Shortly before he left the United States , in January of 1918 , he re-wrote and re-titled Urbs Dei , after making big changes to the first verse to talk more about the huge losses that British soldiers were having in the war years . Shortly before his departure from the US in January 1918 , he re-wrote and renamed Urbs Dei , significantly altering the first verse to concentrate on the huge losses suffered by British soldiers during the intervening years .