"The men are most grateful for any little kindness shown."
Wherever went the chaps, so did the chaplain.
Dublin Fusiliers chaplain Father William Finn was shot five times as soon as he touched foot on Gallipoli.
"He was seen crawling about the beach, holding up his injured right arm, giving absolution to those close to death," the Mayo Peace Park records. "While he was blessing one of the men a shrapnel bomb burst above him and his head was shattered."
The Salvation Army was founded here after William Booth sent two officers to New Zealand in 1883.
Captain George Pollard and Lieutenant Edward Wright brought 200 and three Australian Salvationists.
It wasn't long before 21 cities had a Salvation Army presence and 'flying brigades' serviced the districts.
Adjutant Alfred Greene was the first Salvation Army chaplain to serve with troops on active duty overseas when war broke out in 1914.
After being awarded the Military Cross in 1916, Green became Chaplain-Captain.
That year an unexpected horror touched the Salvation Army chaplains. On September 24, 1917, New Zealand troops were travelling on a train bound for Sling Camp, Salisbury Plain in the UK.
The train slowed to stop at Bere Ferrers station, Plymouth. The Kiwis, desperately hungry and thirsty because of the long trip, hopped out of the carriage, in to the path of an oncoming train.
Ten were killed, including John Stanley Jackson. His father was working for the NZEF at the time. His role? Chaplain at the Featherston army camp.
The victims were buried in Eggbuckland and their funeral attended by 60 officers and chaplains from Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian services.
