Abstract
Over eight hundred secular and regular Catholic priests served as chaplains with the British Forces in the First World War and forty-one of these died in service. John Hagerty’s Priests in Uniform is much more than a fitting tribute to these men, it is also a comprehensive analysis of their role in multiple theatres of war against a backdrop of diverging military, political and ecclesiastical pressures. With over fifty illustrations and a foreword by Assistant Chaplain-General, Fr Michael Fava, Priests in Uniform provides an important contribution to the dialogue surrounding the current decade of centenaries. It addresses gaps in the historiography surrounding the experiences of Catholic chaplains in WWI by providing a balanced record and assessment of their work and determining the influence and effectiveness of their role through official and unofficial sources such as personal diaries, correspondence, and newspaper reports.
Over 200,000 Irish men served with the British army in the First World War but, as Hagerty notes, it is nearly impossible to determine the exact number of serving Irish Catholics. What we can determine, however, is that the need for Catholic army chaplains increased with the number of soldiers recruited and the geographical scale of the conflict. When war broke out in August 1914 there were just fifteen commissioned Catholic chaplains with the British Army and a further six acting chaplains, including the Rev. William Murphy who was stationed at the Curragh Camp. By the end of August 1914 these six acting chaplains were made Temporary Chaplains to the Forces 4th Class. The situation with regards to recruitment was much improved by late 1914 due to increased pressure on the War Office and by June 1915 a total of 225 chaplains were in service. However, the historical resistance to the presence of Catholic chaplains on naval ships continued during WWI despite public calls to address shortages. The conditions on naval vessels were less than ideal for Catholic chaplains and the greatest challenge was a lack of space to hear confession or minister to large groups.
A recurring theme throughout the book is the consistent administrative and organisational difficulties which seriously hindered the supply of Catholic chaplains during the conflict. Priests in Uniform details the struggle for ecclesiastical control between the Irish hierarchy and Cardinal Francis Bourne of Westminster, a struggle which undoubtedly impacted on chaplaincy recruitment. Bourne was appointed Ecclesiastical Superior of Catholic chaplains to the British army in May 1903 while Bishop of Southwark; a role which he continued to hold when appointed Archbishop of Westminster. This appointment created ambiguity around the role and responsibilities of the Irish Catholic hierarchy, particularly Cardinal Michael Logue, Primate of All Ireland, in the recruitment of Irish chaplains. In 1909 Bourne agreed to the status of ‘temporary chaplains to the forces’ which was effectively a military role without rank and which, as Hagerty notes, ‘seriously weakened’ their status within the army (p. 6). Bourne was also hindered by a lack of control over the deployment of chaplains and constraints imposed by the War Office. The number of vacant chaplaincy positions throughout the war was a constant concern for Bourne throughout the war despite appeals to the Irish Catholic hierarchy and religious superiors. In 1917 the role of ‘Episcopus Castrensis’ [Bishop of the Camp] was created by the Vatican to address inadequacies in chaplaincy administration.
Priests in Uniform details the role and responsibilities of the Catholic chaplain such as hearing confession, giving the last rites, burying the dead, and saying mass, as well as providing an important source of morale at the front. Hagerty notes, however, the confusion surrounding the role of Catholic army chaplains between the ecclesiastical powers who saw them as paramount to the salvation of Catholic souls and the military authorities who were more likely to see them as a source of good morale for soldiers and sometimes even a hindrance to military life. There were a number of challenges which greatly impeded the work of the Catholic chaplain serving with the British army. Firstly, a lack of a job description and appointment criteria hindered the selection process. Secondly, the chaplains (particularly in the early months of the war) received very little training which, compounded with their general lack of army experience, impacted negatively on their work. Finally, Hagerty notes the lonely nature of life as an army chaplain and the lack of mentors available in the field, stating that ‘the life of a chaplain with the BEF was to a large degree lonely and singular, full of passing acquaintance but devoid of regular contact with other priests’ (p. 35).
Hagerty does not concentrate solely on the Western Front but explores land and naval engagements in Gallipoli, Salonika, Mesopotamia, Italy and East Africa. The experience of Catholic chaplains in Gallipoli was one of burials in sandy graves, makeshift altars, and the constant threat of sniper attacks while service in Salonika was marked by sickness and disease, with many casualties occurring from malaria. Illness was also a concern in Mesopotamia where three chaplains died through illness or accident. Marked differences in administration between the various theatres of war meant that in Italy all chaplains were under the remit of the Principal Chaplain but in East Africa senior chaplains reported directly to the War Office. Chaplains serving on the Home Front were hindered by an insufficient number of chapels and a shortage of equipment and Hagerty notes how the location of military facilities may have put pressure on local priests and bishops: ‘Local priests struggled to adjust to the extra demands on their time made by the need to minister to military and other camps’ (p. 260).
Armistice offered little comfort to the war-weary and exhausted chaplains serving at the front. Hagerty describes how ‘Monday 11 November 1918 brought little comfort to many men’ (p. 337). What is perhaps most memorable about Priests in Uniform is the roll of honour (pp 417-37) which serves as a fitting memorial to all forty-one of the Catholic military chaplains who died in the Great War. The fact that approximately half of these priests were Irish gives us some insight into the significant contribution of the Irish Catholic Church to the War effort.