"Now please don't think that Sunday is taken up entirely
with cricket matches and things of that sort. When the Padre
can get round to our battalion there is always a service on
the Sunday. Sometimes a full-blown Church Parade, like this
morning, but these are not what we call Sunday services. The
real Sunday services are voluntary ones, either in the open
or in a Y.M.C.A. hut. The fellows that go--and there are
quite a large number--really go because they feel the need
of such a service--not because it is a parade and they
_must_ turn out.
"Our Padre has been able to get round to us about every
Sunday, when we have been out of the trenches. He is a very
broad-minded chap--is not shocked to see us playing cricket
on Sundays, for he realises that whilst on rest men _must_
have exercise and enjoyment, whatever the day may be. I
asked him once whether he would feel justified in playing a
footer or cricket match on a Sunday, and he said that if he
had been in the trenches for several days, and the day that
he came out happened to be a Sunday, he would certainly
play.
"The services are generally held about 10 o'clock in the
morning. We simply go down and enter the hut or tent and
take our seats. There is nothing formal; the Padre is sure
to be there first, and he sits about and has a chat with
each man before the service begins.
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