British Red Cross WW1 local branch list

Red Cross nurses line up for inspection in Fulham.

VAD Inspection, Fulham (Credit: British Red Cross)

During the First World War, the British Red Cross had branches in the following locations. Although we have a record of the branches from the time, some have little or no further information about them. 

Region 1 – Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man

General

  • General Scotland Branch Activities
  • General Northern Ireland Activities

West Scotland

  • Argyllshire
  • Kirkcudbrightshire
  • Bute and Arran
  • Lanarkshire
  • Dunbartonshire
  • Renfrewshire
  • Dumfriesshire
  • Ross-shire and Cromartyshire
  • City of Glasgow
  • Wigtownshire

East Scotland

  • Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire
  • Linlithgowshire (now West Lothian)
  • City of Dundee 
  • Midlothian
  • City of Edinburgh
  • Peeblesshire
  • Fife
  • City of Perth and County of Perthshire
  • Forfarshire (now Angus)
  • Roxburghshire
  • Haddingtonshire
  • Selkirkshire
  • Kincardineshire
  • Stirlingshire

Northern Scotland

  • City of Aberdeen and County of Aberdeenshire
  • Inverness-shire
  • Caithness-shire
  • Nairnshire
  • Elginshire and Morayshire
  • Sutherland

Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland

  • Co. Antrim
  • City of Dublin
  • Co. of the City of Belfast
  • Co. Kildare
  • Co. Tyrone
  • Co. Kilkenny
  • Co. Down
  • Co. Waterford
  • Co. Westmeath
  • Co. Louth
  • Isle of Man
  • Co. Meath
  • Co. Cork
  • Co. Wicklow
  • Co. Dublin

Wales

  • Monmouthshire
  • Merionethshire
  • Carmarthen
  • Montgomery
  • Breconshire
  • Caernarvonshire
  • Pembroke
  • Denbighshire
  • Cardiganshire
  • Flintshire
  • Radnor
  • Anglesey
  • Glamorgan (now split into West, Mid, and South Glamorgan)

Region 2 – Northern England

Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Cheshire

  • Derbyshire
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Cheshire

Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire

  • Herefordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Worcester
  • Birmingham

Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester

  • Lancashire
  • Merseyside
  • Greater Manchester

Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire

  • Lincolnshire
  • Leicestershire
  • Rutland
  • Northamptonshire

North East and Cumbria

  • Co. Durham
  • Cumberland (now part of Cumbria)
  • Northumbria

Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands

  • Staffordshire
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands

Yorkshire

  • East Riding
  • West Riding
  • North Riding
  • South Riding

Region 3 – Southern England

Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex

  • Bedfordshire
  • Hertfordshire
  • Essex

East Anglia

  • Cambridgeshire
  • Norfolk
  • Suffolk

Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Surrey

  • Hampshire
  • Isle of Wight
  • Surrey

Kent and Sussex

  • Kent
  • Sussex

London

  • Middlesex (doesn’t exist, mostly part of Greater London now)
  • City of London

South West and Islands

  • Cornwall
  • Devonshire
  • Dorset
  • Jersey
  • Somerset

Thames Valley

  • Buckinghamshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Berkshire

Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire

  • Wiltshire
  • Bristol
  • Gloucestershire

You may also be interested in

Members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment outside Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme Red Cross hospital

Volunteers during WW1

90,000 ordinary men and women volunteered with the Red Cross during WW1 in hospitals, driving ambulances, and more.

A Red Cross ambulance in Boulogne, 1916

Resources for researchers

If you're researching WW1, these museums, archives and websites may be helpful.

Norfolk War Hospital's main building

Auxiliary hospitals

British Red Cross hospitals proved vital in WW1, treating hundreds.