RED CROSS ORGANIZATIONS IN SWITZERLAND
—THE BRITISH LEGATION RED CROSS ORGANIZATION
On the outbreak of war, the attention of various Swiss charitable
societies was at once concentrated on work connected with the provision
of comforts, clothing, and necessaries for the large body of Swiss
citizens who were withdrawn from civil employment to take their place in
the Army. Amongst the best known of these societies were:— "La Croix
Rouge," "La Société Suisse le Bien du Soldat," "Les Unions Chrétiennes
des Jeunes Gens de la Suisse," "La Ligue Pro-Captivis," "La Société
Suisse des Aumôniers," "La Société du Mogen David Rouge."
Around these societies local branches rallied all over the country; and,
as the war progressed, and the needs of the belligerent nations
gradually came to light, they extended their field of interest so as to
embrace the pressing needs of French civilians from the occupied regions
of Northern France, interned prisoners of war, and hospitals in France
and Germany. The work of the "International Red Cross Society of Geneva"
is too well known to need more than a passing reference here. It would
require a volume to describe the immensity and importance of its labours.
As many British visitors, delayed at Berne owing to difficulties of
transport, were anxious to show their appreciation of the courtesy
extended to them by the Swiss during their enforced residence in the
country, Lady Grant Duff (then Mrs. Grant Duff), the wife of H.M.'s
Minister, assembled working parties at the Legation for the purpose of
assisting the Swiss Red Cross, and the results of the first series of
these working parties were forwarded to Madame Hoffmann, the wife of the
then President of the Swiss Confederation. It was not long, however,
before rumours of the dire straits of the French wounded reached
Switzerland. The hospitals, it was said, were full to overflowing, and
the nurses were at their wits' end to find the simplest requisites for
these first victims of the war. The needs of the Allies had, therefore,
to be given first consideration, and Lady Grant Duff sent out an
invitation to her countrymen in Switzerland to co-operate with her in
the provision of clothing and requisites for these hospitals. The
response was immediate, and showed that every British man, woman, and
girl in the country was ready to come to her assistance.
To give effect to this intention, the "British Legation Red Cross
Organization" was founded by Lady Grant Duff at Berne, and around it
twelve groups, representing the chief centres of British life, were
affiliated. The Organization was placed under the management of Lady
Grant Duff, with my daughter as her assistant. The groups were left to
their own devices as regards their formation and character, and were
presided over by H.M.'s Consuls. Decentralization was carried to its
extreme limit, each centre undertaking responsibility as regards local
finance and administration, whilst Berne reserved to itself the right of
determining the pattern and quality of the article required from any one
centre, at any given moment, a system which tended to co-ordination, and
the specialization of each group in the class of work for which it was
fitted, by its relation to the sources of supply and the aptitude of its
workers. The general output was forwarded to Headquarters at Berne for
examination, storage, and final despatch to hospitals, both French and
British. There was a good deal of friendly rivalry between the groups,
and I remember Lady Grant Duff telling me that she one day paid a
surprise visit to a working party and was met with the remark: "Is it
true that … makes better shirts than we do?" The answer given was: "Yes,
perfectly true; but then you make much better pyjamas."
Berne, in short, acted as a clearing-house, and was thus well equipped
for meeting demands requiring immediate attention. On one occasion a
traveller arrived unexpectedly from Boulogne and notified at 6 p.m. that
he would take a consignment to France, provided it could be ready for
despatch by the 8.30 p.m. train of the same day. The articles were
packed and deposited at the railway station by Lady Grant Duff on her
way out to dinner. Amongst the many hospitals to which help was sent
were the "Hôpitaux Militaires" of Besançon, Pontarlier, Nancy,
Aix-les-Bains, Nice, and others in the Vosges. Bales of underclothing
were also consigned to the Canteen at Lyons for distribution to the
wounded; to the Cardinal of Rheims for distribution to that martyred
city; and to the "Œuvre des Éclopés" at Paris. An interesting and
important work was the complete outfitting in underwear, dressing-gowns
and slippers of the "Urgency Case Hospital," a movable ambulance created
and organized by Miss Evelyn Eden, which commenced operations at
Bar-le-Duc in 1915. Regular despatches of hospital clothing and
requisites were also made to British hospitals at Boulogne, Calais, and
elsewhere. Another consignment was sent at the special request of Lady
Wemyss to a hospital ship in the Mediterranean. As regards British
requirements in France, it was found advisable to send bales to Paris,
where they were distributed by the late Sir Henry Austin Lee, who gave
himself infinite trouble in arranging for their transit to the most
needy hospitals.
As regards finance, the groups made it a point of honour to collect
funds to meet all local expenses, and it was only on rare occasions that
help was demanded of Berne. The usual machinery, such as bazaars,
subscriptions, etc., was set in motion at each centre with satisfactory
results, and in the main the funds so collected sufficed for all needs,
a fact which speaks well for the generosity of the public, both British
and Swiss.
Lady Rumbold took over the Presidency from Lady Grant Duff in September,
1916, and assumed direction for the duration of the war. Both ladies
would, I believe, like me to place on record the names of the Group
Presidents, on whom the success of the enterprise so much depended.
Their wives in most cases undertook the work of management:—
BERNE Monsieur de Muralt (Central Group).
MONTREUX Mr. and Mrs. Marcel Cuenod.
VEVEY Lieut.-Colonel and Mrs. Gillespie.
LAUSANNE Mr. and Mrs. Galland.
GENEVA Monsieur and Madame de Candolle.
ZÜRICH (1914) Sir Henry Angst.
(1915-17) Sir Cecil Hertzlett.
(1917-18) Mr. and Mrs. Beak; Miss Mackie, Hon. Secretary.
LUCERNE Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Stronge, Mrs. Hauser.
LUGANO (1914) Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton.
(1916) Colonel and Mrs. Boileau.
BÂLE (1914) Mr. Hamblock.
(1915-17) Mr. and Mrs. Beak.
(1917) Mr. and Mrs. Mathews.
ST. GALL Mr. Hurdwyn Gastrell.
NEUCHÂTEL (1914) Monsieur et Madame Chable.
(1916) Monsieur Favre; Miss Wright, Hon. Secretary.
DAVOS Mr. and Mrs. Lockett.
ST. MORITZ Dr. and Mrs. Holland.
I should also like to add the names of my wife, who, as Hon. Treasurer,
organized the Financial Department at Berne as well as the Supply Depôt
for the Interned; Comtesse de Montigny, in charge of the Clothing
Department, 1915-1917, and succeeded, later, by the late Mrs. Cook
Daniels and Lady Beatrix Wilkinson; Viscountess St. Cyres, in charge of
the "orders" Department, 1917-1918; and my daughter, who was Hon.
Secretary, 1916-1918, until her departure.
A "Special Branch," as an adjunct to the "B.L.R.C.O.," was founded in
May, 1916, to deal with the requirements of officers and men about to be
interned in Switzerland, the original Committee being composed of Lady
Grant Duff, The Lady Acton, Mrs. Picot (Hon. Treasurer), Mrs. Wyndham,
Mrs. Barton, Mrs. Trench, Mrs. Harran, Miss R. Picot (Hon. Secretary),
and myself as President.
The first contingent of British prisoners of war from Germany was
expected in May, 1916, and arrangements were at once made to prepare
warm underclothing for the men, as there was some doubt as to the
clothing from G.H.Q. in France arriving in time to meet the demand. The
work carried out by the Consular Groups made it possible to have in
readiness complete outfits of shirts, vests, pants, socks, pyjamas,
handkerchiefs, and linen wash-bags for 500 men, all of which were issued
when the troops arrived. Dressing-gowns, bed-jackets, ward slippers, and
handkerchiefs, were also made up and issued to the hospitals. The
contingents which arrived in August and December of 1916, and on
subsequent dates, were supplied with the regulation clothing by
Government, though hospital requisites still continued to be provided by
the "B.L.R.C.O.," with the assistance of the British Red Cross Society,
London. That Society generously came to our assistance with medicines,
and supplies of a fortifying nature, and such extra articles of food as
were required were purchased locally by the Swiss medical officers at
the camps, money grants, which were renewed as required, being made to
these officers.
The "B.L.R.C.O." also fitted up an operating theatre in the Soldanelle
Hospital at Château d'Oex, known as the Kitchener Theatre, at a cost of
frs. 3,500, the funds being supplied by a Swiss gentleman who wished to
remain anonymous.
Thanks to the kind offices of Lord Northcliffe, the B.R.C.S., London,
also sent out a parcel of 750 lb. of tea every month, a gift of the
greatest value, as tea was unprocurable in Switzerland. It was thus made
possible to make a free issue to all hospitals, and to men on
detachment, and also to provide tea, on payment, to all Red Cross and
Y.M.C.A. huts.
The expenditure incurred for British Interned for Red Cross purposes
from May to December, 1916, amounting to frs. 113,000, was entirely met
by the "B.L.R.C.O." After that date, the "Central Prisoners of War
Committee," London, came to our assistance with a grant of frs. 10,000
per mensem. This grant in aid enabled the Committee to deal more
liberally with a branch of work which they, together with myself, had
much at heart, viz.: the technical and educational training of the men
during their detention in Switzerland. So far, funds had only admitted
of the establishment of workshops of the regimental type, such as
Tailors, Bootmakers, Carpenters, in addition to schools for Telegraphy,
Bookbinding, Typing, Shorthand, Motor Instruction, and classes for
education up to the standard required for Army certificates. With the
grant in aid the Committee found itself in a position to continue and
develop the technical training, until it was taken over by the Central
Prisoners of War Committee, under a scheme prepared by Dr. Garnett. Of
this scheme I have written at length in Chapter XI.
Another detail undertaken by the "B.L.R.C.O." was that of the
entertainment of the wives and mothers of the Interned sent out from
England by the "C.P. of W.C." on fortnightly visits. This took the form
of luncheons, dinners, and teas, as these visitors passed to and from
the camps. They also provided meals at Berne to all prisoners of war en
route to Switzerland from Germany, or to England on repatriation. The
Consular Groups forming part of the Organization did similar work, and,
as a rule, met the expenditure from their own resources.
In January, 1918, on the appointment of a Commissioner by the
"B.R.C.S.," London, to supervise and co-ordinate Red Cross work in
Switzerland, the "B.L.R.C.O." transferred to that gentleman the special
branch of their work affecting interned prisoners, and all expenses in
that connection were thenceforth met by the "B.R.C.S.," London. The
average monthly expenditure thus incurred amounted to frs. 22,000, the
chief items of which were: frs. 6,300 for medical comforts, frs. 10,000
for technical training, and the balance for miscellanea.
I have at the opening of this chapter referred to the labours of the
Swiss Red Cross and other Swiss Societies, _vis-à-vis_ of French
civilians and other victims of the war. Little appears to be known in
England of the extent and importance of the work of these Societies.
Perhaps I can best give an idea of its scope and character by recounting
some of my personal experiences.
On one occasion, at Zürich, I met a train conveying French "grands
blessés" released from Germany. It was composed of third-class carriages
converted for Red Cross purposes into a hospital train, and was staffed
by military doctors, nurses, and orderlies, of Swiss nationality,
assisted by ladies from the French Embassy at Berne. These Swiss Red
Cross trains cannot be compared with the luxurious conveyances
maintained by us in France. At the same time, they were thoroughly
practical, and appeared to meet all the requirements of the sick. The
men no doubt must have regarded them as "trains de luxe," after their
experience of railway travel in Germany. What a picture these wounded
presented! In one carriage there were twenty-seven men with only three
legs between them, but they were cheery, full of joy at their escape
from captivity, and very disinclined to speak of their past experiences.
These they evidently sought to forget. One man, whom I questioned as to
some detail of German camp life, replied that, on crossing the frontier,
he had turned over the page of his prison life, and all memory of the
past had left him—the present was good enough, and was all he cared to
think about. Altogether they were quite irrepressible, and the
conclusion I came to was, that the average French soldier has to be very
ill—even unto death—before his spirits succumb to his physical
condition. He has fortunately the faculty of imparting his cheeriness
and philosophy to those around, so that a visit under what might have
been depressing circumstances proved, on the contrary, exhilarating.
There were several cases of men in the last stages of consumption, whose
one anxiety was to see the soil of their beloved France once more before
the end came. About these men the French ladies were greatly concerned,
and they could only hope that this supreme consolation might not be
withheld from their dying compatriots.
Such attentions as these were by no means confined to the French.
Similar scenes occurred whenever Allied or enemy prisoners were
repatriated via Swiss territory. The services of the Swiss Red Cross
were more particularly brought home to me when a party of 70 British and
Indian soldiers, and 250 Serbian officers, arrived from Austria. Our own
men came under the category of "grands blessés"; the Serbians were being
exchanged, and were in good condition. They were met by Sir Horace and
Lady Rumbold, my wife and daughter, and other members of the Legation,
who accompanied the train from Olten to Bienne. We found the Swiss Red
Cross very much in evidence. A military doctor was in charge of the
train, with a staff of Swiss nurses, and everything was being done to
make the men feel they were amongst their own friends again. The
"B.L.R.C.O." had provided a sufficiency of underclothing to give every
British soldier a complete outfit, and when these had been distributed,
I think the happiness of our countrymen was at its zenith. They were
wearing Turkish fatigue uniforms, but of their other garments, the least
said the better. The sole British officer was clothed in a parody of a
civilian overcoat. He, likewise, was only too glad to accept an outfit,
as he had absolutely nothing with him but the garments in which he stood.
On visiting the cot cases, I came across two Indian soldiers, one of
whom, a man of low caste, who had served as a transport driver, appeared
to be very cheery, and to all outward appearance in good health. I spoke
to him in his own language, and asked why he was in bed. In reply, he
turned aside the bed covers, disclosing the stumps of both legs
amputated high above the knee. I was much taken aback, and could only
ejaculate, "You have done well by the Sirkar," a remark which met with
the response, "Oh, that is of no consequence, I would have done better
if I could." The other, a high caste man of the Zemindar class, seemed
to be ill at heart rather than of body. I tried to cheer him by speaking
of his early return to India, and of the sunshine of his own country,
but nothing I could say gave him any comfort. I found it difficult to
account for the extraordinary contrast in the mentality of the two men,
and can only surmise that the indignities put upon the Zemindar, when a
prisoner of war in Turkey, had lowered his morale to such a degree that,
from the caste point of view, he had already ceased to exist. He had, in
his own eyes, lost standing, and, consequently, all that made life worth
living. The transport driver, on the other hand, had been inured from
birth to a want of consideration, and was quite regardless of any ill
treatment or indignity at the hands of the foreigner and enemy. He had,
therefore, retained his morale, and gloried in the fact that he had done
his duty by the "Sirkar," and would become the object of its solicitude
in the future.
I had also the privilege of being present at Schaffhausen when some 500
French civilians were repatriated from Germany. The convoy consisted of
aged men and women, young women and children, with a sprinkling of men
of military age suffering from tuberculosis—as decrepit and woe-begone a
crowd as could well be imagined! On arrival at the railway station, they
were taken in hand by representatives of the Municipality, local
doctors, and ladies of the French and Swiss Red Cross. The sick were
quickly sorted out and driven to hospitals in the town, where they were
destined to remain until either the end came, or they were sufficiently
restored to continue their journey. Many, I fear, never set eyes on
beautiful France again. The rest were marshalled in batches, and then
led off through the town to hostels, whence, after receiving a bath, and
being re-clothed in more seemly garments, they were re-assembled in a
large hall for a much needed meal. The difference in the spirits and
appearance of these poor people, after receiving this first attention at
the hands of the Swiss and their own compatriots, was indeed good to
see. Their dazed and tired look had been replaced by one of smiling
content. They had even found their tongues, and at the end of the first
meal they had really enjoyed since their captivity they responded
enthusiastically to the speeches of welcome addressed to them by their
Swiss hosts and by a well-known French Deputy, Monsieur Arago, who had
travelled from Paris to convey a message of welcome from the French
Government. The proceedings ended with the singing of the
"Marseillaise," which, coming from this sorely tried company, was
overwhelming, and brought tears to the eyes of many. Cheered and
encouraged, clothed and warmed, they were then marched through streets
full of the townspeople, who showed every sign of goodwill and sympathy.
What such receptions must have meant to this convoy, and to those which
followed on practically every day of the week for months, can only be
known to the beneficiaries themselves; but that they served to cement a
feeling of brotherhood as between race and race is, I believe,
undeniable, and is all to the good. It must always be remembered that
the difference of race and language of the Swiss people did not connote
any difference of feeling or action towards the prisoners of war or
interned civilians, and, to my mind, the sense of a possible
all-world-brotherhood had one of its happiest demonstrations in the
dealings of the Swiss towards these unfortunate sufferers of the war.