 The latter had, at her own expense, also set up a hospital for the French army in July 1915 (l'Hôpital Chirugical Mobile No 1); now she wanted to help during the new conflict.Mary had close ties with France – it was while her unit was on the Somme in 1916 that she met Captain Edward Louis Spears, a British liaison officer attached to the French army.He was subsequently promoted to a General Staff Officer 1st Grade, liaising between the French Ministry of War and the War Office in London.