The Cross at the Front
Fragments from the Trenches
BY
THOMAS TIPLADY
Chaplain to the. Forces
Fleming H.. Revell Company
NEW YORK --CHICAGO --TORONTO
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
Copyright, 1917
by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
DEDICATED
with gratitude and admiration to the officers and men of the gallant 56th Division of London Territorials, who, with a courage unsurpassed in history, attacked the strong position of GommËcourt in the Battle of July the First, and for several hours held the third line of German trenches, accomplishing what Mr. Beach Thomas described as 'The Feat of the Battle,' and thereby helping their brave comrades farther south to break through on a wide front to which, some weeks later, the Division was itself transferred, and had the great but dearly bought honour of taking part in the attacks culminating in the capture of Combles.
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PREFACE
THE letters on life and thought at the Front contained in this volume were all written in tents and billets within range, or sound, of the guns. They were written quickly in odd moments and at the bidding of passing impulses. Under such circumstances literary finish was impossible, but it is hoped that they have captured something of the freshness of feeling which one has while passing through unusual experiences, and which is apt to evaporate with the lapse of time. I have attempted no battle picture nor description of military operations, well knowing that such things are beyond me. I have merely gathered up some of the fragments that remained---fragments which might have been lost if not picked up at once. These I have attempted to sketch for the benefit of those at home. I trust they will reveal something of the spirit in which our soldiers lived and fought, suffered and died.
THOMAS TIPLADY.
B. E. F., FRANCE.
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THE LOST CHORD | |
LILIES AND FORGET-ME-NOTS | |
THE KITTEN IN THE CRATER | |
'ABIDE WITH ME' | |
THE WAYSIDE CALVARY | |
BEFORE AND AFTER THE BATTLE | |
'BLIGHTY' | |
AN INSPIRER ON THE PARAPET | |
THE TOUCH OF THE WIND | |
TOMMY'S MIND | |
TOMMY'S RELIGION | |
TOMMY'S MORALS | |
TOMMY'S IDEA OF THE CHURCHES | |
THE CHIVALROUS RELIGION OUR CITIZEN SOLDIERS WILL REQUIRE | |
THE UNTOUCHED CROSS | |
THE BELLS OF MAUREPAS | |
THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF MONTAUBAN | |
THE OPEN CHURCH IN MANS LAND | |
COURAGE AND THE CURTAIN | |
THE FALLING STATUE OF ALBERT | |
THE MEN OF THE LIMP | |
A DARK RIDE | |
'ALL SEATED ON THE GROUND' | |
POPPIES AND BARBED WIRE | |
THE ROSE IN THE SKY |