Father Brindle, D.S.O. 249 



engaged from 1882 (when he was the first chaplain to arrive in 

 Egypt) to 1886 ; and again from 1896 to 1899, when he resigned 

 his chaplaincy. Being thin and aesthetic-looking, the soldiers 

 used to marvel at all their Padre could do. 



I think this delicate look stood Father Brindle in good stead ; 

 the men felt more grateful to him for his efforts on their behalf 

 than they would have done to a big robust-looking man. They 

 thought it was so wonderful the way he marched with them, 

 even carrying the rifles of those who were played out, and they 

 liked the homeliness of some of his expressions. 



A favourite saying of his was, " Do your duty and let the 

 rest go hang." His sporting spirit and unselfishness endeared 

 him to all. The men used to boast that the Padre had marched 

 with them all the way from Fort Atbara to Omdurman. After 

 travelling some hundred and ten miles, Metammeh was reached. 

 Khartoum lay a hundred miles beyond, but neither the scorching 

 sun by day nor the frosts at night deterred him, one of his 

 convictions being that the functions of a military chaplain were 

 more efficacious when discharged by example than by any 

 amount of preaching or precept. 



Smartness hardly seems a suitable term to apply to a Roman 

 Catholic priest, yet it was really applicable to Father Brindle. 

 No matter the time, place, or work to be done, he always 

 appeared clean and trim ; nobody knew how he managed it, and 

 someone whispered that he did his own laundry work. In 

 camp he wore white uniform, which was always spotless. When 

 going into action he wore ordinary khaki ; both were well-cut 

 and made. 



He was present at the battles outside Suakin in 1884, and 

 took an active part in the Nile expedition. At the request of 

 Lord Wolseley he captained one of the boats of the Royal Irish 

 Regiment, and won the prize of £100 for that regiment offered 

 by Lord Wolseley to the first boat to reach the end of the river 

 journey with the smallest relative loss of supplies. 



General Sir Evelyn Wood described Father Brindle on this 

 occasion as " burnt brown with the sun, face and hands covered 

 with blisters," and noticed that when he stepped out of the 

 boat he was stiff with fatigue from pulling against the fast- 

 running water. 



" Father, why are you working so hard ? " asked the General, 



