Research Centre, Reading Room, In Flanders Fields Museum, Sint-Maartensplein 3, 8900 Ieper
This talk will give an overview of the wartime work of two of the largest voluntary-aid organizations on the Western Front: the Salvation Army and
the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
In camps, huts and hospitals along the lines of communication, and often within the range of fire, hundreds of men and women travelled to France and
Belgium to assist the Allied war effort. While each organization had its own mission and methodology, their primary aims converged – to care of the British
servicemen’s physical, moral and spiritual well-being.
With a particular focus on music, education and recreation, this talk will put the work of these organizations into the context of 1914-18, giving a
comparative analysis of how the Salvation Army and YMCA operated to care for the minds, bodies and souls of millions of British servicemen.
