The hour of battle had finally come. After months of training and a rough crossing with high seas Canadian soldiers were about to attempt an unprecedented attack. It was August 19, 1942 and the target was the French port town of Dieppe. Since April 1940 Nazi Germany had reigned unchallenged as the undisputed dictators of Europe, but now, almost two and a half years later, that was about to change — and the job was given to the Canadians. The attacking force of 4,963 Canadians included a Presbyterian minister, Honorary Captain John W. Foote, the Protestant military chaplain attached to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.
Padre Foote and the Medical Officer, Captain Wes Clare faced a daunting task. When they reached the beach they were sucked into a cavalcade of death and destruction. Shortly after they landed with their men in Tank Landing Craft No. 5, the TLC took a direct hit. Men died instantly, others screamed in pain, and the MO and the Padre set to work immediately. In the midst of black smoke, seeping waves through gaping holes, and exploding ammunition and enemy shells, Captain Clare set up a make-shift RAP (Regimental Aid Post). Padre Foote was his chief nurse and orderly arranging the wounded within what remained of the TLC. Then he began the dangerous task of rounding up other casualties. Despite a hailstorm of enemy bullets Padre Foote scampered across the stony beach and retrieved the wounded to the RAP. This dangerous foray into fire continued for hours until it was clear that the battle was lost and subsequent landing craft arrived to remove the retreating soldiers. Throughout the evacuation Padre Foote carried wounded to the landing craft – often through heavy fire. When the last landing craft were embarking Padre Foote refused to go with the retreating soldiers voluntarily choosing, instead, to become a Prisoner of War (POW) and serve his fellow officers and men in captivity. In the raid on Dieppe of the 4,963 Canadians who attacked 3,367 became casualties and 1,946 became POWs. For his role during the attack Padre Foote was awarded the military's most prestigious award, the Victoria Cross – the only military chaplain in the British Commonwealth ever to receive such an honour. His citation included the following inscription: “Those who observed him state that the calmness of this heroic officer as he walked about collecting the wounded on the fire-swept beach will never be forgotten.”
In the myriad of tribute, homage, and historical record accorded to Canadians in uniform during the Second World War, few accolades are paid to the military chaplains who served Canada's military personnel. Some chaplains were unable or unwilling to deal with military life and had a wartime career which was unrewarding and ineffective. Other chaplains, however, embraced their new role and discovered an opportunity to provide pastoral ministry on a scale that was unprecedented. Their actions garnered a reputation of respect and admiration. Part of the commendation ascribed to Padre Foote has been echoed by many Canadians in uniform for their padre whose efforts “will never be forgotten.”
In the Second World War Protestant and Roman Catholic military chaplains were organized into separate services: “The Canadian Chaplain Service (Protestant) and (Roman Catholic)”, CCS (P) and CCS (RC). As the war progressed, further services were established exclusively for air force and navy chaplains. In all, 807 Protestant ministers (which included 10 Jewish rabbis) and 446 Roman Catholic priests served as chaplains for a combined total of 1253. When the CCS (P) was created only Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Baptist clergy were admitted as chaplains, but as the war progressed Salvation Army officers were also included. In the army and air force clergy enlisted with the rank of honorary captain or honorary flight lieutenant. There was no rank for chaplains in the navy. There they served under the motto “greater than none equal to all”.
When Canada declared war on September 10, 1939, Presbyterian ministers rallied to the call to arms. Presbyterian clergy served as auxiliary service officers and as combatants (one of these, Flight-Lieutenant Gordon Rintoul died while in air force training in Toronto). The majority of Presbyterian clergy who donned military uniforms, did so as chaplains. Throughout the war 91 full-time and many part-time Presbyterian ministers served as navy, army or air force chaplains. Presbyterian padres were “mentioned in dispatches”, received numerous commendations and awards, and rose through the ranks to occupy considerable positions of influence – H/Col. J. Logan-Vencta served as Principal Chaplain of the CCS (P) in 1945 and 1946; and Rev. E.G.B. (Ernest) Foote served as Chaplain of the Fleet, RCN from 1945 to 1962. Furthermore, of the four Protestant denominations contributing to the CCS (P), the Presbyterian Church in Canada was the only denomination spared the tragedy of suffering a chaplain killed in action.
According to “Instructions for The Canadian Chaplain Service” the role of Padres was primarily and essentially to seek the spiritual and moral welfare of the men…” In his “official” role the chaplain acted as: sports instructor/referee, entertainment officer, education coordinator and/or professor, facilitator and lecturer in “Padre's Hours” (mostly in the Army), counsellor, and minister/priest responsible for Church Parade, the Sacraments, prayers, funerals, and for contacting and providing solace to next of kin. Besides their “official” role, other “unofficial” responsibilities involved creative initiative on the part of chaplains. Such items included arranging for midweek Bible study groups, acting as impromptu tour guides, and creating unit newspapers.
There was also the mundane, yet occasionally humorous, duty of censoring mail. In September 1941, Navy chaplains at HMCS Stadacona in Halifax were censoring 1,600 pieces of mail daily. By February 1942 that number rose to 2,500 pieces of mail. It is little wonder that some chaplains spent as much as ten hours a week censoring mail. This pace continued until May 1942 when the Fleet Mail Office was organized. Such work, however, familiarized the chaplains with the day to day issues affecting the men, and also revealed light-heartedness as one chaplain discovered in a letter: “The Padre told us on Sunday that Dan and Beersheba were two places in the Holy Land. Gosh, he's spoiled it! I always thought they were man and wife, sort of a romance like Sodom and Gemorra [sic].”
While chaplains worked within a clearly regimented military context, most believed their primary task was the spiritual well-being of the service personnel under their care. Many chaplains regarded themselves as agents of the Church assigned the task of fostering individual salvation. According to Presbyterian Padre, H/Flight-Lieutenant. D.N. MacMillan, “the evangel, the good news, that God was in Christ, becoming incarnate to reveal God to us and dying upon the cross to win our salvation: is at the heart of the message of the Christian Church.” Some service personnel remained spiritually indifferent, others embraced faith, yet few disputed the importance of a hard-working and compassionate padre.
Once overseas, Presbyterian Padres set to work ministering to the spiritual and temporal needs of the Canadians under their care. Their efforts did not go unnoticed. In praise of his padre, H/Major Grant D. Johnston, Gunner A.H. Carey noted:
On behalf of my fellow gunners I would say that…[were] it not for the kind ambitions of the padre we would not now have a complete dance orchestra, nor the sport activities, nor the comforts we are now enjoying…He is held in high esteem not only because of his religious guidance but because of the interest he has taken in the welfare of the boys which involved other important and difficult matters. Were it possible to have such printed I could attach a list of signatures to this letter which would consist of approximately a thousand names evidencing the splendid relationship existing between the Padre and the boys.
During battle navy and air force chaplains maintained a steadfast vigil waiting for their airmen or sailors to return. Army chaplains were supposed to remain in the rear echelons during battle, but frequently they went up the line to help drag wounded from the battlefields or assist the MO at the RAP. For H/Capt. Charlie Maclean the RAP was often in the direct line of fire:
I remember our first baptism of fire [at] Bourguebus [France], and I buried quite a few there. And wherever the sick bay was, the Germans had that tapped, and we were shelled regularly, several times a day. And I remember one time, the doctor and I were standing, it was a big stone house, and we were standing in the entrance, and we heard this shell coming — bang — and the big lintel over the door just came crashing down at our feet. And it [the house] was just a shell, it'd been hit so often.
Padre Maclean's ministry included the men's minds as well as their bodies and souls. Many officers and soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada succumbed to battle exhaustion and came for help to their chaplain. Simply talking to Padre Maclean was often enough to “keep men in the fight”, while other times the chaplain advocated on behalf of his men and secured leave so a soldier could receive a temporary reprieve from battle.
A chaplain's diligence and dedication to his men brought respect and admiration. An anonymous soldier with the Toronto Irish was awestruck with the work of H/Capt. David Rowland during the aftermath of battle:
The Padre would travel miles to the field hospitals to visit the boys. Literally thousands of miles to any hospital where there was thought to be an Irish lad…There was never a hospital that Davey missed in his endless travels, bearing mail, cigarettes and comforts for the lads who had been hit, or who were ill. He would go back miles to visit men so badly wounded that they couldn't write. He worked night after night just writing letters. Imagine composing letters to families of men who were not going to make it. I never heard of anyone who received a letter under these circumstances that wasn't in full praise of Dave's concern and thoughtfulness. He carried out that job in a most faithful and dedicated fashion. He would tuck himself away for hours, and even days and carry out this task. That was only part of his job.
Yet, it was Padre Rowland's role in moments of death and dying which brought the greatest praise:
There was a young Catholic lad who had been hit and was dying. He asked the Padre to hear his confession. He comforted him right there until he passed away. They all wanted the Padre to be with them in their last hours…it didn't matter what faith or creed. I recall that we have brought another lad into the RAP who had stepped on a mine. He was badly dismembered. He was going quickly. The MO gave him a needle and rallied him for a few minutes. He was preparing to give him another one. The Padre tapped him on the shoulder as much as to say, “Leave him to me now.” He held the lad in his arms and comforted him until he passed away.”
In the post-war years the influence of their padre was keenly felt by many veterans. Captain Douglas Beale became a devout Christian believer because of his experiences in the war and the faithful example of Padre Maclean:
I don't mean to detract from our earlier chaplains, but Padre Charlie Maclean to me exemplified what a chaplain should be. You know, he's your spiritual advisor and friend…I have a high personal regard for him and his integrity, his low key conduct of his office, and yet you knew who he represented…
In retrospect, simply donning a chaplain's uniform did not ensure exceptional ministry in the chaplaincy service. Yet many Presbyterian ministers discovered that their military experiences during the Second World provided them with the opportunity for ministry opportunities of unprecedented proportions. Such opportunities were not without cost. The widow of Padre Johnston believed that the rigors associated with her husband's military chaplaincy took ten to fifteen years off of his life. For many veterans that personal cost was life changing. As one veteran remarked about Padre Rowland, “I never met a man like him, nor have I since. I tried to pattern my life after him.” For others their words were simply, “Thank you, Padre”.
