Taken from Stuart K Hine’s autobiography (unpublished), p12. Stuart K Hine was the author of the hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’.
Stuart Hine was called up for service in October 1917 and was told to report to Ludgershall on Salisbury Plain.
She was a brave American lady. She stood up alone, watched by hundreds of us sitting in Lyons’ Corner House Restaurant in Leicester Square. The orchestra had been playing a pot-pourri of musical items, then suddenly struck up ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. It was the Fourth of July, and the American lady jumped to her feet. She cared not what people thought but proudly acknowledged the country to which she owed allegiance.
Surely then, we should make some sign of our allegiance to Him to Whom we owe all things? Did not our Lord show us how we ought to do this, when He ‘took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them’; ‘and when He had given thanks, He distributed them’?
So, that first night on Salisbury Plain, just before ‘Lights Out’, I knelt by my bed in prayer. I received, however, not the admiring or amused glances given to the American lady, but bottles, boots, lumps of coal, and anything else to hand.
This paved the way for the big showdown. For dinner, each of the thirty men in our hut received two horrible red herrings. “Come on, Lawyer, say grace!” So, for this (to most of them very unwelcome food), I stood up and gave thanks to God. As I said, “Amen!” I received all over my person, but mainly ‘bang on’ my face, 58 red herrings. At that very moment the door flew open, and the orderly officer entered. His “Any complain….?” was cut short by the sight before him.
From that time, not only did persecution cease, but I enjoyed a strange, new authority, which no rank or promotion could have given me. I need to emphasise the importance of kneeling in prayer. A young recruit sidled up to me in a church parade service, whispering, “I know you’re a Christian – I saw you bow your head in prayer.” He had been only three days in the Army but not yet knelt at his bedside. I extracted his solemn promised to do so that very night. We never met again before I was drafted, but he found me in France. His first words, “I cannot thank you enough for making me give that promise – it changed my whole life.”
*Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@roxanne-minnish-2936023