Wednesday 19 November 2014

Winter Clothing for Soldiers

From the Glasgow Herald, 18th November 1914


COMFORTS FOR TROOPS

For Indian Soldiers. – Mrs. Steel, the novelist, makes an earnest appeal to Scotsmen and women to aid her Indian Soldiers’ Comforts Fund.  Under her supervision warm garments of all sorts are made up from correct native patterns by out-of-work business women, who are paid for their labour, thus benefiting a section of the community who have been very hard hit by the war, as well as supplying comforts to our Indian troops.  Donations, no matter how small, will be gratefully received by Mrs. Steel at 12 Henrietta Street, Strand, London.

Socks for the Territorials.—The committee of the organisation for the supply of socks to the Edinburgh and Leith Territorials has issued an interim report... The work continued to progress with great vigour, and on October 24 it was announced that no fewer than 16,583 pairs of socks had been sent in. ....The total number of socks to date [is] up to almost 20,000 pairs.....  As the demand for wool was greater than the supply, the work was by no means finished.  Constant appeals were being made by commanding officers for socks for their battalions, and as winter advances more supplies would be required.

 Gloves Wanted. – Fighting a ding-dong battle in a blizzard is a severe test of our soldiers’ endurance.  The additional warmth of a pair of woollen gloves will make all the difference in the fighting capacity of each man.  Of the £25,000 required to provide the entire British Expeditionary Force with these comforts, nearly £7000 has been subscribed, and an earnest and urgent appeal is made to the public for the remainder.  Fifty thousand gloves and mittens have been despatched already.  All letters and parcels should be addressed to the Grand Duke Michael, 39 Portland Place, London, W.

[Mrs Steel is presumably Flora Annie Steel, who wrote novels set in India, having lived there for many years.  

Who was the Grand Duke Michael, and why was he collecting gloves for the British Army?  I have no idea.] 

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