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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0669.PDF
JotY 5. 1917- I/LIGHT1 THE ROYAL FLYING CORPS AID COMMITTEE. •LADY HENDERSON, in opening the meeting of the Royal- Flying Corps Aid Committee on July 2nd, dealt with the Committee's work during the past year, and emphasised the importance of the coffers of the fund being full before the cold weather sets in. Since the start Lady Henderson said they had collected over ^27,000, and the number of men to provide for had now reached well x>ver 20,000. They still •continued the small individual parcels, sending to each man in Mesopotamia, Africa, Salonika, Egypt and India every six weeks. The men in France, it was reckoned, got one every two months. With these they went the round of all the wings, starting with headquarters. In addition to the small parcels, they had sent out in bulk the following articles, for which requisitions had been received:—Rubber boots, 1,891 pairs; oilskins, 1,243; canvas shoes, 357 pairs; hedger gloves, 69 pairs; sou'- westers, 300; mufflers, 3,954; cardigans, 1,818; socks, 10,129 pairs; mittens, 3,028 pairs; helmets, 1,162; foot- balls, 216 ; vests, 500 ; shirts, 888 ; pants, 344 pairs ; cigarettes, 1,002,620 ; gramophones, 25 (12 records to each) ; and 78,856 parcels. Lady Henderson said that in November last, with the assistance of Mr. W. M. Letts, of the Crossley Motor Co., she was able to meet the chairmen of many firms who are interested in the manufacture of aeroplanes. Mr. White Smith, Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Con- structors, Ltd., and four other gentlemen had volunteered to form a small committee to draw up an appeal for a fund which was to be divided equally between the R.F.C. ..and the R.N.A.S. unless the sum sent was especially ear-marked for either service. As a result of this appeal just over £4,000 was received, for which most grateful thanks are due to them. It has enabled the fund to carry on its work during the last six months, which could not have been done without this help. The fund was now closing for the summer months, «xcept of course the prisoners' department, but if funds were forthcoming they hoped to open again in September. It should be realised that it is during the winter that the bulk of the things are needed, especially in the outlying stations, where the small parcels are a real necessity (besides being a small excitement), as it is impossible, owing to con- tinuous work, for the men to get to t he canteens, which aresome distance otf. Lady Henderson mentioned a few names of those who have given many generous gifts and also their valuable advice and help, without which it would have been very difficult to carry on the work, including Messrs. Coates, of Paisley, and their employees ; Messrs. Euing, of Liverpool; Cadbury Bros., Messrs. Morton ; Mr. Jameson, of Messrs. Booth and Jameson ; Mr. Milledge, of Lewisham ; and the messenger girls at the Air Ministry (known as the " Brown Girls ") have knitted a large quantity of socks in their spare moments between running messages ; and others, too numerous to mention, have sent gifts and helped in many ways. In September, 1915, the work was extended to our prisoners of war, officers, non-commissioned officers and air-mechanics. When the new regulations came into force the Committee became the Registered Care Committee for all R.F.C. prisoners, which necessitated having an entirely separate branch. In the work for the R.F.C. prisoners there are two objects— one is to send the prisoner as many of the things he wants as possible, the other is to assist his relations and friends in any way we can. A parcel of food is sent off directly a new prisoner's address reaches the office, and if the next of kin are abroad the parcels are continued every week until other instructions are received. Parcels sent direct from home arrive safely if they are strongly packed, but since many parcels fall to pieces even before they reach Surrey House, it is easy^to understand why prisoners often complain that they do not get their home parcels. Lady Henderson pointed out that the R.F.C. Aid Com- mittee at present are the only aid committee that packs for officers, and they make a point of trying to send them things they particularly ask for, instead of dealing out uniform standard parcels. If any relatives are only able to send their son a small parcel, the Committee add to it, and that is one reason why they need subscriptions to their fund. If the prisoner is a non-commissioned officer or an air- mechanic the procedure is much the same, except that The co-operation of German Air-Raiders with Hun U-Boats A German pilot going aboard a U-boat from his seaplane. 669 * , F 2
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