Caring on the home front

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Fundraising

The Duke of Gloucester’s Appeal for the Red Cross and St. John Fund opened on 9 September 1939, and was closed on 30 June 1945. More than £54 million was raised – at that time the largest charitable fund ever raised in Britain.
During the First World War, the two organisations had raised nearly £20 million. Since then, there had been steep rises in income tax, estate and death duties, which meant that large donations from the upper classes were less likely.

On the other hand, the country as a whole was wealthier, while the wealth was more generally distributed. The decision was to rely on small contributions from wage earners and particular sections of the community.

The aim of all of the funds set up by the Joint War Organisation was “to furnish aid to the sick and wounded, to all prisoners of war, and to civilians needing relief as the result of enemy action.”
At the close of the appeal, an editorial in The Times said: “The achievement is magnificent testimony to the vitality of the long British tradition of voluntary service…[and] it could have only have been done by a sustained effort of the whole people.”