British War Relief Society

The British War Relief Society (BWRS) was a United States-based humanitarian umbrella organization created during the Second World War to coordinate civilian assistance for people in Great Britain. Its work focused on non-military relief rather than combat matériel, including food, clothing, medical supplies, household goods, and financial assistance. The organization emerged within a broader American voluntary movement that supported Britain after the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, at a time when the United States had not yet entered the conflict directly. The BWRS served as an administrative hub and central receiving depot for donations collected by numerous American charities and local relief groups. Instead of requiring every small organization to establish its own overseas distribution structure, the society accepted goods raised in its name, organized and consolidated them, and then allocated shipments to affiliated organizations in the United States and to recipients or partner bodies in Britain. This coordinating function gave the campaign a more unified public identity and helped channel a wide range of civilian relief supplies across the Atlantic. The society was incorporated in 1941 and headquartered on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Its formation reflected the rapid growth of American charitable activity on behalf of Britain, which included ambulance organizations, hospital associations, air-raid-relief committees, clothing drives, and other volunteer initiatives. The BWRS has been compared in organizational role to the United Service Organizations, although its focus was specifically on relief for the British civilian population and related humanitarian needs. One important organization associated with the same relief movement was Bundles for Britain, founded in 1940 by Natalie Wales Latham. Bundles for Britain began as a New York knitting circle and expanded into a large network producing and shipping knitted clothing and other supplies. It remained a significant separate organization rather than simply becoming a BWRS department. Its activities illustrate the scale and variety of the voluntary campaign: knitted garments were accompanied by ambulances, surgical equipment, medicines, cots, blankets, field-kitchen units, operating tables, and used clothing. The BWRS continued supplying humanitarian goods throughout the war. Its public-facing fundraising also generated a body of wartime memorabilia, including lapel pins, brooches, badges, matchbooks, ceramics, books, stamps, cigarette cases, and other promotional or fundraising objects. Many pins used a lion-and-shield emblem and the French motto "Dieu et mon Droit," while related designs referenced the Royal Air Force and the Bundles for Britain program. These objects remain evidence of how relief groups used low-cost merchandise and symbolic imagery to raise money and maintain public visibility. The organization also had a cultural presence through its official theme song, "Thumbs Up!", also known as "British Delivers the Goods." Written in 1941 by Moe Jaffe, Jack O'Brien, and Bert Lee, the song later provided the title for the 1943 film Thumbs Up. The available historical material documents the BWRS primarily as a wartime coordination and fundraising body; it does not establish a later continuing operational role after the war.

The British War Relief Society developed within the American civilian response to the war in Europe. Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, and American voluntary organizations began collecting money, clothing, medical equipment, and other supplies for the British population. The United States government later assisted Britain through the Lend-Lease program, but private charities continued to address civilian hardship through independent fundraising and donation drives. As the conflict continued, the number of American groups supporting Britain increased. These included ambulance initiatives, hospital associations, air-raid-relief committees, clothing campaigns, and organizations such as the American Ambulances in Great Britain, the American Committee for Air Raid Relief, the American Hospital in Britain, the British American Ambulance Corps, the British Hospital Association, and Bundles for Britain. The growing movement created a need for administrative coordination, consolidated receiving, and distribution arrangements. The BWRS was incorporated in 1941 and established its headquarters on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It acted as an umbrella and central receiving depot rather than as a conventional commercial brand. Affiliated groups collected contributions, often presenting them publicly under the BWRS identity, and the society then organized the donations for shipment or allocation. The main categories of assistance were food, clothing, medical supplies, and financial relief for people in Great Britain. Its structure enabled smaller organizations to participate in an international relief effort without individually maintaining a complete logistics and administrative system. Bundles for Britain was a major but distinct participant in this wider movement. Natalie Wales Latham founded it in 1940 as a knitting circle in a New York storefront. It expanded rapidly, with hundreds of branches and a large contributor base, and sent knitted clothing such as socks, gloves, hats, sweaters, and scarves to Britain. By 1941, its shipments also included ambulances, surgical instruments, medicines, cots, blankets, field kitchens, operating tables, and used clothing. The organization therefore represented both the grassroots character and the industrial scale that wartime charitable relief could attain. The BWRS and its affiliates used fundraising merchandise and visual symbols to reach donors. Lapel pins commonly displayed a lion rampant and shield, sometimes accompanied by the British royal motto "Dieu et mon Droit." Related items included RAF-themed pins, brooches, badges, matchbooks, ceramics, books, stamps, cigarette cases, and compacts. These objects served practical fundraising and promotional purposes and later became home-front memorabilia. Cultural promotion was another part of the society's public identity. The official song Thumbs Up!, written in 1941 by Moe Jaffe, Jack O'Brien, and Bert Lee, was also known as British Delivers the Goods. Its later use as the title of a 1943 film extended the campaign's name beyond the immediate relief network. The documented history of the BWRS is concentrated in the wartime period. The available reference material does not provide a reliable dissolution date, postwar successor, or list of organizational officers.

• 1946

  Natalie Wales Latham receives an honorary CBE

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Natalie Wales Latham was recognized by King George VI for her wartime relief work with Bundles for Britain, a major organization associated with the broader relief movement.

• 1943

  Thumbs Up film is released

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society's official song provided the title for the 1943 film Thumbs Up.

• 1941

  British War Relief Society is incorporated

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The BWRS was incorporated in the United States and operated from a Fifth Avenue headquarters in New York City as an umbrella and receiving organization for British relief activities.

• 1941

  Thumbs Up! is written as the official song

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The song Thumbs Up!, also called British Delivers the Goods, was written for the society by Moe Jaffe, Jack O'Brien, and Bert Lee.

• 1940

  Bundles for Britain is founded

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Natalie Wales Latham began Bundles for Britain as a New York knitting circle, creating a major related relief initiative that later shipped clothing and medical equipment to Britain.

• 1939

  American civilian relief efforts for Britain expand

  [1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Following the outbreak of war in Europe, American charities began collecting funds and material aid to reduce hardship among the British civilian population.

A centralized American civilian-relief coordinator supporting the British population during the Second World War.

• Humanitarian aid

  Civilian relief shipments

  The BWRS coordinated the collection and shipment of non-military assistance for people in Great Britain. Supplies included food, clothing, medical materials, medicines, blankets, and other necessities. The organization functioned as a central administrative and receiving point, consolidating contributions from affiliated American charities before distribution to partner organizations or recipients in Britain.

• Fundraising merchandise · 1941

  Fundraising and promotional memorabilia

  The society and related organizations used pins, brooches, badges, matchbooks, ceramics, books, stamps, cigarette cases, compacts, and similar objects to promote relief work and raise funds. Designs commonly used British imagery, including a lion-and-shield emblem, the motto Dieu et mon Droit, and references to the Royal Air Force or Bundles for Britain.

• 1941Centralized British civilian relief campaign

  United States · United Kingdom

  The BWRS coordinated American charitable donations for British civilians, accepting goods raised by affiliated groups and arranging their consolidation and distribution. The campaign covered food, clothing, medical supplies, and financial aid.

  Outcome. The organization continued supplying humanitarian goods during the war and became an administrative center for a broad network of relief initiatives.

  Source
• 1940Bundles for Britain

  United States · United Kingdom

  Founded by Natalie Wales Latham, Bundles for Britain mobilized knitting circles and other volunteers to send clothing and equipment to Britain. Its activities included knitted garments as well as ambulances, surgical instruments, medicines, cots, blankets, field kitchens, and operating tables.

  Outcome. The organization became one of the largest and most visible American civilian relief efforts connected with aid to Britain, while remaining distinct from the BWRS.

  Source

• 1941

  British War Relief Society incorporated in New York[1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The BWRS was incorporated as an umbrella organization to administer and coordinate activities among American charities providing civilian relief to Britain.

• 1941

  Thumbs Up! becomes the society's official theme song[1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Moe Jaffe, Jack O'Brien, and Bert Lee wrote Thumbs Up!, also known as British Delivers the Goods, as the official song of the British War Relief Society. The song later lent its title to a 1943 film.

• British War Relief Society continues wartime humanitarian shipments[1]British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  During the Second World War, the society continued receiving and distributing food, clothing, medical supplies, and other non-military aid for people in Great Britain.

1. 1British War Relief Societyen.wikipedia.org