National Egg Collection for the Wounded

In October 1915 Miss Holdsworth, of Lemsford House, received an urgent request from the Director of the ‘National Egg Collection for the Wounded’ for eggs or money to obtain them. Eggs were scarce, but she asked those who kept poultry to spare one egg a week, or one penny. They could be sent to her or to the School. She gladly packed and forwarded eggs to the local collection point. (There were over 200 collection points nationally) The gift of eggs was a real self sacrifice, but Miss Holdswoth was able to send 103 eggs and 14/6 in the first 2 months. Collection continued throughout the war, but when donations became low children wrote out and delivered an appeal and collected the eggs.

The scheme, started in August 1915, was very successful nationally achieving an average of one million eggs a month. By January 1918 over seven million eggs had been sent to hospitals at home and over 25 million to hospitals abroad. But by then the shortage had grown - some people had disposed of their chickens as they didn’t think they would be able to get food for them.

“There are more wounded than ever and less eggs to give them.” A Soldier wrote:-

“You people in your comfortable homes have not the remotest idea what the eggs mean to us out here, to say nothing of the pleasure they give. A chap’s been out in the trenches for a year, eighteen months, perhaps 2 years; he’s never seen an egg! He wakes up one morning and finds himself in a clean and comfortable hospital bed. Someone comes along with one of your fine newly laid eggs. I should just like your girls to see the delight on that fellow’s face.”

Sources: Hatfield Parish magazine 1914 - 1919 - British Journal of Nursing 21st August 1915

Save our Soldiers: An Appeal for the National Egg Collection for the wounded. 18th January 1917