead many of them to seek the Lord their God and the way to Zion!
In conclusion, we would press upon all our praying people to cry mightily to the Lord that He would pour the Holy Spirit on our soldiers and sailors, so as to work repentance toward God and
faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts. We would remind them of the fact that these young men are in the face of death in its most terrible aspects, both on land and on the great deep. Many of them are sure to fall. Let us, therefore, call on the Lord in this day of trouble. He promises to answer and that we shall have cause to glorify Him for helping us. The Church’s deputies to the Mission should be constantly remembered by our people in their prayers. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”