“I will not forget to tell all our boys in the trenches of the hearty welcome which awaits them at Preston Buffet.”
How were the Volunteers Thanked for their Work?
The Harris Museum and Art Gallery looks after many objects that also show how grateful the soldiers and sailors were for all this help.
- Ada received many letters of thanks like the one below from soldiers.
- Volunteers were sometimes awarded with badges and service bars for long service. The photograph below shows a badge awarded to Mrs Makinson for her four years of service with the Free Buffet during the First World War.
- The photograph below shows a writing case which was given to Ada Whiteside and her sisters as a present from the soldiers and sailors of Blackburn. Ada also received many letters of thanks from the hospitals where she donated the walking sticks.