Fascinating images, posters, uniforms and objects from one of the UK’s most important archives are going on display to mark the 80th anniversary of the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS).
Founded on 16 May 1938 as the Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions, RVS is the largest volunteering organisation in British history. The charity was originally formed by Stella Reading to help recruit women into the ARP movement, assisting civilians during and after air raids and helping to evacuate children.
RVS is marking its 80th with several events, including an exhibition at The Wiltshire Museum in Devizes:
Compassion in Crisis – 80 years of Volunteering, from 7 May to 24 June 2018. It is using objects from the RVS archives to tell the story of how Reading and her million ‘women in green’ revolutionised the way the world thought about voluntary service. The WVS pushed forward the cause of women, helped form the modern welfare state and was always on hand in times of crisis, from WW2 to supporting the elderly today as the RSV.