The Co-ordination of Effort

From The Times, 31st August, 1914.

THE CO-ORDINATION OF EFFORT.

A WEEKLY MEETING AT ST. JAMES'S PALACE.

"With the approval of her Majesty the Queen it has been arranged that a meeting of one representative of each of the Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, the St. John Ambulance Association, and the British Red Cross Society shall be held every Wednesday afternoon.... in order to ascertain what garments and articles have been received by each Society, and what are the special requirements for the following week.

"A statement will then be issued to the Press... Great confusion and much unnecessary work has been caused by unauthorized statements appearing in the Press.  The workers for all three Societies named above are earnestly requested to note that this weekly statement will be authoritative, and no attention should be paid to any others.

"Those who are so kindly giving garments to the societies are earnestly recommended to pay for the work to be done by women who would otherwise be unemployed.
....
The Societies wish to draw attention to the following matters :—

• Many questions have been asked as regards flannelette.  The Societies are not refusing garments made of this material, but flannel is greatly to be preferred.  
• Width and length of bandages should be clearly marked on each roll.  
• No helmets are required at present.  
• All socks other than bed socks must be made with heels.

The special requirements of each Society for the coming week are as follows:—
QUEEN MARY'S NEEDLEWORK GUILD.

• Cotton twill nightshirts.
• Pillowcases, 20in. by 30in.
• Handkerchiefs.
• Dressing gowns.
• Drawers.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE SOCIETY.

• Drawers.
• Vests.
• Pillowcases, 20in. by 30in. 
• Dressing gowns. 
• Towels.

THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY.

• Flannel day shirts. 
• Handkerchiefs. 
• Cardigan jackets. 
• Socks (made with heels).

[When I read this attempt to sort out the confusion over who should provide what, I thought 'about time too' - until I remembered that the country had been at war for less than a month at this point,  so it was understandable that it would take a while to get organised.

The QMNG is catering here for the sick and wounded - clearly that was always the remit of the other two societies.

Flannelette is a brushed cotton fabric, to imitate flannel (wool).  Flannel was more expensive but officially preferred - for instance, uniform shirts for the Army were made of flannel, even for summer wear (I believe).

'Helmets' means Balaclava-type helmets, either to wear on cold days or for sleeping in.

There had been several letters in the press from private individuals (for instance, here)  suggesting that socks made without heel shaping had several advantages - they would fit any size foot and would wear better, because the heel of the man's foot would not always be in the same place.  The societies reported here obviously felt that this idea should be firmly suppressed.]