The Ladies of SSAFA

An article published for SSAFA's Anniversary in The Lady magazine.

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This article was first published in The Lady, February 7, 2025.

Banner image is of the first uniform of the SSAFA Nurses, an image dated 1892.

By any definition, 1885 was a busy year.

In the arts, Dvorak’s 7th Symphony received its premiere, as did The Mikado. The world of transport saw patents issued for the first internal combustion engine and the Rover Safety Bicycle, regarded as the first practical bicycle. A patent was also issued to Sarah E. Goode, the first African-American woman to apply for and receive a patent, for the invention of the hideaway bed.

In the US, Good Housekeeping also saw its first edition and closer to home, well, you will know that The Lady did, too.

Less happily, the “Great Game” continued with the British and Russian empires going to war, while January saw Mahdist and British forces clash in the Sudan, with Major-General Gordon killed in action at Khartoum.

When the Second Expeditionary Force set sail for Egypt in February 1885, Major (later Colonel Sir) James Gildea, then aged 46, wrote in a letter published in The Times on February 14:

“History will no doubt do justice to the memorable defence of Khartoum, but English men and women throughout the world will hardly be satisfied unless some national memorial be raised to the illustrious General and his companions.”

The word “memorial” naturally conjures up thoughts of a statue, and a statue to Gordon remained in Khartoum until 1958.

“Memorial” has other meanings, though.

In a second letter, published February 21, he wrote: “Ample provision having been made under recent regulations for the relief of the widows and orphans of our soldiers and sailors who may be killed or die of disease or wounds of war, a further responsibility and duty now devolves on this country in seeing that the wives and children of these ordered on active service or not altogether forgotten, or that the cry of poverty and want be not added to that of suspense and anxiety.”

Sir James appeals in his letter for funds and volunteers to assist wives and widows, children and orphans and – effectively – founds the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association, a memorial not of bronze or marble, but of compassion and human endeavour, yet as sturdy.

This was not Major Gildea’s first philanthropic act. A militia officer who served with an ambulance unit in the Franco-Prussian war, he later he raised money for the families of those killed in the Zulu War of 1879 and the Second Afghan War of 1880.

For five years from 1890, he was the Organising Secretary of Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute for Nurses. In 1892 under his chairmanship of the Soldier’s and Sailors’ Families Association (SSFA) was created what were first named Alexandra Nurses, a nursing service still going strong today in the form of the Community Health Team. He founded the Royal Homes for Officers' Widows and Unmarried Daughters in Chelsea in 1899 and was also at one time treasurer of the St. John Ambulance Association.

And yet while this organisation, created for the benefit of women and children, was the vision of a man, it has enjoyed immense female support and patronage from its inception, and still has today.

Soon after its founding, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales (the future Queen Alexandra) became SSFA’s first president, even lending her initial to form the “Double-A” crest SSAFA still uses today.

As referred to earlier, she lent her name to the nursing service, which provided professional care to the wives and families of soldiers and sailors in garrison and seaport towns across the world.

The fight for women's suffrage was barely 10 years old when what became SSFA nurses were established, and the first women went overseas.

Women going overseas were not completely unheard of, but most who did were missionaries – or their spouses or parents – the wives and daughters of Empire builders, nuns, and governesses.

The Singapore of the Straits Settlements (up until circa 1900) and the Egypt of the “Veiled Protectorate” (1882-1914) were far different places to today, and lone women – of all ages – travelling to these locations was a brave step forwards, and arguably spurred on the fight for the emancipation of women, and female suffrage in the UK.

But these women, by turns doughty, independent, and professional, were trailblazers.

Anecdotes gleaned from an appeal for stories in the nursing service’s 130th anniversary included glimpses of life from the children of the Sisters during WWII and later younger nurses during the Cold War in Europe, specifically West Germany in the days of the British Army of the Rhine.

Tales of darting off from Hong Kong to Bangkok on an RAF flight, or trips into East Berlin in the company of dashing young officers in Mess Dress while they wore evening dress to dine at Ganymed Brasserie, and by all accounts had a fine time under the watchful eyes of the of the Stasi and VoPo.

With the foundation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association was presented with a new service to support, and Queen Alexandra suggested the organisation should change its name to the Soldiers', Sailors' & Airmen's Families Association or SSAFA.

Most of the nursing staff, or SSAFA Sisters as they were affectionately known, never attained, nor courted, public recognition. Their duty and dedication were reward enough. Following this trend, the life of one SSAFA Sister was virtually unknown until her death aged 97 in February 2024, and what a life it was.

Nicola (some official documents state “Nicole”) Trahan MBE was a SSAFA Sister for 30 years, later a volunteer in Wiltshire for SSAFA, and a member of the French Resistance during WWII.

Born in 1926 to a French mother and a Scots father, Nicola joined the Resistance as a teenager and saw action in the Indre department of central France. According to reports, her main role was as a courier delivering messages between the various resistance teams.

She received the Croix de Guerre with palm and La Médaille de la Reconnaissance française in 1949 for her work with the French Resistance, while she had to wait considerably longer (until 2017) for her parachute “wings”. Her “SSAFA Sister” nursing career saw her being honoured with an MBE in 1989. Even in death she remained a servant of good, leaving her body to science. In her honour, there is a memorial to her at SSAFA’s HQ in London, Queen Elizabeth House.

Such was their success that the UK’s National Health Service adopted the Alexandra Nurses’ practices for the District Nursing Service when it was set up in 1948.

SSAFA nurses, midwives, and health visitors are still at work today as part of our Community Health Team. These dedicated professionals provide first-class nursing and midwifery services to British Armed Forces personnel and their families posted overseas in Cyprus, SHAPE, Gibraltar, Brunei, Kenya, and BATUS in Canada. And yes, there are men in its ranks these days.

Arguably the most well-known woman in SSAFA’s history is Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who was Patron from 1952 until her death 70 years later.

Known as “The Boss”, the Queen’s devotion to her Armed Forces was legendary, and this was reflected in the military charities that had her Patronage, SSAFA included.

But her support for SSAFA came after that of Her Late Majesty the Queen Mother, who in 1915 when still Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon took part in fundraising activities for the charity, an interest that remained throughout her long life.

Even during WWII, the-then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret supported SSAFA by delivering honey from their hives to children at the charity’s home for orphans.

It was, however, the occasion of the Royal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947 that firmly demonstrated the future Queen’s generous support of the charity.

With gifts being sent to the Royal couple from all over the world, many were donated to charities important to the newlyweds.

A wedding gift of stamps from all over the Empire donated by the Philatelic Society was auctioned and the proceeds of £629 gifted to SSAFA, and the Princess then gave a donation of £500, part of her wedding present from the British community in Belgian Congo, to the charity.

Her Patronage continued throughout her reign with numerous Royal Film premieres benefitting SSAFA (including Dunkirk and Lawrence of Arabia). As a side note, SSAFA itself has made its own appearances in the arts. The 1960 film Tunes of Glory with Alec Guinness and John Mills features a SSAFA charity collection, while a reference is made to volunteering for SSAFA in an episode of Foyle’s War.

Now collectors’ items, the cartoonist Fougasse – known especially for his WWII poster Careless Talk Costs Lives – produced a series of posters for SSAFA.

(In a pleasing reference to Lawrence of Arabia, one SSFA volunteer was Gertrude Bell, the noted archaeologist, mountaineer, cartographer, historian, explorer, linguist, Arabist, and writer. She also found time to be a member of British Intelligence Services in Mesopotamia during WWI, worked with T E Lawrence and was an expert member of the British delegation on the Middle East at the Versailles conference.)

The Queen visited SSAFA’s HQs several times, including to open the current premises, which bears her name, near the Thames at St Dunstan’s Hill.

Her death in 2022 was felt deeply by all associated with SSAFA, causing the charity’s Controller, Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Gregory to comment: “Her Majesty’s involvement as patron these last 70 years genuinely and truly inspired people. What she epitomised — her service, her dedication, her commitment, her values, is what all of us would like to have.”

SSAFA exists for men and women of any service, of any age, and of any rank – and their families, and has female volunteers running branches and services, with female staff and trustees at all levels throughout the charity.

Services provided have developed through the years while some have ended as society and attitudes develop.

One that ended in 2024 was SSAFA’s Adoption Service, which had The Lady Dannatt as a panel member and vice chair. When SSAFA began its Adoption Service, attitudes of agencies and local authorities towards military personnel adopting were generally negative, mostly through lack of understanding of the uniqueness of service life.

Over scheme’s 25-year existence, SSAFA placed more than 300 children into their new adoptive military families, but the landscape had changed. Local authorities and civilian agencies were more open to and understanding of Armed Forces’ life, and SSAFA’s Adoption Service arguably assisted in leading the way in this change of attitude.

Its closure, in reality, was because of its success, and Lynne Doherty, Director of Social Care Operations, commented: “SSAFA has been instrumental in demonstrating adopted children can flourish within our military community, and we’re proud to have removed the barriers that once stood and that we’ve enabled families to thrive.”

One service, however, exclusively for women, is SSAFA’s Stepping Stone Home, a place of refuge and rebuilding for military women, or the spouse of military personnel, leaving, sometimes with their children, abusive and potentially dangerous relationships.

While calling this a “success” may jar slightly, it – since opening in 1997 – has been a lifeline for scores of women and children.

Anglia Ruskin University published an evaluation of Stepping Stone Home in 2023, calling it “… a unique and invaluable service”, adding “This service evaluation has revealed the life-changing impact that SSAFA’s Stepping Stone Home has on the lives of women of the Armed Forces community who may find themselves without somewhere to live.

“The overwhelmingly positive experiences of women who had used the service are testament to the hard work and dedication of the Stepping Stone Home staff members.”

Terrie Stapleton, its Housing Manager, noted: “Stepping Stone Home isn’t ‘a home’; it is home, a place to feel safe, a sanctuary and a lifeline for women and children in their time of need.

“I’m very proud to have worked at the home for 22 years and privileged to have been able to help many women and children rebuild their lives for a positive future.”

The future…

SSAFA’s history is glorious, but all glories are ephemeral, and it is SSAFA’s present and future – built from the vision 140 years ago of one man, though nurtured and strengthened by countless women over 14 decades – that will matter.

SSAFA’s National Vice Chair, Lady Walmsley, said: “To ensure SSAFA survives for at least another 140 years and fulfils Sir James Gildea’s mission, we rely on the goodwill and generosity of our supporters: from individual donors to our corporate partners.

“Throughout the year we organise fundraising events around the country suitable for people of all ages and abilities – from abseiling to a Big Brew Up to our 13 Bridges event in London each June. Anything you can do for us is very welcome!”

Readers of The Lady may be interested to learn how they can support SSAFA as it supports UK Armed Forces personnel – retired or current – and their families year round, in the UK and overseas.

This article was produced with the generous assistance of Juliet Chaplin, SSAFA Archivist.