Philanthropy and Voluntary Action in the First World War

Peter Grant is Senior Fellow in Grantmaking Management, Philanthropy and Social Investment at the Cass Business School, City University, London.

• 1. Introduction. 2. Charity, Philanthropy and the Voluntary Sector in 1914: A "Golden Age"?. Case Study 1: Newspaper and Sporting Appeals 3. The Outbreak of War and Early Charitable Efforts. Case Study 2: "Private Tom" and Other Animals 4. Supporting Tommy: Charity Goes to War. Case Study 3: "My Good Lady, Go Home and Sit Still": Militant Women 5. The Comforts Crisis and the Director General of Voluntary Organizations. Case Study 4: Croydon War Supplies Clearing House 6. Concerns and Legislation: Scandal, Fraud and the 1916 War Charities Act. Case Study 5: Nothing Like a Book: The Camps Library 7. The Extent and Impact of War-Time Charitable Giving. Case Study 6: "The Biggest Communal Arts Project Ever Attempted": War Memorials 8. Conclusions. Afterword.

"Peter Grant has written a pioneering work. Packed with figures, interesting examples from case studies, and analysis linking wartime charities to social cohesion, Grant has shown that civil society and philanthropy were vital parts of Britain’s wartime effort." Matthew C. Henley, State University of New York Oneonta in American Historical Review