Monday 24 October 2016

The Winter Campaign – Appeal for Comforts.


From The Times, Tuesday October 24, 1916.

THE WINTER CAMPAIGN.

AN APPEAL BY THE QUEEN FOR "COMFORTS."

We have received the following letter which the Queen has written, appealing for continued support for her Needlework Guild, which has done so much for the comfort of soldiers and sailors:—
Buckingham Palace, Oct. 24.
On the threshold of the third winter since the beginning of the war, I appeal to all those who have generously responded to my requests for work during the past two years not to relax their efforts in providing comforts for our soldiers and sailors.
Though applications from regiments and hospitals at home and abroad increase instead of diminish, and an almost unlimited number of things are needed if the Queen Mary's Needlework Guild is to meet all the demands made upon it.
As Sir Edward Ward has recently pointed out, the chief needs at the present moment are mittens, mufflers, helmets, socks, gloves, and cardigans; and my Guild is also being specially asked for pyjamas, day-shirts, bed-jackets, blankets, and sheets.
I wish to take this opportunity of thanking again the many workers in many lands who have so kindly contributed to the splendid total of 3,990,784 garments, which have been sent out in 26 months from Friary Court.
MARY R.

We are informed that of the 3,990,784 articles sent out by the Guild, about 650,000 have been supplied to regiments in France, 600,000 to hospitals at home, 1,750,000 to hospitals abroad, and the rest to the forces in Africa, the Allied Forces, prisoners in Germany, and various organizations for helping women and children at home. Of these articles, over 2,600,000 were bandages, splints, and other surgical requisites. The following are the numbers of “comforts” which have been supplied by the Guild up to October 21, and which bring the total to the figure mentioned in the Queen's letter:—


Bed-jackets
20,561
Jerseys
17,355
Pillows
13,417
Nightshirts
30,124
Belts
137,270
Nightingales
6,281
Blankets ..
8,650
Operation gowns
22,221
Cloth clothes and caps ..
9,048
Pillow-cases
31,884
Pyjamas
30,034
Comforters     ..
94,238
Socks
371,802
Day-shirts
116,044
Sheets
9,990
Pants
30,031
Slippers
11,517
Dressing-gowns
4,384
Towels
26,635
Handkerchiefs
93,530
Vests
35,438
Helmets       
44,240
Various
156,420

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