Chaplain Mackenzie, Salvation Army 263 



It is easy to understand Mackenzie's exaltation. He must 

 be proud even to be of the same sex. He loves to wait on them, 

 do little things for them. I have heard from others what some 

 of those " little things " consist of. He has been known to walk 

 many miles at the end of a heavy day's work to carry letters of 

 importance for the wounded, or fetch some delicacy for a 

 patient in hospital. 



The letter-writing for the men is quite a formidable under- 

 taking by itself. One of the chaplains — I think it was Captain 

 Mac — was asked to write " a real nice husbandy letter " to a 

 man's wife ! 



Besides the outgoing post the chaplain's incoming bag is 

 generally a heavy one ; everybody feels they can fly to him for 

 help. Here are a few requests to be attended to in one day's 

 post. An Australian mother writes that she and her son have 

 had a bit of a difference ; will the chaplain be kind enough to talk 

 to the young man ? Another letter from distracted parents 

 asks him to tell them where their son is laid, and will he take a 

 snapshot of the grave and send it to them ? A third has heard 

 nothing of their only son for a long time ; will the chaplain try 

 and find him ? It would be very easy to answer all these with 

 a few strokes of the pen, pointing out that amidst the hundreds 

 and thousands of killed and missing it would not be possible to 

 carry out their wishes. Instead of this they take the utmost 

 pains (most of them) to do all they are asked. One of the 

 Salvationist chaplains — I am not sure whether it was Captain 

 Mackenzie or another — diligently searched for the missing boy, 

 and after considerable trouble found him in hospital , where he 

 was very comfortable and well looked after. It so happened 

 that it was his nineteenth birthday, and being a favourite with 

 the nurses and the doctors, a variety of little presents were 

 around his bed — flowers, fruit, and other little tokens likely to 

 please and cheer him ; but the chaplain was glad the parents 

 could not see their boy, for he was terribly disfigured and had 

 been wounded in seventeen places. When first he was hit he 

 implored his mate to shoot him and put him out of his 

 agony. 



A letter was sent that very day to the parents giving the 

 consoling news that their son had been found, was in hospital 

 doing well, and a favourite with everybody. Even the hospital 



