First World War Volunteers
Find out more about the our volunteers during World War One while our VAD database is down for maintenance.
Over 90,000 people volunteered for the British Red Cross during the First World War. From nursing in temporary hospitals in the UK to driving ambulances in France and helping refugees in Egypt, volunteers played a vital role.
Records, details, photographs and stories of these volunteers, known as ‘voluntary aided detachments’ or VADS, are held in our VAD database.
Our online museum and archives also holds a wealth of historical information, with over 29,000 objects and documents.
For more information about Red Cross volunteers in WWI, please browse the stories and PDF information sheets below. You can also find out more about our history since we were founded in 1870.
True stories of our First World War volunteers
Letters from a First World War nurse
These letters from our archive show the challenges of nursing during difficult times, as well as some of the lighter moments.
The famous Black doctor of Paddington
A doctor who overcame prejudice to help others during the First World War finally won recognition a hundred years later.
Potato peelers, sock knitters and moss collectors
Meet the amazing volunteers who kept the Red Cross going during the First World War.
The heroic women of WW1: a nurse's diary
Peggy Arnold was a WW1 nurse serving on the frontline. Here we celebrate her bravery, and the bravery of volunteers like her.
First aiders on four legs
Did you know that during WWI, the Red Cross used trained dogs to help stricken soldiers on the battlefield? True story.
Remembering Edith Cavell: a brave British Red Cross nurse
We remember brave nurse Edith Cavell who was killed in 1915. Her crime? Moving Allied forces to safety.
Our work and volunteers during the First World War
Download our informative PDFs on a wide range to topics
Caring for the wounded in the UK
Our First World War work overseas
Helping on the home front
