Evening star., 1942-04-12
British Red Cross Responds
to Coll of War
By Frederic J. Hdsktn.

While the American Red Cross Is busy
sending aid of various kinds to war
stricken countries, the British Red Gross
only recently has had the time to tell q
part Of its story Of helpfulness and
heroism during the frightful days Of
1910 and 1941. 1t Is another great chap
ter In the history Of the Red Cross, this
humanitarian organiZation n known
throughout the world.
With the war In its third year, there
are now more than l30, 900 people, other
than knitting and sewing parties, giving
their time in various degrees and ii
many capacities to the British Red Cross.
And up to the present more than $685.
10000 has been subscribed to the or
ganization by the British people and
their friends.
The Red Cross Is international, and the
organization Of national Red Cross diff
fers very little in the various countries.
The American Red Cross, for example,
has similar aims and parallel organi-
zation to the British. The work of the
organization is fundamentally the same
in every country.
When war starts, the duties Of the
Red Cross are complex and perplexing
to the general public, which finds itself
asked for donations for a whole variety
Of organizations, some Of which, at first
glance, seem to overlap the objectives Of
the, senior body. Actually the scope of
the Red Cross is clearly defined. 1t deals
exclusively with rendering aid to the
sick and the wounded, and giving atten-
ton to prisoners.
With the nature Of war wholly
changed from what it was in 1914, the
tasks the Red Cross are called upon to
perform have been enlarged to include
civilians who fall victims to air raids,
Already number of Red Cross workers
In Britain have been decorated for their
bravery under bombing.
Almost as soon as the war began the
King placed Saint James Palace and
other important and historical places
at the disposal of the British Red Cross.
1t is in Saint James Palace, so intimately
and memorably associated with the
ceremonial Of British diplomacy, that
the organization now works. The large
banqueting hall where Kings TRADITIONAL
ly entertain the night before corona
ton, was soon Uttered with piles of CLOTH
ing ready for dispatch to the first British
prisoners OF war.
In Britain, the Red Cross is directly
linked to sister organization. the Order
of Saint John, whose thousands of mem
bers provide voluntary ambulance and
flrst-aid service on q nationwide scale
in peace as in war. Men of the Saint
Johns Ambulance Brigade were on duty
throughout the big air raids, and in
many less spectacular ways rendered
valuable and humanitarian service. One
OF the tasks they Immediately undertook
was the provision of a mobile link be-
tween rescue vessels and receiving hos
pitals, after seamen and civilians had
been rescued from enemy action at sea.
Fifst-aid and catering facilities were
established at all key ports with ambu-
lance drivers ready to take survivors i'm
mediately to hospitals.
Most of the voluntary work done for
the British Red Cross is less obvious
Much of it consists Of placid knitting and
work parties organized by the women in
distant rural areas. These work parties
consume something like 100000 yards
OF material year, devoting their leisure
to cutting and rolling bandages, knitting,
and similar tasks. Throughout the Brit
1sh Isles more than 250,o00 women are
connected with the 5000 work parties
Blitzkrieg inevitably brings new and
complicated problems and the British
Red Cross lost much valuable material.
including several ambulances, in the
retreat from Dunkirk Immediately after
the evacuation, with the subsequent COM
pllcations of the fall of France and the
German occupation of the Channel is
lands, the organization was flooded with
requests for information from relatives
of missing men, from people whose rela-
tions were resident in France. and from
people connected with the Channel is
lands There were literally tens of
thousands OF these requests, but gradu-
ally contact was established with the
missing men, who were traced to hos
pitaS or prison camps, or in the case OF
missing relatives. to different parts of
divided France.
Then came the air war on Britain with
new problems for the organization,
which, incidentally, had its headquarters
bombed. In dozens of unspectacular
ways 1t helped during the nightly at
tacks on the big cities. Maternity hos
pitfalls were established in the country,
first-aid posts were manned and kept
manned. and X-ray mobile units moved
out from London to Coventry immedi-
ately after the news came through Of
the attack on that city. Thousands Of
wounded were tended by the nationwide
network Of first-aid posts and after the
raids ceased the Red Cross announced
that 50 members of its detachments had
been killed since the war began. Only
few days earlier 1t had recorded the fact
that, since the fall Of France. 1t had de.
livered to the post office l.75o,0oo par.
GELS of all kinds for prisoners Of war.
Britain's Red Cross has what is known
as the Distinguished War Service Certifi-
cate, which is awarded to members for
gallantry. So far in the present war So
members have been recommended for
this high honor. Something of the
heroism Of these gallant souls who have
won the awards Is offered In q current
report. Three nurses on duty during a
bombing went to the rescue Of the occu-
pants of blasted cottage, rescued crit
ically injured woman, took her to an
other cottage, but a few minutes later
that was bombed and the woman killed
instantly. One Of the nurses was also