News From No Man's Land

James Green (1864-1948) was a Methodist minister who was a chaplain to Australian troops in the Boer War and in the Australian Imperial Force in World War I. This memoir was published 1917, while the war was on-going. “In spite of necessary suppression, or vagueness of names of localities, my comrades of the Fifty-fifth Battalion, to which I was attached, will recognize many of the incidents described, and I can only hope that reading what the padre has to say may cheer them in some lonely places, or help them to be happy though miserable in some indifferent billets.” (From the Foreword)
Green served with distinction at Gallipoli as well as in several campaigns in western Europe. He developed and maintained all his life a huge respect for the common fighting man. Notes: "Padre" (Latin for father) was how military chaplains of all denominations were addressed and referred to. "Bomb" in infantry terms is what more modern eras term hand grenades. Horseferry Road was the London site of the headquarters for the A.I.F. It was also the site of a recreation center for Australian soldiers; it was founded by Green. (Summary by David Wales)