Grace was never one to let the grass grow under feet. Off she went to the Office to report in, and fix an appointment with the Officer Commanding Ruchard area, a General Paulhan. Based not far away in Tours, he was anxious to meet them, and Grace and Coley were driven there immediately. She was much taken with him, describing him as: "courtly and kindly to a degree; his words of gratitude were eloquent, and he did not stop at words."

The expense of building a hut large enough to meet demand was weighing heavily on Grace's mind. In her usual cavalier manner she had accepted the challenge of running a canteen in Ruchard, without consulting anyone. There had already been grumbles of discontent and irritation from the Treasurer, The Rev Cluff at HQ, as well as Janette Lean, the Secretary. However, Grace's fundraising tour earlier in the year had yielded much of the requirements, but there was still the problem of the building itself.

She need not have worried. The General was magnificent, needing no urging. He gave them two large semi-detached, stone-built 'huts', and directed that the dividing wall be knocked down, creating one very large space, ideal for what they planned. "We had our Barrack" said Grace.

In the following weeks an amazing transformation took place. The Belgians supplied soldiers as labour, and all the basic materials. A small separate dining and rest room for the staff was constructed inside, followed by a large service counter in the main hall. The walls were whitewashed and painted with the Colours and Arms of Belgium and her Allies. The piece de resistance was a large painting of the FANY badge above the door.

For decoration and pictures round the wall, shipping company posters were framed and hung, along with some of the more artistic advertising illustrations. Next came curtains at every window; and finally, decided by the men themselves a large stage erected at one end, ideal for concert performances of every kind, most of which were put on by the troops and patients.

Grace was delighted, as were Coley, Chris, the General himself and all who saw it.

The next step was to make it habitable, and chairs and tables were provided to meet the demand. On sale, at very low prices, were coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soft drinks, cakes, pastries, a large variety of chocolate, and, of course, cigarettes.

Cakes were especially popular, and it was always an uphill struggle for the FANY to provide enough. Janette Lean, back at HQ, had an astonishing ability for sweet-talking, often reluctant, cake manufacturers into parting with large quantities of their product, free. She also organized a hugely successful 'Ruchard Cake League' at HQ, which kept the customers in France well supplied with every sort of gateaux or bon mot.

Newspapers and magazines were also available, to buy, or to be picked up and read over a drink. As time went on, packs of cards were provided, and other board games.

Once the stage was finally in place, and equipped, the FANY hired a piano for12 Frs a month, perhaps the best 12Frs worth ever. The men loved it. Even with an ever-changing community there were always piano players available, and concerts, as well as impromptu sing-songs, were hugely popular.

The Canteen was opened with an inaugural concert playing to a full house, and attended by some top brass, as well as hundreds of happy convalescents. It became an unqualified success, and no more was heard from HQ about Grace's failure to consult anyone before getting involved. Had she done so, the scheme would almost certainly not gone ahead. Others were equally pleased with the project.

The Military Police were delighted, too. In this God-forsaken place, miles from anywhere, no transport, and nothing to do, arrests for various misdemeanours and crimes were running at 20 a day, or more. Within a very short space of time this had dropped to less than two.

If the men were over the moon about the place, alas it wasn't the case for the FANYs staffing it. Their living conditions were hard and uncomfortable. Often rushed off their feet while on shift, any time they had to themselves was boring. They were in the same position as the men they were looking after so well had been. Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

Janette Lean visited the Camp on one occasion and was horrified at the living conditions. More so, as she felt that with the girls putting up with it so stoically, the Belgians would think that was how they lived at home! It was often difficult to get staff for the Camp for those very reasons, harsh living conditions, and being cut off from the sort of life they were used to. But while there they did a magnificent job.

One who did stay was the indomitable Lady Baird who arrived at Ruchard and became something of a legend throughout the Corps, for the hip flask which she always carried, and which, in some miraculous way, was always well-filled with brandy. Lifting spirits was her speciality, which she did on innumerable occasions with sick and wounded soldiers. Mainly she concentrated on helping out Nurse Lovell with the tubercular patients.

Under Coley's inspired leadership as Director, the enterprise thrived, but the time came for her to move on. Her place was taken by an Australian girl, who turned out to be equally memorable, Adele Crockett. Shortly after her arrival, Grace managed to obtain a cinemategraph projector; yet another gift from the ever- generous citizens of Aberdeen, after one of her regular fund-raising expeditions.

This lifted the interest in the Canteen to a whole new level. It did the same, also, for the administrative load upon Adele's shoulders. Costing 145 Frs a week to run, its own generator was heavy on petrol, noisy, and a fire risk! However, the upside was that it also supplied the Canteen with electric light.

Various other helpers were required whose services were usually obtained free from professionals among the 'congregation'; a mechanic to work the generator; a cinema operator plus an assistant in case the film caught fire. But it worked – most of the time. Hundreds of desperate convalescents poured in night after night, paid their 5 centimes entry fee, and for a while were able to drift away from the reality of war and disease into the make-believe world of cinema.

Already a great success, this latest innovation, the Cinemategraph, was the final seal of acclaim, In the bleak and barren camp-scape that was Ruchard.

It was indeed Shangri-La!