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