The Easter visit of the Bishop of London to the front is fresh in our memories. What a holy and triumphant progress it was! Vast bodies of men have listened to the addresses of the bishop, and joined reverently in the responses to the prayers. How grandly those glorious hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "Jesu, Lover of my soul" have swelled forth in the stillness which was only broken by the booming of great guns!
The programme of the visit had been arranged with much care. There were all sorts of services. Now the bishop was with the Flying Corps gathered in one of their great hangars, now with the Household Cavalry massed in the field, now with the Army Service Corps beside their big lorries. To all sorts and conditions of men the bishop spoke, and it seemed as though he had the right word for each man.
He passed along the whole British front often within the range of the German guns. At one part of the line, where there had recently been heavy fighting, some five hundred officers, many of whom had only just come from the battle, were present. The service was, of course, voluntary, and the fact that those officers were present because they _wanted_ to be there made the service all the more impressive. Veteran generals knelt side by side with newly commissioned subalterns in reverent worship on the hard stoned floor.
Easter Day the bishop spent with the Territorial regiment of which he is chaplain. I quote the description of the services from the _Manchester Guardian_:
"The regiment is in a most exposed position, and the bishop motored into the village (a village that has been very much knocked about by shell fire) in pitch darkness, only broken by the weird glare of star shells fired from the German trenches about a mile away. A most enthusiastic reception awaited him from the two hundred and fifty men who were billeted in the village, the remainder of the battalion being in the trenches.
"Cheer after cheer greeted him as he entered the barn, where a 'sing-song' of the most lively nature was in progress. After giving a short address the bishop went with some of the men to their billets and had a cheery word for each. At seven A.M. on Easter Day he celebrated the Holy Communion in a barn, the roof and walls of which had been scarred and shattered by gun fire. Over two hundred men communicated. As this service ended we found at least a hundred and fifty men of other regiments outside the building, who had been waiting since seven o'clock, and had been unable to enter the crowded room. For these the bishop celebrated at once. Strange as the surroundings were, with guns firing and the crack of rifles distinctly heard, one would doubt if in any church, however beautiful, a more reverent congregation had ever gathered together on an Easter morning. On the evening of Easter Day the bishop preached his final sermon at General Headquarters in the presence of Sir John French, many distinguished officers, and a large body of men. One heard on every side how much the bishop's presence and his words had inspired and encouraged the gallant men who were present at the services. Easter Monday saw him leave the front to visit Rouen and Havre before returning to England."