of God, the
mistakes and miscalculations of the enemy, and the bravery and
self-sacrifice of our heroes in blue and khaki, yes, and our workers in
fustian and print--for England must never forget the debt she owes to
her munition workers as well as to her sailors, soldiers, and airmen.
They see nothing of the romance of war; they know nothing of its
excitement, and yet apart from their patriotic service the best efforts
of our fighting men would have been in vain.

[Illustration: A Y.M.C.A. CELLAR AT YPRES]

Never was the Y.M.C.A. more appreciated than during the months that
preceded the great retreat in the spring of 1918. New Red Triangle huts
were springing up like mushrooms, especially in the Fifth Army area,
that part of the line that had recently been taken over from the French.
Supported by the generous gifts of friends at home, ably directed by
our divisional secretaries and those associated with them in the work,
and supported and encouraged in every way by the Military Authorities,
the progress made was remarkable. Then came the unexpected advance of
the German hordes and the laborious work of months was destroyed in a
few hours. At Noyon the secretary had to quit in a hurry, but returned
to the hut later to bring away the money belonging to the Y.M.C.A.
Thrice he returned, and the third time found it impossible to get away.
After remaining in hiding for twenty-four hours he at length managed to
escape with ten thousand francs in his pocket, saved for the Association
which lost so heavily during those terrible days. At Amiens the Y.M.C.A.
workers hung on for ten days after the official canteens had been
removed because the town had become too hot for them. Day and night the
'Joy' hut close to the railway station was kept open, and thronged with
officers and men, and the service rendered to the troops may be gauged
from the amount of the takings, which ranged between fifteen and
twenty-thousand francs a day.

Our total loss in the retreat was exceedingly heavy--more than one
hundred and thirty huts and other centres in Picardy and Flanders, and
in cash, upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Serious as
was that loss it might have been very much worse. Eight trucks of stores
and equipment were stopped in the nick of time. The axle of one of our
big lorries broke within a hundred yards of the most heavily shelled
area in one of the towns bombarded by the enemy, but it was got away
and, excepting in