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and to maintain in readiness for such duty a body of trained men
and women.
Chislehurst and Sidcup Old People's Welfare Committee.
Abstract from Secretary's Annual Report:—
" This year it has not been necessary to open any new Clubs,
since, in the previous year, we achieved our object of establishing
a Club in each Ward of the Urban District. A meeting place has.
therefore, been provided within reach of most of the elderly
residents of the area.
There are now 1,000 old people attending twelve Clubs each
week and many of the members belong to two or three Clubs.
Membership has continued to increase and several Clubs have
had to limit their numbers."
British Red Cross Society.
The Chislehurst and Sidcup division of the British Red Cross
Society has detachments at Chislehurst, Sidcup (2), Mottingham.
and also at Petts Wood and Orpington (serving the St. Paul's
Cray L.C.C. Estate), with cadet units and associate groups. The
Divisional Office is at Hornbrook House, High Street, Chislehurst.
The Objects of the Society are the care of the sick and
wounded in peace and war, the improvement of health, the
prevention of disease and the mitigation of suffering.
In addition to first-aid duties and regular auxiliary nursing
in the hospitals of the neighbourhood, the men and women of the
Society's detachments are engaged in a number of local welfare
activities which include the Hospital Library Service, diversional
therapy for the home-bound, home visiting of the sick, hospital
needlework and hopfield dispensaries.
A first-aid hut is open at Ruxley Corner. Footscray, on Sundays
and Public holidays during the summer, and four depots
are operated at all times for the loan of invalid and sick-room
equipment. Personnel assist in staffing at local clinics and at the
periodical blood transfusion sessions.
The division is responsible for the recruitment and initial
instruction of untrained volunteers for the National Hospital
Service Reserve, and undertake the basic first-aid training of
volunteers for the Civil Defence Corps.
Membership of the adult detachments is open to men and
women between the ages of sixteen and sixty-five.