Our Stories — Our Times

Remembering and recognising the work of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland.

The work of the British Red Cross in the face of some of the worst disasters and crises is well known. Less known, however, is the story of how our commitment to the fundamental principles of the Red Cross movement were tested so close to home.

Our Stories – Our Times has collected and recorded over 70 interviews and testimonies from the volunteers and staff of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland. These stories, many told for the first time, recount the history of the movement locally, emphasising the important work undertaken by our volunteers in their own words.

The project has followed the story of the of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland within living memory, from the late 1940s to the present day. Our aim was not just to provide a valuable archive, but to record this narrative for the legacy of those who experienced it.

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British Red Cross collection box

She always talked about that when it came to Bloody Sunday and the Battle of the Bogside … how quickly you had to lose your identity and just be one of the people … That ability to lose who you are, where you live, where you come from, how you speak.
British Red Cross volunteer

 

In October 2023, the Red Cross in Northern Ireland came together in the Great Hall of Belfast City Hall to celebrate and commemorate the efforts of volunteers, and recognise the work of the project.

We were joined by keynote speaker Feargal Keane, foreign correspondent and journalist. He spoke to the importance of the Red Cross locally and internationally. You can watch speakers in full on the right.

Our history

While records of a presence of the Red Cross in the North of Ireland date from the end of the nineteenth century, detachments of the British Red Cross were only formally constituted in Ulster in 1907. It was a Belfast detachment, formed in 1912, around which the organisation would coalesce.

This detachment was formed in association with John Mackintosh’s Newington ambulance corp based in the city’s north.

John Mackintosh with Red Cross, Voluntary Aid Detachment members.

John Mackintosh with Red Cross, voluntary aid detachment members

Red Cross VAD, Queen’s University, Belfast

Red Cross VAD, Queen’s University, Belfast

The First and Second World Wars saw thousands volunteer with voluntary aid detachments, partly under the auspices of the British Red Cross. During the latter conflict, the American Red Cross would maintain a strong presence, especially around Derry.

After the Second World War, the Red Cross in Northern Ireland continued to aid those impacted by the Belfast Blitz, provided ancillary hospital care, and supported European refugees based locally. Although, during the 1950s, volunteer numbers were steadily declining and some branches disbanded.

In 1962, however, Lady Aileen McCorkell was amongst a group who re-formed what they called the Derry City Branch of the Red Cross.

When clashes over the civil rights movement turned to street violence, Lady McCorkell resolved that the fundamental principles of the Red Cross would be upheld.

Lady McCorkell's Morris Minor

Lady McCorkell’s Morris Minor

Our Stories – Our Times was made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project was managed and researched by Samuel Guthrie on behalf of the British Red Cross. Volunteers on the project included:

  • Michael Baird
  • June Jordan
  • Nicole Kerr
  • Lauren King
  • Maria McGilly
  • Mary McKenna
  • Joshua McVeigh
  • Peter Mullan
  • Santosh Nadar
  • Cameron Thompson
  • Brenda Vallely
  • Dan Walker
  • Annelise Williams
  • Ciara Hedgecock.

Without their time this project would not have been possible.

All interviews and transcripts are lodged with the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. Our thanks as well to the object loans taken on by the Museum of Free Derry and National Museums Northern Ireland.

Special thanks to Charlie King, Kevin McCaughan, Stella Cummings, Chris Buckland, Norman McKinley, and many others.

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