The League of Loyal Women was formed in South Australia on the 20 July 1915 in response to want of Australians, to aid the men on the front lines in any way they could. The League of Loyal Women was primarily designed to utilise the domestic skills of women to provide men fighting overseas with homely comforts. Founded by Lady Galway, volunteers consisted mostly of middle class women who helped host fundraisers, organise donations and sewing circles. In 1916 the League of Loyal Women helped to found the Australian Comforts Fund (ACF), which was designed to combine the fundraising efforts of numerous funds across the country. The ACF provided soldiers on the front lines with homely comforts and hot coffee or cocoa, both free of charge. The efforts …show more content…
The League was one of the hundreds of organisations that formed in the early years of the Great War led by members of the social and political elite and composed of middle-class women volunteers. Organisations similar to the League formed across Australia including the Lady Mayoress’ Patriotic League (Victoria), the Citizens’ War Chest (New South Wales), the Queensland Patriotic Fund, the “On Active Service” Fund (Tasmania) and the Victorian League of Western Australia. These organisations were established to “unite all women engaged in furthering British Imperial ideals and national welfare and to support and benefit all associations and institutions with this end of view.” This was to be achieved through fundraising and despatching comforts along with the provision of social events for soldiers and their …show more content…
In December 1916, the League of Loyal Women hosted a Christmas event for the children of South Australia at Adelaide Oval to remember the men who were fighting overseas and provide the children with entertainment, food and presents. Over 1000 mothers and 3200 children attended the event where fourteen Christmas trees had been placed and decorated with the colours of the fourteen regiments that had departed South Australia. At the begging of the war when work for women was being sought for, “and munitions work and car conducting was then unthought of “ ‘cuddle-some’ toys were suggested as suitable and saleable, and the result of a lot of the hard work League of Loyal Women’s work parties invested. Every child at the event was provided with a hand made Christmas present with tea and cake being sold to raise money for the Australian Comforts Fund. Australian Comforts Fund The Australian Comforts Fund (ACF) was established in August 1916 to coordinate the state based activities of the state run patriotic funds, of which the League of Loyal Women was a member. The ACF was primarily run by women and provided Australian fighting men with free comforts including clothes, hot coffee and cocoa, and cigarettes. The Fund was comprised of representatives from every state, two from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland