Saving lives across the world
Normandy landings and carried 1,013,076 casualties and patients over a distance covering 9,142,621 miles.
They also helped people desperately seeking information about relatives serving in the armed forces who had been reported missing or wounded. Food parcels and even activity packs, containing sports equipment, were sent to British prisoners of war.
More than 100,000 food parcels were sent to the German-occupied Channel Islands and Red Cross doctors and medical staff were on hand to help survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was his wife Clementine’s first customer when she held a Red Cross flag day outside Number 10 Downing Street in 1941, while American troops in London were treated to a taste of home the same year as doughnuts were served up to those stationed in the Britain.
After the war, French fashion designer Christian Dior travelled from Paris to England to attend his 1954 fashion parade at Blenheim Palace in aid of the British Red Cross and Dior designer Yves Saint Laurent also showcased his collection at the same venue in 1958 to raise money for them.
The work has continued over the years. Red Cross cadets packed emergency bags containing soap, flannels and toys which were sent to Yugoslavia for child victims of the 1963 earthquake, while conductor Andre Previn was on hand in 1975 to launch the British Red Cross appeal to help an estimated two million refugees in Vietnam and Cambodia and Princess Diana visited the Red Cross headquarters in Kathmandu in Nepal in 1993 to see their work first hand.
Volunteers are now working in communities across the country to support those made most vulnerable by the coronavirus outbreak.
They have been involved in everything from food distributions to ambulance support and welfare checks and a free phone support line on 0808 196 3651 has been set up to help people facing a range of issues due to the pandemic and lockdown.
Norman McKinley, British Red Cross executive director of UK operations said: “Having someone on the end of the phone when you feel most alone can be a lifeline in times like this.”