174 Sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



tired ; they lay down on the platform and waited for the 

 motors. The M.C.C. have sent me a splendid lot of cricket 

 things. 



" I think people forget the enormous number of R.A.M.C. 

 that are required to run these hospitals. We have over two 

 hundred here, still forty under strength ; we have thirty-five 

 doctors and seventy-five nurses." 



August 7. — " I am awfully busy, as I have such a lot of 

 letters to write for other people, and such difficult letters as a 

 rule. A boy who is desperately ill always tells you to write that 

 he is going on splendidly. I have two of that kind waiting now. 

 One of the boys I am looking after is going to be seventeen in a 

 day or two. I was with him when he was having his wound 

 dressed and he hung on to my hand and didn't cry, but he cried 

 a bit when the others had gone and he told me he thought they 

 were going to cut his leg off ; so I had to collect the doctor and 

 nurses again, and they told him his leg was quite all right and 

 no chance of it having to be amputated. He promptly cheered 

 up and smoked a cigarette. 



" I have just had to write a long letter to the Bishop of 

 Winchester, as the man who was with his son, Gilbert, when he 

 was killed, was brought into this hospital. As the man had 

 both his arms wounded they asked me to send all particulars. 

 I heard from the brother, Neville Talbot, who is a Chaplain at 

 the front. He crept out after dark and found his brother's body 

 close to the German trenches." 



The Rev. Neville Talbot won the Military Cross on this 

 occasion at Hooge. 



August 12. — A letter written on this date says : 

 " Have you realised what to-day is ? It made me feel a 

 little gun-sick, and visions of Glanwye and Carradale came up. 

 Well, I suppose I shall not do any shooting this year. I shall 

 not be home to shoot birds, and they won't let me shoot Germans. 

 " Did I tell you a boy came in yesterday ? He will be 

 fifteen next month. He has been out a long time and is now 

 wounded. He does not want to go back to England, but would 

 like to have another go at the Germans. I asked him how he 

 got on with the hard work and carrying his pack ; he said, 

 splendidly, as long as he had plenty to eat, but that he went to 



