Salvation Army International Headquarters departments: Post-War Relief Department

These are the records of the Salvation Army Post-War Relief Department (which became known as the European Relief Department in April 1945), 1942-1953.

This collection comprises administrative records from the European Relief Department Headquarters and reports from various Salvation Army Relief Sections of the Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad (CBSRA).

The collection is arranged as follows:

PWR/1: Administrative records

PWR/2: Relief Section files (Closed)

PWR/3: Photographs

PWR/4: Papers and correspondence of Commissioner and Mrs Sladen

The Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad (CBSRA) was formed in 1942 by 22 British voluntary organisations with international affiliations for the purpose of co-ordinating their efforts in the liberated countries of Europe and elsewhere in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its chairman was Sir William Goode and it had offices at 75 Victoria Street, London. By August 1945, the CBSRA had some 1,500 relief workers organised in mobile teams: sixty-six general relief teams, nineteen mobile medical teams and seven mobile hospital sections. In Greece, Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia, France, Holland and Germany these teams worked in camps and hostels, organised food and clothing distribution, and ran emergency hospitals and travelling clinics. Individual relief teams attached to the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Europe were organised by the International Red Cross, the Society of Friends, International Voluntary Service for Peace and other voluntary organisations, as well as The Salvation Army.

Some parts of this collection are closed to the public. Records of a personal nature relating to identified individuals are closed for the lifespan of the individual. When it is not possible to establish whether an individual has died, a closure period of 84 years (if the individual was an adult when the record was created) or 100 years (if the individual was a child when the record was created) is imposed under the Data Protection Act. Former residents can apply for access to their own records. Please enquire for details. Open files can be viewed in the reading room of The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre, open Tue-Fri 9.30-4.00. To make an appointment or to enquire about your own records, phone: 0207 326 7800; or email: heritage@salvationarmy.org.uk .

A multi-level description of this collection can be accessed in the International Heritage Centre's online catalogue: http://www.calmview.eu/SalvationArmy/CalmView/ . A paper catalogue is available in the reading room of the International Heritage Centre.