Silver Thimble Fund

Last updated
The southernmost of the War Memorial Shelters, built with money raised by the Silver Thimble Fund War Memorial Shelters, Kensington Gardens, September 2016 14.jpg
The southernmost of the War Memorial Shelters, built with money raised by the Silver Thimble Fund

The Silver Thimble Fund was founded by Miss Hope Elizabeth Hope-Clarke of Wimbledon in 1915 to collect damaged thimbles and other items made from precious metals, melt them down and raise money for medical equipment. [1] It became "one of the most successful charities of the First World War". [2]

Hope-Clarke started with a letter in The Times in July 1915, appealing for damaged thimbles and other trinkets. The Silver Thimble Fund was run from her house in Wimbledon throughout the War, and Queen Alexandra (the King's mother) became the charity's patron. [1]

By 1919, 30 appeals resulted in 60,000 thimbles being collected. The Fund acquired 15 ambulances, 5 motor hospital launches, 2 dental surgery cars and a disinfector, and 160 collecting centres were established across the Commonwealth. [1]

The War Memorial Shelters are two Grade II listed commemorative shelters in Kensington Gardens, London, about 140m east of Kensington Palace, built in about 1919 by the Silver Thimble Fund, to commemorate the Great War, and the soldiers and sailors who fought. [3]

Related Research Articles

Brookwood Cemetery Burial ground in Surrey, England

Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Sefton Park Public park in south Liverpool, England

Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, Wavertree and St Michael's Hamlet.

Thimble Protective cup used during sewing

A thimble is a small pitted cup worn on the finger that protects it from being pricked or poked by a needle while sewing. The Old English word þȳmel, the ancestor of thimble, is derived from Old English þūma, the ancestor of the English word ‘thumb’.

War Memorials Trust works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. The charity provides free information and advice as well as administering grant schemes for the repair and conservation of war memorials.

Royal Naval Division War Memorial War memorial in London

The Royal Naval Division Memorial is a First World War memorial located on Horse Guards Parade in central London, and dedicated to members of the 63rd Division (RND) killed in that conflict. Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the memorial, which was unveiled on 25 April 1925—ten years to the day after the Gallipoli landings, in which the division suffered heavy casualties. Shortly after the war, former members of the division established a committee, chaired by one of their leading officers, Brigadier-General Arthur Asquith, to raise funds for a memorial. Progress was initially slow. The committee planned to incorporate its memorial into a larger monument proposed by the Royal Navy for Trafalgar Square. When the navy abandoned that project, the RND's committee decided to proceed independently. They engaged Lutyens, who, after negotiation with the Office of Works, produced a design for a fountain connected to the balustrade of the Admiralty Extension building.

Guards Memorial War memorial in London, England, U.K.

The Guards Memorial, also known as the Guards Division War Memorial, is an outdoor war memorial located on the west side of Horse Guards Road, opposite Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom. It commemorates the war dead from the Guards Division and related units during the First World War, and of the Household Division in the Second World War and other conflicts since 1918.

Twickenham Museum History museum in England, UK

The Twickenham Museum is a volunteer-run museum in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located opposite St Mary's parish church at 25 The Embankment, Twickenham TW1 3DU, an 18th-century three-storey building which has been listed Grade II by Historic England and was donated to the museum.

South African War Memorial, Richmond Cemetery War memorial to South African soldiers in London, UK

The South African War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Richmond Cemetery in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial is in the form of a cenotaph, similar to that on Whitehall, also by Lutyens. It was commissioned by the South African Hospital and Comforts Fund Committee to commemorate the 39 South African soldiers who died of their wounds at a military hospital in Richmond Park during the First World War. The memorial was unveiled by General Jan Smuts in 1921 and was the focus of pilgrimages from South Africa through the 1920s and 1930s, after which it was largely forgotten until the 1980s when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took responsibility for its maintenance. It has been a grade II listed building since 2012.

Spalding War Memorial First World War memorial in Spalding, Lincolnshire

Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal for a memorial to Spalding's war dead originated in January 1918 with Barbara McLaren, whose husband and the town's Member of Parliament, Francis McLaren, was killed in a flying accident during the war. She engaged Lutyens via a family connection and the architect produced a plan for a grand memorial cloister surrounding a circular pond, in the middle of which would be a cross. The memorial was to be built in the formal gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall, which was owned by the local district council. When McLaren approached the council with her proposal, it generated considerable debate within the community and several alternative schemes were suggested. After a public meeting and a vote in 1919, a reduced-scale version of McLaren's proposal emerged as the preferred option, in conjunction with a clock on the town's corn exchange building.

North Eastern Railway War Memorial First World War memorial in York in northern England

The North Eastern Railway War Memorial is a First World War memorial in York in northern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to commemorate employees of the North Eastern Railway (NER) who left to fight in the First World War and were killed while serving. The NER board voted in early 1920 to allocate £20,000 for a memorial and commissioned Lutyens. The committee for the York City War Memorial followed suit and also appointed Lutyens, but both schemes became embroiled in controversy. Concerns were raised from within the community about the effect of the NER memorial on the city walls and its impact on the proposed scheme for the city's war memorial, given that the two memorials were planned to be 100 yards apart and the city's budget was a tenth of the NER's. The controversy was resolved after Lutyens modified his plans for the NER memorial to move it away from the walls and the city opted for a revised scheme on land just outside the walls; coincidentally the land was owned by the NER, whose board donated it to the city.

War Memorial Shelters

The War Memorial Shelters are two Grade II listed commemorative shelters in Kensington Gardens, London, about 100m apart, and about 140m east of Kensington Palace, built in about 1919 by the Silver Thimble Fund, to commemorate the Great War, and the soldiers and sailors who fought.

Hope Hope-Clarke

Hope Elizabeth Hope-Clarke OBE was a British charity campaigner, the founder and honorary organiser of the Silver Thimble Fund, "one of the most successful charities of the First World War".

Poplar Recreation Ground Memorial

The Poplar Recreation Ground Memorial is a memorial to 18 children killed at Upper North Street School in Poplar on 13 June 1917, by the first daylight bombing attack on London by fixed-wing aircraft.

Lancaster Gate Memorial Cross

The Lancaster Gate Memorial Cross is a grade II listed war memorial in Lancaster Gate, London, commemorating residents of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington who died fighting in the First World War.

St Michael Cornhill War Memorial

St Michael Cornhill War Memorial is a First World War memorial by the entrance to the church of St Michael Cornhill, facing Cornhill in the City of London. The memorial became a Grade II* listed building in December 2016 ; the church itself is Grade I listed.

Lincolns Inn War Memorial

Lincoln's Inn War Memorial is a war memorial in Lincoln's Inn, London. It was erected in 1921 as a memorial to members of the Inn of Court who died on active service during the First World War. It became a Grade II listed building in 1999.

24th East Surrey Division War Memorial

24th East Surrey Division War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Battersea Park, London. The unusual avant-garde design by Eric Kennington, his first public commission, was unveiled in 1924. It became a Grade II* listed building in 2005.

Streatham War Memorial

Streatham War Memorial is a war memorial to the war dead of the London district of Streatham in the two World Wars. It was unveiled in 1922, and is sited near the northwest corner of Streatham Common.

C. W. Stephens British architect

Charles William Stephens was a British architect. As architect to the Harrods department store in London from 1892 until his death, he was responsible for the store's famous Baroque-style façade on Brompton Road. His other designs include Harvey Nichols department store, the new Claridge's hotel, 54 Parkside, and the Park Lane Hotel, all in London.

The Bank of England War Memorial, in the internal Garden Court at the headquarters of the Bank of England in the City of London, commemorates the bank's staff who were killed while serving in the First World War and Second World War. It includes a bronze sculpture by Richard Reginald Goulden portraying Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child. It became a Grade II listed building in 2017. The surrounding buildings of the bank are separately listed at Grade I.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "How Did Thimbles Help Thousands of Servicemen in the First World War?". Historic England. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  2. "The Silver Thimble Fund - Carved in Stone". London Borough of Merton.
  3. Historic England. "War Memorial Shelters (1420382)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 September 2016.