Abstract
After the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, the British government’s call to arms caused a moral and religious dilemma for members of the Religious Society of Friends (Friends or Quakers), whose fundamental principle was (and is) the rejection of war and violence. Many Friends sought means of reconciling their duty to God with their duty to their country, and the prospect of helping to alleviate the suffering of the civilian victims of the fighting provided them with an acceptable alternative. Together with fellow Friend T. Edmund Harvey MP, Dr Hilda Clark set about rallying the support of Friends and sympathisers willing to go out to France to administer humanitarian aid to non-combatants. The committee adopted the name used by the distinguished organisation that had administered relief in the Franco-Prussian War—the Friends’ War Victims’ Relief Committee (FWVRC). Extensive and multifaceted aid work was carried out in much of northern France by the FWVRC’s general relief team. The following essay, however, examines more closely the medical assistance provided under the leadership of Hilda Clark. In particular, it focuses on the maternity hospital created and run by the FWVRC in Châlons-sur-Marne, which became a lasting legacy of the Friends to the people of the Marne.
Highlights
When war broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, many thousands of Britons clamoured to enlist
The committee adopted the name used by the distinguished organisation that had administered relief in the Franco-Prussian War—the Friends’ War Victims’ Relief Committee (FWVRC)
It focuses on the maternity hospital created and run by the FWVRC in Châlons-sur-Marne, which became a lasting legacy of the Friends to the people of the Marne
Summary
When war broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, many thousands of Britons clamoured to enlist. The Friends joined forces with organisations such as the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the War Relief Commission (WRC), organising voluntary assistance on a massive scale to supplement government aid for the refugees.. The Friends joined forces with organisations such as the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the War Relief Commission (WRC), organising voluntary assistance on a massive scale to supplement government aid for the refugees.5 The presence of these first refugees to reach Britain highlighted the plight of the many thousands more homeless civilians trapped in the war zones. Pye became a member of the Religious Society of Friends and would, alongside Clark, dedicate her life to helping those in need, women and infants suffering in the wake of destruction wreaked by war They would begin that work, as we shall see, in wartime France. The Meeting for Sufferings gave the proposal its full approval, and a committee was appointed to get the work underway. The committee adopted the name used by the distinguished organisation that had administered relief in the Franco-Prussian War—the Friends’ War Victims’ Relief Committee (FWVRC)
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