Page 35 - Greystones Archaeological Historical Society

GREYSTONES ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL VOLUME 8

Many of them had lain there for hours, and they were … all
thoroughly drenched. Now and then we could see quite
clearly by the light of shells exploding near by – a dismal and
forlorn picture it made. What suffering! Ugh! A big shell has
just exploded pretty close by – the ground is still shaking. It’s
very cold … We are within three hundred and fifty yards of
the Germans. The doctors are busy operating all the time in
little underground “dug-outs”. I hear only the sounds of
groaning and the wicked shell music.’
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An energetic and imaginative fundraiser, Lizzie cajoled
donations to the BAC from bodies as various as the insurers
Lloyds and the Yorkshire miners, both of which contributed about
£40,000 in a single year, and organised a succession of money-
making ‘stunts’. One of the most successful of these was a week-
long flower fair held in Trafalgar Square, which was patronised
by royalty, cabinet ministers, the Lord Mayor ‘in full toggery’, the
equally-resplendent Bishop of London, who bestowed his
blessing on ambulances about to depart for France, and a party
of trade unionists who helped to marshal the crowds and collect
contributions. In all, as Lizzie proudly recorded, the event raised
more than £14,000. The BAC also received revenue from the
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sale of postcards carrying pictures of a shell-damaged
ambulance, and set up displays featuring the same ambulance,
together with a model of a war-ravaged French village and
captured German tanks and guns. Lizzie herself gave a number
of illustrated lectures on the committee’s work, one of which, held
at Bexhill in December 1917, brought in £74. In appealing for
funds, she extolled the close co-operation between French and
British which the effort entailed, the ‘coolness and courage’ of
the crews, which had been recognised by the award of no less
than sixty-five French military decorations for valour, and the

8 Ward, Mr Poilu, pp 38-41.
9 Day in, day out, pp 194-196.
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