 In July 1917 Hornung 's poem , " Wooden Crosses " , was published in The Times , and in September , " Bond and Free " appeared . Towards the end of the year , he was accepted as a volunteer in a YMCA canteen and library " a short distance behind the Front Line " . During his service in <unk> , in February 1918 he borrowed a staff car from a friend and visited his son 's grave near Ypres , before returning to the library in <unk> . Hornung was concerned about support for <unk> among troops , and wrote to his wife about it . When she spoke to Doyle about the matter , rather than discussing it with Hornung he informed the military authorities . Hornung was angered by Doyle 's action , and " told him there was no need for him to ' butt in ' except for his own ' satisfaction ' . " Relations between the two men were strained as a result . Hornung continued to work at the library until the German Spring Offensive in March overran the British positions and he was forced to retreat , firstly to Amiens and then , in April , back to England . He stayed in England until November 1918 , when he again took up his YMCA duties , establishing a rest <unk> and library in <unk> . In 1919 Hornung 's account of his time spent in France , Notes of a Camp @-@ <unk> on the Western Front , was published . Doyle later wrote of the book that " there are parts of it which are brilliant in their vivid portrayal " , while Hornung 's biographer , Alison Cox , described the book as " one of the best records of the war as experienced on the front lines " . That year Hornung also published his third and final volume of poetry , The Young Guard . 
