By 1917, the local Kiama branch of the Red Cross had over 300 members. The volunteers organised ‘comfort parcels’ which were sent to servicemen overseas at war. Thousands of women donated their time and contributed to the movement by making thousands of knitted socks, vests, mittens, treats, books and blankets.
All comfort parcels were packed up and sent to headquarters located in the capital cities throughout Australia. They were then sent to Britain or the front. A total of 395,695 food parcels and 36.339 clothing parcels were sent to our soldiers from volunteers of the Australian Red Cross Society during the war.
The Australian Red Cross also provided an invaluable service providing families of wounded and missing soldiers with information about their status.
The Red Cross emblem is recognised worldwide. A person wearing the emblem is afforded protection during war. It saves lives.
During WWI many local Shellharbour women and girls assisted the Red Cross.
Eva, Miriam and Beatrice James
Eva, Miriam and Beatrice James were Red Cross nurses during WWI. They were the daughters of Thomas and Rachel James who lived at Rosemont farm, Dunmore. Their brother Cubitt William Arnold James served in WWI. The James girls were members of the local Red Cross and supported the war effort by knitting socks, and beanies for the troops overseas.
Eva and Beatrice James went on to become nurses.
William James, their Grandfather, was one of Shellharbour’s first European settlers and was known for his kindness and generosity to others. He settled in Shellharbour at Dunmore and built his home ‘Bravella’. He purchased breeding stock from local farmer Andrew McGill and established the James Family dairy herd. William was an Alderman on the first Shellharbour Municipal Council in 1859 and served as Mayor 1870-1871.
Mary Thomas (nee James)
Mary James, daughter of William James of ‘Bravella’, married Harry Thomas in 1896 and farmed at Clover Hill, Macquarie Pass. Most of Mary and Harry’s children were born at the farm. In 1912 they family moved to St Ives farm at Dunmore.
During WWI, Mary assisted the war effort by making hundreds of pairs of woolen socks on her Victoria Automatic Sock Knitting Machine; now part of the Shellharbour City Museum collection.
Sources:
1. The Australian War Memorial.
2. Shellharbour City Museum collection
3. Spackman, Lorna – descendant of James family.
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Red Cross nurses c.1915 Back row: third from left, Beatrice James, seventh, Eva James. Centre: third from left, Miriam James. (Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries)
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Red Cross nurses c.1915 Eva, Miriam and Beatrice James of Dunmore. (Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries)
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The Thomas Family outside their home at ‘Clover Hill’ c.1915. Harry and Mary Thomas with their children Ralph (b.1897), Marie (b.1898), Ken (b.1900), Cecil (b.1902), Gwendoline (b.1904), Don (b.1905), Olga (b.1906). (Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries)
