1 1st BATTN IRISH GUARDS, B. E. F. 21/8/16 Very Reverend and dear Fr. Provincial P.C. Many thanks for your short note.
So Fr. Morris is getting into harness very soon.
I'm sure the life out here with its variety,
constant exercise, & open air will do his
health much good, while he with his pleasing
manner & zeal will do a great deal of good
here. Chaplains — that is R.C. — are
wanted here. We are all kept going night
& morning, & there is plenty of room for more. Our Confreres are of course much more
leisured — Sunday is their busy day, except
those who take charge of the Canteens &c. — but
that is not strictly ministerial work. is it?
Some of them are very anxious to do their best. 2 They are I think spurred on by the R.Cs. I was
told to totidem verbis by one of the Officers of the
VI Division ( he is not a Catholic ) that since
Fr. Fitzgibbon's arrival his Confreres have
' bucked up a lot'. Before he came, their
visits to the Ambulance were more or less irregular.
Now they go the rounds regularly. Thank God it
is so. The majority of them are really fine fellows
& anxious to do what they can— but it is so
little that they can do. My companion with
1st Brigade comes up to the trenches &c. & has regular
services for the brigade, his only grievance is that
I am treated better than he is (sic) ' you priests
are alright' he said to me once 'You have a home
with a regiment wherever it goes, we have to look
'for a shelter if we want to come up near the
front, they leave us with the Ambulances.' When I was cycling down from the trenches yester—
—day morning to say Mass in a little village for
those of my parish not actually in the line, I met
him trudging bravely along carrying his kit. By the way, I may not long be his confrere, for
I have heard that Fr. Lane Fox has got a dispensation 3 to say Mass, & is nearly strong enough to come out
again. Of course if he can take up the work, I shall
have to leave the Battn, as I was distinctly told that
I was only an interim loc tenens It will seem
funny as he was had been only 3 weeks with the Bn. when
he met with his accident, & I have been with
it almost six months now. I have been very busy of late — we have been
moving about a great deal. This has the advantage
of variety, but even variety has its disadvantages —
difficulty in trying to find a laundry for instance! A short time ago we were witnesses of a
horrible sight. One of our Observation Balloons
broke loose in a high wind & began to sail towards
the German lines. The thing rose rapidly the while &
the two occupants had to get out. We saw one
man drop with his parachute. For about 500 ft.
he seemed to fall like a stone: then the parachute
opened & he fell fairly rapidly a little less than a
mile from us. He must have got a good shaking for
he was flying very fast as he approached the ground. He was about 1,000 feet from the ground when we
saw another black object fall from the balloon, which
at the time was well over 6000 feet above us. No
parachute appeared, & we thought it was a box — mere 4 a little speck: Suddenly the C.O. (who was his using his glasses)
exclaimed 'Good God it's a man'. We all looked & could then see him falling, hoisting & tumbling. It
was sickening — down, down, down — We heard afterwards that he had been a
well known actor. Most of us are pretty well
accustomed to queer sights, but this was too much.
Next morning at breakfast — 'who was dreaming
of theyesterdays scene'? was the question asked. I certainly had been dreaming of it: the C.O. said
that it was the very first thing he thought of on
awakening. Now, my dear Fr. Provincial, I must ask you
to remember me in your prayers, I want them
very badly. I shall always be glad to hear
of any news from the Province. Frs Shaw & Fitzgibbon & I had a very pleasant
meeting. As Fr Fitzgibbon & I are always
close together, we meet fairly often. I saw
Fr Gill for some moments about 15 days ago.
We are to have a new Chaplain in 3rd Guards Bde
he is, I believe, Fr Butler O.S.B., a son of General
Sir W. Butler. I have not seen him yet. Please send your blessing to Yrs obediently in Xt
F.M. Browne S.J.C.F.