This film is part of Free

What Is One among So Many?

"A bomb's cut the gas off. Where can we get a meal?" Look no further than the Friends Relief Service.

Documentary 1943 17 mins Silent

Overview

"A bomb's cut the gas off. Where can we get a meal?" A record of the sterling efforts of the Quakers' Friends Relief Service during WWII. Country mansions, vicarages, church halls and farm properties are requisitioned for use as evacuation refuges for Britain's most vulnerable city dwellers. The lyrical scenes of Chaigeley Manor in Lancashire which was converted into a children's hostel are particularly moving.

Many of the youngsters shown playing nonchalantly around the country manor would have been recently orphaned. They were mainly from Accrington and Merseyside. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) was rewarded with the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for their relief work during WWI and WWII.