WINTER COMFORTS FOR SOLDIERS.
READY RESPONSE TO THE QUEEN'S APPEAL.
To have seen our troops in France, to have experienced personally some of the conditions in which they are carrying on this tremendous struggle -- the long, chill nights, the bitter rain-storms, the weary marches over rough country— is to have realized the supreme importance of warm and comfortable clothing. Well clad in this war is forearmed in the truest sense.
The gift of socks and belts to the troops at the front from the Queen and the women of the Empire which is now being organized is therefore a very important factor in the general scheme of efficiency. Than warm woollen socks and a well-knitted belt it is impossible to imagine greater aids to a soldier's personal comfort and sense of well-being. For it is notorious that the saving of “footwear” effected by means of the former ensures a real increase of fighting and marching value, while the protection from chills conferred by the latter may well be the means of saving valuable lives.
....From all quarters gifts in kind and in money have poured in to Devonshire House, and the fund stood yesterday at £14,000.... Of this sum a considerable part has been allocated to Ireland to provide employment in that country, and sums have likewise been allocated to Scotland and Wales. Thus, not only are our soldiers being helped, but work is being given to those who may have lost their means of livelihood on account of the war. A number of Scottish fisher girls, for example, have been employed and a large order has been placed with the Work for Women's Society.
[I would think that not getting shot at or shelled would be a greater aid to "a soldier's personal comfort and sense of well-being", but perhaps I'm just being picky.
This was written only a week after the appeal was launched, so the progress is impressive. Scottish fisher girls whose normal employment has been lost due to the war have been mentioned in an earlier post here.]
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