And later:
"A word must be said here about the work of the Red Cross Stores. The object of the Red Cross has never been to supply in any large quantities the goods which the War Office sends to the wounded, but it does its best to provide the troops with such things as the War Office does not supply at all or cannot supply at a given time. A State Department, bound as it rightly is by hard-and-fast rules, cannot work as quickly as a private body with more elastic regulations; moreover, the supplies of any department may change at times, hence it happens that the British Red Cross occasionally supply certain things more than the War Office can, or it may supplement the War Office supplies, and it does so until the War Office steps in again. Further, the Red Cross supplies many things or small luxuries which the authorities cannot possibly supply, and these are just the things which are most appreciated by the sick and wounded."
In other words, the function of the Red Cross is to assist over and above necessity, and to be ready to act in event of emergency.
The following lists of the Australian Branch and Egyptian Branch of the British Red Cross show that in both cases, but particularly in the case of the Australian Branch, the Red Cross is supplying articles which should clearly be supplied by Government. There is considerable danger in allowing this system to become too largely developed. In the first place in the case of the Red Cross there is no rigid system of accountancy such as military regulation requires, and the natural tendency for commanders will be to get goods in the easiest possible manner; nevertheless, it may not be the best thing for the service.
The British Red Cross safeguards the practice more fully than the younger branch, and its lead might well be followed. (See Lists on pp. [212]-[216].)
AUSTRALIAN BRANCH BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY
List of Articles in Red Cross Stores which must be requisitioned for by Commanding Officers of Units for the Care of the Sick and Wounded and where there is no Red Cross Store.
1916
To the Commissioners,
Australian Branch British Red Cross Society,
Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo.Please send to ———————— the following articles:
Quantity Description
Clothing
Balaclava Caps
Cardigans
Cholera Belts
*Cushions, Air
* " Ordinary
Dressing Gowns
Facewashers
Fly Veils
Gloves
*Handkerchiefs
Mittens
*Mosquito Nets
Mufflers
*Pillows
*Pillow Slips
Pneumonia Jackets
*Pyjamas, Cotton
* " Flannel
*Quilts
*Sheets
*Shirts, Cotton
* " Flannel
* " Hospital
*Shoes, Deck
*Slippers, Hospital
*Socks
* " Bed
*Surgeons' Aprons
* " Caps
* " Gowns
* " Swabs
*Towels
* " Glass
Underpants, Cotton
" Flannel
Undershirts, Cotton
" Flannel
Foodstuffs
Allenbury's Diet
" Food
Arrowroot
Beef Extract
Benger's Food
Biscuits
Bovril
Brandy
Ceregen
Chocolate
Cocoa
Cocoa-and-Milk
Coffee Essence
Coffee-and-Milk
Condensed Milk
Cornflour
Cornina
Fruits, Dried
" Tinned
Glaxo
Horlick's M. Milk
Jam
Jelly Crystals
Lactogen
Lime Juice
Linseed Meal
Malt Extract
Oatmeal
Pickles
Plum Puddings
Port Wine
Robinson's Barley
" Groats
Semolina
Soda Water
Sweets
Tapioca
Tinned Rabbits
" Tomatoes
" Tripe
" Vegetables
General
*Absorbent Wool
*Bandages
*Bed Cradles
* " Rests
* " Screens
Books
*Brushes, Hair
* " Nail
* " Tooth
*Camp Stools
Cigarettes
*Combs
*Crutches
*Deck Chairs
Eau-de-Cologne
Envelopes
Fly Veils
Fly Whisks
Gramophone Needles
*Hospital Basins
*Hot-water Bottles
Housewives
*Insectibane
Looking-glasses
Matches
*Medicine Glasses
Old Linen
*Oil Heaters
Pencils
Periodicals
Pipes
*Primus Stoves
*Razors
*Razor Strops
*Rubber Sheeting
*Safety Pins
*Smoked Glasses
*Soap, Monkey Brand
*Soap, Shaving
* " Toilet
*Splints
*Sponges
*Tables, Folding
*Thermometers
Tobacco
*Toilet Paper
Tooth Paste
*Vaseline
Writing PadsNote A.—As a general rule the Commissioners only supply goods that cannot be obtained from either Ordnance Dept. Army Service Corps, or Base Medical Depot Stores. Any O.C. requisitioning for goods of a kind properly obtainable from those sources should state on the requisition that the goods applied for cannot be obtained from the usual source.
Note B.—Regimental Medical Officers can obtain their requirements from the O.C. of the nearest Field Ambulance, who will forward requisitions to Red Cross.
————————————
Officer in charge of Hospital.[All the articles marked * were permanent Government issues, and any of the foodstuffs would have been supplied by Government if necessary. There was no practical difficulty in obtaining any articles from Government on proper application being made.]
BRITISH RED CROSS AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN
No. of Patients ———— For the Use of Patients
List of Articles in Red Cross Stores which may be
Requisitioned for.————191
To the Commissioner,
British Red Cross and Order of St. John
Gresham Buildings, Cairo.Please send to ———————— the following articles:
Items marked— A.S.C. (Army Service Corps), O.D. (Ordnance Dept.), B.D.M.S. (Base Depot Medical Stores), will only be provided by the British Red Cross on the understanding that the Military Departments have been applied to and cannot supply, or that it is a case of grave or unexpected emergency. Such a demand to be supported by signature of O.C. Hospital, which implies he has indented on the department concerned and failed to obtain.
N.B.—All indents to be countersigned by the O.C. Hospital.