HELP FOR THE FISHERMEN 



acting as a floating hospital for sailors. The other 

 two steamboats took a noble part in sweeping and 

 patrolling. In each of these cases the Mission 

 crews and skippers were retained, .in one case with 

 commissioned rank and in other instances with war- 

 rant rank and lesser ratings. Amongst the Mission 

 officials to volunteer for service at an early stage in 

 the war was Dr. Frederick W. Willway, one of the 

 Medical Superintendents. Dr. Willway was 

 accepted as a surgeon in the Royal Naval Volunteer 

 Reserve, and it was his great satisfaction to remain 

 with the Mission steamer in which he had so often 

 \w.rked afloat amongst the Deep Sea Fishermen. At 

 a later period Dr. Grenfell temporarily left the great 

 work of the Mission, of which he had charge in 

 Labrador, and spent three months on the Western 

 Front as an Army Surgeon, with the Harvard 

 Medical Unit — an advance guard of the splendid 

 American Army which was subsequently to take 

 its place and stand side by side with the British 

 and French forces in the most vital region of the 

 war. 



When forced by circumstances to abandon for 

 the time being the work afloat, the Council eon- 



.trated on the shore efforts, which had a great 

 scope, for the society had a round dozen institutes 

 on land — Lerwick, the capital of the Shetlands ; 

 Aberdeen, North Shields, Hull, Grimsby, Gorles- 

 ton, Folkestone, Brixham, Newlyn, Padstow, 

 Milford Haven and Fleetwood. Some time before 

 the war broke out operations had begun at Fleet* 



215 



