Y.M.C.A. for the first time had its recreation tents at Conway in North
Wales. The Lancashire Fusiliers were in camp, and the men had thronged
the marquee all day, turning up in great force for the service that
Sunday evening. It seemed as if they would never tire of singing the old
familiar hymns, and when the time came for the address the attention of
every man was riveted from start to finish. At length the tent cleared,
and the men retired for the night. Now and then the chorus of a hymn
could be heard coming from a bell tent, but soon the 'Last Post'
sounded, and a few minutes later the plaintive notes of the bugle gave
the signal for 'Lights Out.' Thereupon two of the Y.M.C.A. leaders,
leaving the camp behind, walked up and down the sands of Morfa. It was a
perfect night; not a sound was to be heard except the gentle ripple of
the waves, three or four hundred yards away. The moon was near the full;
everything seemed almost as light as day, and the bold outline of the
Conway Mountain stood in clear relief against the sky. 'I wonder what
all this means,' said one of the two, referring to the impressive
service of the evening and to the crowds that had thronged the tents all
day. 'I have been wondering,' said he, 'if there is a great European
war looming in the distance, and if God is preparing the Y.M.C.A. for
some great work it is destined to perform then.' How often have those
words come back since the beginning of the war! God was indeed preparing
the Association for a work infinitely bigger than any of its leaders
knew or even dared to hope. In those days H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught
became Patron of our Military Camp Department, and he has ever since
been a warm friend.

* * * * *

How far distant now seem those early days of August 1914. For weeks
there had been rumours of war, but all arrangements had been completed
for the work of the Y.M.C.A. in the Territorial camps to proceed as
usual during the August holidays. Then came the order for mobilisation,
and on August the 4th a council of war was held at Headquarters,
attended by Association leaders from all parts of the country. Many of
the districts were in financial difficulties, owing to the sudden break
up of the summer camps, and the only possible policy was the one agreed
upon at the meeting--a common programme and a common purse. No one knew
where the men, or the money, were to come from, but it was decided to go
right a