Thursday 25 February 2016

Organising Comforts in Denbighshire

From the Denbighshire Free Press, 19th February 1916.

DENBIGHSHIRE COUNTY COMFORTS ASSOCIATION 


This Association has now work parties under official War Office recognition working in every district of Denbighshire.  Several War Office requisitions have lately been received and executed.  Since the beginning of the year alone over 2300 mufflers and 1100 pairs of mittens have been made and sent out to the troops in France.  They reach the troops promptly, and every consignment has been safely received and acknowledged.  Letters have been received from some of the men who received them expressing their warm gratitude.  It must be remembered that these comforts all go to the men who really need them - men who either because they are separated from their units by the exigencies of duty or because they have no special friend to send them things are without the comforts that some regiments have a superfluity of.  Depots for the sale of wool at wholesale prices and for the collection of comforts have been established at Ruthin, Wrexham, Denbigh, and Colwyn Bay.  The Denbigh depot is open at the Drill Hall, Denbigh, every Saturday, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Work parties who join this association are able to continue working for any local unit of the troops or for local men, but are also encouraged to work for the army as a whole by a grant from the association for all comforts sent to the association depots.  Particulars as to this may be obtained from the Hon Secretary, The Cloisters, Ruthin.

At present the association is occupied on an urgent requisition for hospital supplies, and the War Office has intimated that during the spring and summer such supplies will be asked for in large quantities.  Articles especially needed at the present time are (for the fighting forces), mufflers, mittens and headgear; military hospitals, bed jackets, bed socks, dressing gowns, helpless case bed jackets, hospital bags, pyjamas, pneumonia jackets, nightingales, carpet slippers, and, most perhaps of all, operation stockings.  Many tailed bandages and swabs would be also acceptable.

Articles will also be accepted for the Allies, and these will be sent out at Government expense.  Almost any articles will be accepted for this purpose.

All the above will be gladly accepted at any of the depots above named.

[The County Association was evidently working as Sir Edward Ward intended, making comforts for the central pool, as requisitioned by the War Office.  It's interesting that work parties were still allowed to continue to make items for any unit of individuals that they had a particular interest in, but the inducement to work for the County Association and hence the central pool was that they would then receive a grant from the association - whether in money or materials,  is not clear.]       

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