Smith College Relief Unit

The Smith College Relief Unit was founded in 1917 by Harriet Boyd Hawes (1892) to bring relief to those areas of France that were most devastated during the First World War. With a pledge of $30,000 from alumnae, Hawes set off with seventeen other Smith graduates for France. Their base was the village of Grecourt in the Somme Valley. They provided relief supplies and started the process of rebuilding. In March 1918 a German offensive forced them to leave Grecourt and move to Beauvais. By 1918 the Unit was accepted as a affiliate of the Red Cross who granted further aid to the Unit. By November the Red Cross began to disband their relief services but the Relief Unit stayed. The last of the Unit's members did not leave France until 1929. The Relief Unit was the first college women's unit in France and inspired other colleges such as Wellesley and Bryn Mawr.

From the description of Smith College Relief Unit records, 1917-1997 bulk 1917-1929. (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 52253821

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