See a piece of WW1 history near you

A cross-shaped pin showing an ambulance for Our Day fundraising event

We often lend pieces of Red Cross history to exhibitions and displays, such as paintings, photos, uniforms and trinkets that belonged to our volunteers.

Our museum and archives

We have loaned many items to museums but our collection covers much more than World War One. Find out what else is in our museum and archives.

Search the records

Find First World War volunteers or a Red Cross hospital. Just fill in one or all of the boxes below and search the records.

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  • Poster of three Red Cross Nurses

    What the Red Cross did during WWI

    The Red Cross did everything from nursing and air raid duty to searching for missing people and transporting the wounded.

  • First world war nurses at Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme Red Cross Hospital in Cheshire

    Volunteers during the war

    90,000 volunteers worked at home and abroad between 1914 and 1918. They performed all kinds of roles from nurses to air raid wardens.

  • Auxiliary hospital ward

    Auxiliary hospitals

    Our work during the war included running auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes. These temporary facilities for wounded servicemen proved to be vital.

  • British prisoners of war captured by the Germans in 1918

    Food parcels for prisoners of war

    British prisoners of war (POWs) were in dire need of food and clothing during the First World War. They were also desperate for entertainment.

  • Three Red Cross nurses

    Unidentified VADs: can you help?

    Help solve the mystery of the unidentified volunteers. Browse our photographs and let us know if you spot someone you recognise.

Famous volunteers

  • Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie, one of the world’s best-selling authors, volunteered for the Red Cross before publishing her first novel in 1920.

Creative Commons logo

The work on the First World War volunteers website is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 UK: England and Wales Licence, unless it says otherwise

Supported by

  • Kingston University London
  • Heritage lottery fund