The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918, Vol. 3 of 3

by Frederick Ponsonby

CHAPTER XL

REGIMENTAL FUNDS AND ASSOCIATIONS

Regimental Funds and Associations.

"Grenadiers look after themselves" has become an accepted axiom not only in war but also in peace time. A short time before the commencement of the war the Old Comrades Association was instituted under the auspices of Colonel Scott-Kerr, who commanded the Regiment at that time, and its object was to ensure that no Grenadier after he had left the Regiment was ever in want. This Association proved a great success, and although two years' service was a necessary qualification for membership, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who joined soon rose to a considerable number.

Another tradition in the Regiment was that those who remained behind should look after those who went to fight. In the South African war especially the custom of sending out comforts to the Battalions in the field was brought to a pitch of perfection, and during the two years that campaign lasted the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were well provided for. When the war broke out in 1914, the first care of the regimental authorities was to see that the men in the Expeditionary Force wanted for nothing, and also that their families were adequately provided for. Colonel Gordon-Gilmour, who was temporarily in command of the Regiment in August 1914, came to the conclusion that the mass of routine work was as much as the Regimental Orderly Room could cope with, and that if a Comforts Fund was to be a success, it would be necessary to invoke the aid of an old officer. He therefore asked Major-General Sir Reginald Thynne (an old Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion) to undertake the arduous task. At that time all existing organisations were being strained to their utmost to cope with the vast numbers of men who were flocking to the army.

As soon as Sir Reginald Thynne grasped the immensity of the task he had undertaken, he sent round an appeal to all officers past and present, and raised a substantial sum for the initial expenses. Two funds were started: the Comforts Fund and the Families Relief Fund. The former was entirely for men at the front, and was managed by Sir Reginald Thynne himself. The latter was under the direction of Sir Reginald Thynne as Treasurer and Colonel C. Rowley as Secretary until November 1915, when Lieut.-Colonel Viscount Colville became Treasurer and Mrs. Stucley, Secretary. In September 1914 a small Committee, consisting of the wives of officers and presided over by Lady Florence Streatfeild, was formed, and the whole organisation was put on a thoroughly business-like footing, but the number of men who joined the Regiment increased with such rapidity that it was found necessary to enlarge the Committee.

The following ladies eventually formed the Committee:

Lady Ardee, the Hon. Mrs. Wilfred Smith, Mrs. Fisher-Rowe, the Hon. Mrs. Corry (who resigned later on account of illness), the Hon. Mrs. Dalrymple-White, the Hon. Mrs. Earle (who resigned later and went to Switzerland to join her husband), Mrs. Montgomerie, the Hon. Mrs. G. Legh, Mrs. Ricardo, Viscountess St. Cyres, Lady Helen Seymour, Mrs. Barrington-Kennett, Mrs. St. Leger Glyn, and Mrs. Stucley.

When the Committee first started it was decided to look after families only on the married roll, leaving the others to be dealt with by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association, to which the Regiment sent a subscription of £100; but it was found that families were so well provided for by Separation Allowances, that it was only in special cases that assistance was needed. The Committee, therefore, undertook to assist special cases, whether they were married people on the strength or not. The ladies of the Committee kept in constant touch with each family either by correspondence or by personal visit, and by degrees they were able to ensure that every case was looked after.

When the cold weather arrived, the needs of the men at the front became of paramount importance, and the wives of officers, non-commissioned officers, and men set to work to make warm mittens and hand-made socks, the wool being provided to a great extent by the Comforts Fund.

Owing to certain officers contributing large sums to the Comforts Fund, which had already been generously supported by the officers, Sir Reginald Thynne was able to send, in addition to what are called comforts, newspapers, tobacco, and cigarettes every fortnight, as well as footballs, boxing-gloves, and other things that the men love. Colonel Streatfeild also decided to supplement the appliances supplied by the War Office, and sanctioned the supply by the fund of such articles as trench periscopes, telephones, and bicycles for orderlies. Later, gramophones were provided, and when Christmas came Sir Reginald Thynne was able to send a plum-pudding to each man at the front. This necessitated 2000 plum-puddings being sent in 1914, and 4000 in 1915 and 1916, in addition to a certain number to the Grenadiers on the Brigade and Divisional Staffs. During the last two years of the war, the supply of plum-puddings for all the Expeditionary Forces was undertaken by the Director-General of Voluntary Organisations.