Thousands of American Red Cross servicewomen traveled to the U.K. during World War II and their stories are largely unknown.
That’s what a new project at the American Air Museum in Britain is trying to rectify. “Their stories have largely been forgotten, so the aim is to bring them to life, to learn more about these women and the impact they had, not only on the morale of the Americans based here but also on the local British people who came in contact with them,” historian Hattie Hearn told the BBC.
The American Red Cross was a civilian organisation set up in the 19th Century which became involved in supporting the welfare of service personnel.
The Imperial War Museum project began in January with the names of 100 women and has so far added more than 400 to that list. One of them is Hazel Dixon Payne, an early recruit to the American Red Cross, who was the first Black volunteer to die in overseas service. “She was buried in England with full military honors, there was an outpouring of grief at the time,” said Hearn.
Families with photographs, memorabilia, and memories from this period are encouraged to contribute insight to the museum’s archive and, as Hearn puts it, “preserve this history before it’s lost.”