With Camp du Ruchard up and running under Cole-Hamilton, Grace was free to concentrate on her main themes - expansion of the FANY operations, and, most importantly, working for the British Army. In the former she had some successes, but with the latter the Establishment stone-walling was as solid as ever.
She tried once again, putting forward a new plan to the War Office. Once again the monotonous rejection – ' women will never be drivers in the British Army'. However, there was a ray of light, an episode in Calais back in June, when Grace was in England. The battles at Ypres were still going on, when the British launched two disastrous offensives at Festubert and Aubers Ridge.
These generated thousands of unexpected casualties, and the BRCS was unable to cope. The Assistant Director of British Medical Services approached Franklin and asked if the FANY could help. They jumped at the offer. The drivers were specially selected, mostly old hands, and instructed to give even better than their best. These were British wounded they would be dealing with, and they needed no urging. The service had be second to none. It was.
They received lavish praise for their work from all sides, including the British Administration in Calais. Though Grace was absent, she heard all about it, tucked it away in her memory for future use. She got together with Franklin and they decided to wait for a time before making yet another concerted effort on the BRCS and War Office.
Grace worked hard on this, using her various contacts shrewdly, and over time arranged a series of meetings at HQs in Boulogne, Abbeville, and finally GHQ at St Omer. It was a tactic of slow infiltration. She first approached Major Smallman, a long-time friend and ally of the FANY; Surgeon General Woodhouse, he who had been so impressed by the Corps at their last pre-war camp; Colonels Dadson and Barford; and her old fencing master Fekix Bertrand, all of whom she had won over previously.
This all took time, and the end of 1915 was not far off. Grace and Franklin had been putting the finishing touches to the new plans for the employment of the FANY – even though indirectly – as drivers for the British Army.
The biggest hurdle was still the insistence by the FANY on retaining their independence. This was something the British could not – would not -agree to, even though some of the Top Brass concerned were sympathetic to the Corps.
After Grace's attempt in August to win over the Army, Sir Arthur Keogh, Director General of the Army Medical Service, wrote to Sir Arthur Sloggett Head of the British Rd Cross [BRC], saying in effect, how much simpler things would be if only the FANY would affiliate with the Red Cross.
This, of course, was anathema to the FANY. Sloggett sent a copy of the letter to Grace, writing on the back of it "Dear Mrs MacDougall, you see what the IGC [Imperial General Council] think – wouldn't you like to join the Red Cross?"
Grace realized it was going to be a time of difficult decisions, and compromises would have to be reached. The plan she was now about to bounce off the Authorities, needed very careful thought and absolute clarity in her own mind just where the lines were to be drawn – Independence of Command Structure; Title; Uniforms. She would have a fight on her hands.
She and Franklin went into action. They had the advantage of sympathetic contacts in high places, and proof of the outstanding ability, discipline and dedication of the FANYs, sometimes under extreme conditions, from the desperate weeks in mid-year working for the British Army in Calais.
Over the following weeks – months – an agreement was thrashed out. Towards the end of the long drawn out negotiations, which itself put Grace under great stress, disturbing news arrived from her mother in Scotland. Her sister Agnes had gone down with a virulent form of flu which looked like becoming an epidemic. Grace was in a dilemma. Should she abandon the negotiations, hand over to Franklin, risk losing that prize for which she had been striving for so long? It was something very dear to her heart, the thought of the Corps working for the British Army.
After the exchange of more wires with her mother, she decided that she should stay. Agnes was in good hands, getting the best medical attention money could buy. If she went, there was little she could do. Earlier in the year when Agnes had been unwell, she had recovered completely, seemed fit and strong.
Grace stayed at the helm. Rightly or wrongly she believed she needed to be there; only she could break down the opposition and win the right terms.
The compromises were worked out over countless meetings. There were three parties involved - four if you counted the British Army in the background. There were the FANY, of course. At the other side of the table were the BRC Joint War Committee, along with the Order of Jerusalem, who had aligned themselves with the Red Cross for the war.
It was a pretty complicated scheme. The FANY would be 'commissioned' by the BRCS to provide drivers to transport British wounded wherever and whenever required, in Calais. The BRCS would supply the ambulances, stores, tools and other logistical requirements.
The FANY would retain their own title, and wear their own uniforms – a concession Grace had to fight very hard for - and would be treated as all other BRCS employees in terms of employment.
Eventually, at the end of November, Grace received a letter from Sir Arthur Lawley, heading the BRCS in Calais, asking her to go and see him, the conditions had at last been accepted. He had signed and forwarded the Agreement to London. This was the news she had worked for, striven towards, for so long, Now at last her efforts were coming to fruition.
After that meeting, Grace and Franklin lost no time in crossing to London to contact Sir Arthur Sloggett, the Head of the BRC, who showed them the draft Agreement, which they read and agreed with, after making quite certain about the FANY title and uniform. It was a time of great excitement for them both.
While over there Grace took the opportunity to visit her mother and Agnes in Edinburgh . Her sister appeared to be holding her own well, and Grace returned to London greatly reassured.
There, on December 6th, Sir Arthur Sloggett and Grace signed the historic agreement. For her it was one of the greater moments in her life. Her FANY Corps was to be in the service of the British Army at last, now transporting, nursing and succouring not only Belgian and French, but British wounded as well.
A day or two later reality intervened, highlighting the degree of ill-feeling which could develop between similar organizations, purportedly on the same side. A group of FANYs were assembled ready to travel to Calais, under the auspices of the VAD, who themselves were under BRCS jurisdiction, but whose hierarchy were perhaps jealous of FANY independence. The VAD official in charge of the group refused the FANYs permission to proceed, unless they wore VAD uniform! The FANYs were decidedly unhappy with this, and phoned Janette Lean at FANY HQ. She was furious, but could get nowhere on the phone to VAD or Red Cross HQ.
Grace, who had not yet left for France, was just as angry, but much more able to deal with that sort of confrontation. She stormed over to Devonshire House, VAD HQ, and demanded to see the VAD Commandant. This was smugly refused by the rather supercilious 2 i/c on the grounds that the Commandant was out, and it wasn't known when she would return. The 2i/c then added rather maliciously that 'no FANY would be allowed across the Channel, unless in VAD uniform.'
Grace relates the incident in detail: "I looked at the lady. 'Please ask one of your staff to look up the next boat to Boulogne.' I began to buckle my coat. She looked startled.
"Why? Are you crossing?"
"I'm going over to tell Sir Arthur Lawley that his signature has no value in England!"
'What do you mean?"
"What I say. I have a copy of the Contract here, - see for yourself – there's Sir Arthur's signature, and THERE is the clause. 'Drivers will wear FANY uniform and be styled First Aid Nursing Yeomanry!"
"May I have the Contract to show the Commandant?"
"No! I don't have time to wait. You've already told me she is out and you don't know when she will be back. Good afternoon."
She continues: "I went straight to Sir Arthur Stanley at BRCS HQ. He was extremely angry, phoned through to VAD HQ immediately. After some very plain speaking, he turned to me and said, "Mrs McDougall, your people will have their passes this afternoon!"
They had!
Grace thoroughly enjoyed that kind of encounter, and was well practised.
Setting off for Calais once again she was cheerful, but feeling very worn out after the stress of the past few weeks. Travelling back and forth across the Channel added to the pressures: while at home, Agnes being ill and her mother worrying over both of them made things worse. It was all beginning to affect her general health. It dawned on her with some surprise, that Christmas was fast approaching, their second of the war in France, and she wondered just how many more lay ahead. Would it be as enjoyable as the last?
The shocking answer to that came very shortly after her return to France. A frantic wire from her mother reached her. Agnes, her sister, was dying, please, please come home.
That plea pulled at her heart and conscience. She packed once again, headed back across the Channel, and took the train straight up to Edinburgh, a long, wearisome journey at the best of times. The next few days passed almost in a haze of disbelief. Sitting by Agnes's bedside, with her mother and Isabel, she agonized at her helplessness. In mid-December Agnes passed away, as she had lived, quietly and gently.
It was a sad, difficult time, her mother particularly hard hit This strong, proud woman struggling to keep her composure, grieving for the loss of her eldest son, and now her eldest. daughter.
To say that Grace was devastated, as when Charlie died, would be wrong. She loved Agnes as a sister, but they had never been close. Ten years separated them. Grace was a restless, adventurous tomboy, while Agnes was a quiet, stay-at-home person, happy to be with her mother and live quietly at home.
Nevertheless she was deeply saddened by her death. Her mother was affected a great deal more, as would any mother losing a child. This was the second child whose death she had had to bear, within a year. In Agnes, she had not only lost her firstborn, but someone who had become a friend, confidante, and companion. She needed help, and Grace stayed on to give it as best she could.
She could not stay indefinitely. Grace knew that, and her mother realized and accepted that Grace would have to go back to her FANYs in France. She was a strong woman from good stock, could stand on her own feet, and urged Grace to return. She could manage.
Another sister, Carolyn, who had just lost her husband from illness in South Africa, had decided to come home and look after her mother. In the interim, Grace, and Isabel would do their best to visit regularly and keep an eye on her. It added yet another dimension of strain to Grace's already rather frenetic life-style.
During this difficult time, they heard from Billy that he had transferred from the KOYLI to the Cyclist Corps. The job of this Corps was particularly dangerous. They were faced with carrying out reconnaissance of enemy territory and No-man's-Land. They had to provide useful information about trenches, layout, defensive screens, anything that might help Higher Command, when planning localised attacks or major offensives. Mounted on bicycles they could move quickly and quietly, to an area, but once near their objective they proceeded on foot, under the nose of the enemy, and casualties were heavy. It was an essential job, and typical of Billy to volunteer for it.
It did nothing, however to allay his mother's fears for his safety. He was in his element, so much so that he gave up leave that was due to him in January of 1916. He wrote home to his wife
"I have postponed my leave to carry through a scheme. Everyone says I'm a fool. But what's the good of leave if you haven't done something worthwhile? If I come through this, it may mean a Military Cross."
This, too, was typical of Billy. Always chasing new thrills and adventures. The family were proud of him for that, but it added to their ever present worry.
Grace returned to France early in January 1916, and in spite of the grief of losing her sister, and the general feeling of stress she was undergoing, she was also filled with a great sense of triumph, especially when she saw the FANY transporting British soldiers to British hospitals. At last, the Corps were working for the British Army officially, a dream fulfilled.
The Convoy began its new task on January 1st, 18 members specially selected, mostly old hands. The Corps were not taking any chances. Lilian Franklin was in Command, a choice nobody ever regretted. She was always strong, fair, approachable, unflappable and above all, competent.
Add to those traits, - courage. When an ammunition dump just outside Calais blew up in the middle of the night, the FANY were immediately called upon. As usual they responded magnificently, dealing with casualties on the spot, among exploding shells and bullets. One British officer there described Franklin as 'the bravest woman he had ever seen' calmly standing for hours amid the carnage directing drivers and ambulances!
Grace was a major contender for the chance to run that convoy, given her admiration and respect for Britain's army, and the very large part she had played in finally winning an agreement. But she loved the Belgians, too, knew that without their unstinting support in the early days of the war, the FANY would have got nowhere. She was away a lot, using Lamarck and Calais mainly as a base, visiting FANY units scattered around; and fighting for a place in the British military both in France and back home.
Franklin, however, had remained static, battling away against all the problems surrounding the hospital, making it a huge success, with thousands and thousands of sick and wounded Belgian troops passing through their hands. She knew all the FANYs there, they knew her. Not only that, but she had a good working relationship with the British authorities in the town.
Grace decided that she would stay with her Belgians, a decision neither she nor the Belgians ever regretted; Franklin took over the English convoy, and went from strength to strength, eventually becoming Commandant of the Corps in 1920 and being awarded the MBE.
Her decision made, all doubts Grace had, cleared, and she was once more back in the saddle. She swept around inspecting FANY units and reassuring herself that all was well. As one of the FANYs in charge of a unit near the Front Line put it: "Whenever Mac [Grace] pays a visit, things always get more lively!" There's little doubt about that.
It was all going too well.
On a trip to Boulogne on the 27th January, the bubble burst. Grace's world came to an end. A telegram caught up with her. It read:
'Billy has been killed in action. Please come home.'