British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 10,500 volunteers and 3,500 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death in 2022, and was replaced by her successor King Charles III, who previously served as president between 2003 and 2024.
In the year ending December 2023, the charity's income was £331million, which included £32M from government contracts and £34M from government grants. Total expenditure was £323M, of which £246M of its income delivering its charitable activities.
Guiding ethos
The mission of the British Red Cross is to mobilise the power of humanity so that individuals and communities can prepare for, deal with and recover from a crisis, summed up by the strapline 'refusing to ignore people in crisis'. In fulfilling this mission, all volunteers and staff must abide by the seven fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which are:The British Red Cross also has four values, which guide the way they work. These are:
History
Formation
The British Red Cross was formed in 1870, just seven years after the formation of the international movement in Switzerland. This followed the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, and a move across Europe to form similar societies. The society was founded as the British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War at a public meeting chaired by Robert Loyd-Lindsay in London on 4 August 1870. It assisted in providing aid to both warring armies in the Franco-Prussian War and subsequent 19th-century conflicts, under the protection of the Red Cross Emblem. The society was one of several British volunteer medical organisations to serve in the war. Queen Victoria was the organisation's first patron.In 1905, 35 years after its formation, the society was reconstituted as the British Red Cross Society, and was granted its first royal charter in 1908 by King Edward VII, who became the patron. His consort, Queen Alexandra, became its president. In the following years, King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II assumed the position of patron, while Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother served as presidents. King Charles III, who was the society's president between 2003 and 2024, was named patron in May 2024.
First World War
Following the start of the Great War in 1914, the British Red Cross joined forces with the Order of St John Ambulance to form the Joint War committee and Joint War Organisation. They pooled resources and formed Voluntary Aid Detachments with members trained in First Aid, Nursing, Cookery, Hygiene and Sanitation. These detachments all worked under the protection of the Red Cross, working in hospitals, rest stations, work parties and supply centres.The Joint War Organisation also aided assistance at the front line, supplying the first motorised ambulances to the battlefields, which were significantly more efficient than the horse-drawn ambulances they replaced.
It was active in setting up centres for recording the wounded and missing. Red Cross volunteers searched towns, villages and hospitals where fighting had occurred, noting names of the missing, the injured and the dead. This formed the basis of the international Message and Tracing service, still running today.
Amongst the more innovative activities of the Red Cross in the war was the training of Airedale Terrier dogs to search for wounded soldiers on battlefields.
Christie's auction house in Britain held an auction each year from 1915 to 1918 to benefit the Red Cross. People all across the United Kingdom donated their jewelry to help raise money. In 1918 one of the auctioned pieces was the Red Cross diamond.
Inter-war years
In 1919, after the cessation of hostilities, the League of the Red Cross was formed, and the role of national societies increased, with a shift of emphasis from wartime relief to focusing on "the improvement of health, the prevention of disease and mitigation of suffering throughout the world".The British Red Cross stayed involved with blood transfusion past the formation of the National Blood Service and it retained an ancillary role until 1987.
The British Red Cross was instrumental in starting overseas societies throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth, most of which are now independent national societies.
In 1924, the British Red Cross started its youth movement, helping to promote its values to a younger generation.
Second World War
After the declaration of war in 1939, the British Red Cross once again joined with St John to form the Joint War Organisation, again affording the St John volunteers protection under the Red Cross emblem.The organisation once again worked in hospitals, care home, nurseries, ambulance units, rest stations and more, much of which was funded by the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St John appeal, which had raised over £54million by 1946.
The Red Cross also arranged parcels for prisoners of war, following the provisions of the third Geneva convention in 1929, which laid out strict rules for the treatment of PoWs. The Joint War Organisation sent standard food parcels, invalid food parcels, medical supplies, educational books and recreational materials to prisoners of war worldwide. During the conflict, over 20 million standard food parcels were sent.
During the German occupation of the Channel Islands, the islanders were helped to avoid starvation with food parcels brought by the Red Cross ship SS Vega.
Post-war years
The immediate priorities for the British Red Cross following the war, were the huge number of displaced civilians caused by forced migration during the war. The Red Cross provided much relief for these people, including basic supplies, and helping to reunite people through the Messaging and Tracing Service. This work led to the provisions in the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians caught up in war.Since then, the British Red Cross has provided relief to people worldwide, including during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, in Vietnam in 1976, Famine in Africa in the 1980s and the 1999 Armenia, Colombia earthquake. Whilst the society no longer sends its volunteers abroad, it is a leading contributor of delegates to the International Red Cross pool of emergency relief workers.
Between 1948 and 1967, the British Red Cross and the St Andrew's Ambulance Association jointly operated the Scottish Ambulance Service, under contract to the National Health Service. NHS Scotland took over full responsibility for the service in 1974.
In the UK, the society has been active at many major disasters, from the coal tip slide at Aberfan in 1966, the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing at Lockerbie in 1988, to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. They provide support on all levels, from front line medical provision, to running helplines for worried relatives and long term emotional care for the victims.
In July 2008, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the granting of the society's royal charter.
Status and structure
The British Red Cross is recognised by the UK Government as one of three Voluntary Aid Societies, the other two being St John Ambulance and St. Andrew's First Aid. It is the sole Red Cross Society for the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories.Overseas branches
Overseas branches are located in:Former overseas branches:
- British Hong Kong
Activities
The British Red Cross provides a wide range of services to assist the emergency services and statutory authorities, ranging from first aid support and distribution of aid during a crisis to managing a disaster appeal scheme and providing telephone support lines in its aftermath.
Notably, all services of the British Red Cross can be utilised for the emergency response service, as the situation demands. For example, the therapeutic care service can provide support at a rest centre for survivors, while Ambulances can assist the NHS in caring for the injured.
The emergency response service has been present at most types of major emergency such as the London bombings, Manchester Arena bombing, Grenfell Tower fire, rail crashes, other fires, and floods. The British Red Cross operate this service throughout its territory, available 24 hours a day but, contrary to popular belief, does not send its volunteers abroad, as overseas disasters will be dealt with by the society in the country affected.
In addition to this core service, the British Red Cross operates in other areas, both at home and abroad as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to help people in crisis:
First aid and ambulance provision
Event first aid (EFA)
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest provider of first aid in the world.The British Red Cross was possibly most recognised in the UK for its work as a leading provider of first aid at public events across the UK. This stopped in 2020, by the British Red Cross, when it announced in 2019 that it would stop all Event First Aid. Thousands of volunteers gave care to the injured at events of all sizes including Premiership football games, concerts and large-scale running events such as the Great North Run.
The training undertaken by Event First Aid Service volunteers varied, and advanced training was available to those volunteers who wished to undertake it, which included rising to the level of Ambulance Crew, or even undertaking training to become a qualified Ambulance technician. The closure of event first aiders also saw the end of the Voluntary Medical Service Medal being issued to British Red Cross volunteers, much to their dismay, however it is still issued to St Andrew's first aid volunteers.