At the beginning of this month, local author, Sarah Reay saw the successful publication of the second edition of her book, The Half-Shilling Curate, A personal account of war and faith, 1914-1918, which tells the story of her grandfather’s experiences as an Army Chaplain during the Great War. It’s a story of love, valour and faith and the first edition sold out in December.

Sarah’s book was first published at the end of 2016 and we reported on the book launch which included the writer of the foreword, guest of honour, BBC’s Hugh Pym whose grandfather had also been an Army Chaplain during the First World War.

Following the first publication of The Half-Shilling Curate, Sarah has learnt some interesting new information about her grandfather’s story.

For instance, it transpires that her grandfather, Rev. Herbert Butler Cowl was the only known Army Chaplain to be awarded the Military Cross Medal for gallantry on a ship during the entire war. The new edition features some adjustments, additional facts, and includes a number of new anecdotes and photographs which came to light following its initial publication. Herbert Cowl considered himself no hero, like so many of his generation, he simply thought he was doing his duty.

Sarah has been delighted with the response to her book and in Pembrokeshire alone, some local people, mainly farmers who knew her late father Michael Cowl of Kilawen Farm, have contacted her with their own recollections of Rev. Cowl and his wife May.

A few remembered his visits to Pembrokeshire when he used to preach in local Methodist Churches back in the 1950s and 1960s - nobody knew of his story from the Great War.

One retired Methodist Minister recalled his memories of Herbert Cowl from the late 1960s: ‘One morning he received a letter addressed to him as Captain the Rev. H. Cowl MC. With a wry smile, he commented that the sender never addressed him without his military rank, in contrast to some who had written to him in the 1930s criticising him for his decoration on the grounds that it was a wicked thing for a Methodist Minister to receive awards for killing people. Little did they know, he said, that he had received the medal for saving lives, not for killing. And then he told me of the events on the ill-fated ship, and of his prayer at the bottom of the sea.’

One of the highlights for Sarah last year was seeing The Half-Shilling Curate being reviewed in the prestigious Times Literary Supplement - as a first time published author, this was a great honour.

Acclaimed historian and author, Allan Mallinson wrote: ‘In many ways, The Half-Shilling Curate is the story of the 5,000 chaplains who served with the British army in the First World War, 179 of whom died during that service’. He continued to describe the book, stating: ‘Love and decency shine from the pages in both words and photographs’.

Further information on the book or to contact the author, please check the website www.halfshillingcurate.com Copies of the book are also available at Tenby Bookshop.