The War Comforts Fund was set up in Britain during WW2 to support families of soldiers and victims of air raids. In addition, this fund provided knitted garments and cigarettes to soldiers who were serving in the war.
Initially, it was the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) who set up the War Comforts Fund at the outbreak of war, September 1939. Lady Ashfield, who was the wife of the LPTB chairman at that time, was the President of the fund. The staff enrolled in the scheme on a voluntary basis and nicknamed the fund ‘Warco’.
During WW2 similar funds existed, for example the Soldiers and Sailors Comforts Fund was renamed H.M. Forces Comforts Fund and the Indian Comforts Fund provided humanitarian relief work for Indian soldiers in Europe during the war years.
Up and down the country, these War Comforts Funds were established to provide similar help and support on a local basis.
John Cropper [LLC9-36N] , a farmer at Halsall Hall and his wife Edith Sharp [LLC9-Z8Q] , were instrumental in setting up the Halsall War Comforts Fund and meetings were regularly held at Halsall Hall. James Sephton (Jim) [L5DK-HXM] , of White House Farm in Barton was the treasurer and Thomas Shaw [KJ2J-HYL] , stationmaster at Shirdley Hill railway was a committee member as was Harold Dean [GTHT-PJB] of Chestnut Farm, Summerwood Lane.
Halsall War Comforts Meetings
The aim of the Comforts committee was:
(1) to provide comforts for those in H.M. Forces from the Ecclesiastical Parish of Halsall.
(2) to give any surplus money to the ‘Welcome Home’ Committee.
The committee organised many social events and gatherings such as dances and whist drives to raise money for the war effort.
The fundraising evenings were often advertised in the Ormskirk Advertiser; here is just a small sample:
In addition, Reverend Edward Leigh Mather [GKHZ-MPK], Rector of Halsall during WW2, opened the grounds of the Rectory and held garden parties to raise much needed funds. Sadly, Reverend Mather was all too familiar with the horrors of war as his brother had perished in WW1 and his son, Lieutenant Alfred Leigh Mather [GKH8-CTG], (Biography) died during WW2 in El Alamein, Egypt on 8th October 1942. A former Oxford University student, Alfred was only 23 years old at the time of his death.
The Halsall Platoon of the Home Guard also held various events to raise money for the Comforts Fund, one such occasion being a whist drive and dance in the school hall in April 1944. They made £70 that night which, according to the Bank of England inflation calculator, is approximately £2,633 in today’s money!
As well as the many fundraising occasions, Halsall residents would have been involved in knitting garments for the service men and women at war; items such as scarves, gloves, jumpers, balaclavas and socks were needed. Various knitting patterns were printed for the army of knitters to use..
Some of the money raised was also spent on cigarettes which were then sent to the soldiers fighting abroad. The Cope Bros. of Liverpool were a well-known manufacturer of tobacco, cigarettes, snuff and cigars. They supplied their goods to the soldiers during WW1 and WW2. John Arnold Cope [GBZG-RFP] lived at Halsall House, Cross Lane in Halsall for approximately 10 years in the 1920s-1930s. He was the managing director of the company until 1948 when he became chairman; he retired completely in 1949.
At the end of the war, a decision needed to be made concerning the money that remained in the Halsall War Comforts Fund. A meeting was held in the school on Thursday December 6th 1945, the intention of which was to
(1) wind up the Halsall War Comforts Fund and
(2) transfer all money to the Welcome Home Fund.
This fund would then be used to support the servicemen and women returning from the battlefields.
Jim Sephton, as treasurer, took his role very seriously; rumour has it that Jim slept with a gun next to the bed to protect the money that hadn’t been banked yet!
(Thanks to Lindsey Wilkinson for the anecdote re Jim Sephton)
Thanks to the efforts of Jim, John, Edith and the entire community in fact, on their return from war, a lot of people were aided by this fund to set up in business as market traders or haulers for example
The Welcome Home Committee consisted mostly of the same people that ran the Halsall War Comforts Fund: John Cropper, Edith Cropper, James Sephton, Mr. T. Shaw, Mr. A. Blundell, Mr. H. Dean, Sir Wroth and Lady Lethbridge, Canon W.O. Hunter-Rodwell, Mr. H. Neale, Miss Longton, Mrs. Moorcroft, Mrs. Towsend, Mrs. Threlfall, Mrs. Sharrock and Mrs. Webster.
This committee arranged a ‘Welcome Home’ ceremony and dinner on Saturday 1st February 1947 for over 100 ex-service men and women which was held at St. Cuthbert’s Hall on Summerwood Lane.
Firstly, Lady Lethbridge [G47M-Y9Q] (Biography) laid a wreath at the war memorial in memory of the fallen and then a meal and entertainment (singers, a violinist and a pianist) was enjoyed by all. On the menu was soup, roast chicken, sweets and coffee.
A toast was made to the King by Sir Wroth Lethbridge [M71Y-9D1] (Biography) and John Cropper proposed a toast to ‘our guests’, the brave servicemen and women of the parish of Halsall.
