Welcome to British Red Cross and St John Ambulance



	VAD ANNIE GADD, Birmingham , SJA, VADs Grace under pressure Annie Gadd of Birmingham saw it all: her father's reaction to the Coventry bombing, shell-shocked soldiers at the nerve hospital, and early blood transfusions. As a VAD in a city at risk, Annie not only had to learn how to nurse, but to do it gracefully under pressure. Link ---------- KATHLEEN HOWARD, Nottingham , BRC, VADs Routine but vital Kathleen Howard was in a reserved occupation in Nottingham , She worked full-time at Boots but managed to volunteer as an Immobile VAD at the local hospital. Kathleen's duties uncluded polishing floors, giving ‘blanket baths', and emptying bedpans. It was routine work perhaps, but vital to the war effort. Link ---------- MILDRED BRETT, Oxfordshire/Southampton, SJA, VADs A born nurse finds her way Mildred Brett grew up hungry. But at 17 her luck changed. She joined St. John Ambulance, excelled in the hospital operating theatres, and nursed soldiers back to health. After the war Mildred went on to become a State Registered Nurse and received an MBE; she'd found her way. Link ---------- NORMA HANSON, Huddersfield, BRC, VADs A young nurse finds adventure Norma Hanson wanted to help out and go places. As a young naval VAD, she boarded a train bound for Plymouth. From there she transferred on to Portsmouth, Liverpool, and then overseas. Throughout Norma nursed patients, made friends, met her husband, and found adventure far from home. Link ---------- JOAN HOLGATE, Staffordshire, BRC, VADs Family ties bind Joan Holgate's father tried to protect her from the war. When she joined the Red Cross and was posted to Staffordshire, they had to say goodbye. Transferred to Portsmouth, she moved farther away from home. But family ties bind, and in tragedy Joan and her father found solace in each other. Link ---------- JUDY STOKES, Hampshire, BRC, VADs Pioneering plastic surgery Judy Stokes found herself scrubbing up alongside the pioneers of plastic surgery. Hampshire received thousands of soldiers burned by the fires of war. VAD nurses treated skin grafts—and healed broken hearts. Nurses like Judy reassured the country that loyal compassion could heal the scars of war. Link ---------- Air Raids EVELYN BRISTOR, London, SJA, Civil Defence A life of their own underground Evelyn Bristor provided First Aid services in the most legendary of air raid shelters: the London Underground. With other staff, she slept on the platform, supervised the nightly arrival of ‘food trains', and calmed people as the bombs fell. Evelyn witnessed Londoners creating a life of their own underground. Link ---------- CLARE LERNER, London, SJA, Civil Defence For a night's rest Clare Lerner started as a First Aider in the East End. Bombs fell, walls crumbled, and Clare barely slept. The experience inspired her to co-found the Country Hospitality Scheme. Such a scheme allowed First Aiders like Clare to relax in the countryside for a weekend, and to return to London refreshed. Link ---------- MARY GLASGOW, Glasgow, BRC, Air Raids To the cheers of Royalty Mary Glasgow did not expect to enjoy it. But the First Aid lectures inspired her. She ‘swotted' on the bus home, studying bone structure and muscle groups. Her efforts paid off. At a First Aid drill show, Mary's team impressed the Queen, proving that Glasgow was ready to defend the Isles. Link ---------- JACK HUNTER, London, BRC, Civil Defence ‘Hello Doc!' Jack Hunter built ships on the Suffolk coast. Once war began, his local Red Cross detachment collapsed. So Jack found other ways of continuing his First Aid training. When the London docks needed carpenters, his firm sent him. And when the docks needed a First Aider, Jack was again on the job. Link ---------- St. John Ambulance men, England, Civil Defence ‘Everybody's got to go' St. John Ambulance men instructed their fellow citizens in air raid precaution. By the time Britain declared war, people all over the country knew what to do. In the Blitz, Ambulance men—despite depleted numbers—led stretcher parties and ambulance convoys. On the home front, the men gave their all to defend and care for civilians. Link ---------- BETTY POPKISS (nee Quinn), Coventry, SJA, Air Raids ‘I dug with my hands' Betty Popkiss had just finished school when she joined St. John Ambulance. On October 19,1940, she called into the ARP post near her Coventry home. That night, Coventry suffered a second Blitz. When a family's Anderson shelter took a direct hit, Betty began to dig them out with her hands. Link ---------- Youth and Cadets ANNE WISLA, London, SJA, Cadet For her new country Anne Wisla escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 and found shelter in London. She became fluent in English and a dedicated St. John Cadet. A refugee knew better than anyone what England was fighting for. With the Cadets, Anne learnt ARP and anti-gas, willing victory for her new country. Link ---------- JOHN SMITH, Surrey, SJA, Cadet In the band John Smith's friends convinced him to join St. John Ambulance. They promised a bugle band and parades. To his dismay, Cadets meant not only learning about the bugle, but First Aid as well! But after a shaky start, John's participation in the band grew into a lifelong performance for St. John. Link ---------- YVONNE ALBON, Ipswich, SJA, Cadet The Library Service Yvonne Albon's fingers put the books back together. As an Ipswich Cadet, she volunteered for the Hospital Library Service, repairing books that entertained Allied troops. The Service provided normalcy for soldiers. Mysteries proved especially popular, as Yvonne's hands came to know well. Link ---------- RON DAVIS, London, SJA, Cadet Ron Davis' Cadet uniform gave him a sense of bravery. It also gave him a duty. On a summer day, he walked home in uniform. A Flying Bomb spoilt the peace, its force destroying nearby homes. Childhood curiosity almost overtook Ron, until his uniform reminded him that duty must come first. Link ---------- AUDREY LEWIS, ROTHERHAM, BRC, Youth/Fundraising Never stopped singing Audrey Lewis and her young friends put on quite a show. With all the optimism of youth, they sang and danced to raise funds for the Red Cross. Concerts in the garden led to 14-shilling profits. And though life was hard, Audrey never stopped singing her signature song, ‘We'll Gather Lilacs in the Spring Again'. Link ---------- PATRICK DICKINSON, Hove, BRC, Volunteer Fetching and carrying Patrick Dickinson knew how to keep himself busy during school holidays. With his neighbour's husband imprisoned in Germany, he signed up to help pack POW parcels near Brighton. With a trolley and lift, Patrick fetched and carried, seeing the parcels from empty box to much-welcome POW feast. Link ---------- Welfare Work STEVE KING, DERBYSHIRE, SJA, Welfare That high in my life Steve King had stayed in Derby for much of his life. So had Olive Nanson and Mavis Burton. But war moves people, and the three volunteered to escort British soldiers from Derby to hospitals nearer the boys' homes. For Steve, the journey satisfied a desire to help and a search for new perspectives. Link ---------- KATHLEEN THOMAS, Liverpool, SJA, Welfare Remained on duty Kathleen Thomas of Liverpool spent nights on duty, at a First Aid post and in a casualty ward. With the city menaced by bombs, she sacrificed her safety to provide comfort and a brave face. Even when neighbours arrived, reporting of great loss, Kathleen pushed aside her own fears to remain on duty. Link ---------- HELEN OWEN, HULL, BRC, Welfare They arrived, tired and lousy Helen Owen presided over the provision of first aid in Boston upon the arrival of young evacuees from Hull. Expecting knee scrapes, she found herself scrubbing down the children, the carriers of many louse. Helen's task was repeated all over England, an initiation that evacuees still remember today. Link ---------- ALFRED LE MONNIER, JERSEY, SJA, Welfare To St. Malo Alfred Le Monnier remembers the days of the German Occupation of Jersey. He also remembers the nights. St. John Ambulance members kept midnight hours: nursing at hospitals and guarding precious food stores. One task Alfred will never forget is the night he escorted British deportees to St. Malo. Link ---------- CONNIE ROBINSON, HAMPSHIRE, BRC, Welfare Meeting of the ages Connie Robinson and Lillian Barron tended to the elderly during WWII. As the war put the younger generation's courage in the spotlight, the witnesses of earlier wars entered their twilight years. Connie and Lillian made sure life went on for them, showing interest in and care for yesterday's heroes. Link ---------- SHEILA GROSSMAN, LONDON, BRC, Welfare To the States and to Canada Sheila Grossman saw many English ladies off at Liverpool. Her train then went back to London, the ladies' ship to America. Summer 1945: London was damaged, recovering, familiar. America was intact, budding, unknown. War's end meant a new journey for all British women, no matter the geography. Link ---------- Wounded & Missing, and POW's GLADYS VENNER, LONDON, BRC, POW Children The Christmas Party Gladys Venner decked the Town Hall of Hammersmith one wartime Christmas for a special children's party. With their mothers in tow, the young guests streamed into the party, eager for tea and a treat from Father Christmas. With their real fathers in camps, children and mums thanked Gladys and co. for restoring their yuletide spirits. Link ---------- ZELDA DUNLOP, WINDSOR, BRC, POWs These chaps come back Zelda Dunlop gave a warm homecoming to liberated POWs who were not, in fact, home at all. Queens Mead House in Windsor provided provisional quarters for ex-POWs from the far reaches of the British Empire. Liberated but not yet home, the men found freedom at the House and a friend in Zelda. Link ---------- Parcel Packing Centre, HOVE, BRC, Parcels They need food The volunteers lifted, looped, pulled, and knotted. As ‘stringers' at a packing centre in Hove, they secured the parcels that held vital foodstuffs for POWs and refugees. Following the ‘filling' and ‘packing' stages, the stringers rounded out an efficient system. 4000 parcels were strung weekly. But like numbers, spirits ran high as well. Link ---------- DOUGLAS ISHERWOOD, JERSEY, SJA, Food Parcels Restoring hope and health Douglas Isherwood remembers how Jersey suffered under the German Occupation. St. John Ambulance did its best to cope. And then, relief arrived. The SS Vega arrived December 1944 bearing food parcels, and Douglas spent the next months restoring hope and health in Jersey homes. Link ---------- JULIA DRAPER, LONDON, BRC, Welfare Missing relatives Julia Draper's work put families back together. In the Tracing Department, she received requests from civilians for information on missing relatives. The International Red Cross in Geneva communicated between countries. Through Geneva, Julia tried her level best to reunite families across borders and alliances. Link ---------- Fundraising VIOLET RYDER, Cambridge, BRC, Fundraising Cambridge to Minsk relief fund Violet Ryder worked magic with a tin can. At work in Cambridge, she collected for the JWO war effort during her breaks. Her neighbours also gave willingly to the cause. From Guildhall bazaars to garden parties, for Spitfires and food for Russia, Violet raised essential money and awareness. Link ---------- LILLIAN BARRON, Hammersmith, BRC, Fundraising Penny a week Lillian Barron knew how much the Penny-a-Week fund could help. She had seen her countrymen—and her brothers—off to war. Penny-a-Week was collected either house-to-house or deducted from weekly salaries. Lillian covered the Guinness Trust housing estate, where residents gave generously. Link ---------- KATHLEEN THOMAS, Liverpool, SJA, Fundraising Money into the apron Kathleen Thomas walked all over Liverpool collecting donations for prisoners of war. Pubs proved especially good places to visit. She recalls one day at the Philharmonic, when pub regulars gave more than her tin could hold. So Kathleen gamely strode the countertop, gathering money in her skirt and cap. Link ---------- EDNA HINDLE, Nottingham, SJA, Fundraising A new ambulance Edna Hindle's St. John Division in Nottingham joined together to fundraise for a much-needed ambulance during the war. People gave generously and the Division managed to buy a sparkling new ambulance. With pride Edna witnessed the ambulance's unveiling, attended by HRH Princess Marina. Link ---------- SYLVIA LEPPARD, Hampshire, JWO, Fundraising Accounts and potatoes Sylvia Leppard supported herself by ensuring that POWs themselves received support. She kept accounts at the Fund's offices near Basingstoke. Her family understood that POWs needed help. At the office she worked for Britain's POWs overseas; at home Sylvia earned alongside German POWs. Link ---------- Children throughout the UK, JWO, Fundraising Junior-sized collectors Children throughout the country grew up quickly during WWII. War affected home life, the school calendar, and playtime. Many children became involved in the war effort and often joined their parents in fundraising for St. John and the British Red Cross. Here are just a few stories of the children's war effort. Link