| Biography | The Forces Help Society, originally known as The Soldiers & Sailors Help Society was founded in 1899 with Princess Christian, Queen Victorias third daughter and a founder of the Red Cross, as its first President. It received its Charter of Incorporation in 1901. Following the creation of the Royal Air Force, the Society became the Incorporated Soldiers Sailors and Airmens Help Society.
The Societys role was very similar to that of SSAFA and it had similar numbers of branches nationally and overseas, its own caseworkers and fundraisers, and almonised benevolence in a similar fashion. However it also had responsibility for the governance of the Lord Roberts Workshops which had been established following the South African War to provide sheltered employment for disabled ex-servicemen.
In 1948 the Society changed its name to the Forces Help Society. Co-operation between the Society and SSAFA began tentatively in 1988 with one branch establishing a Joint Liaison and Welfare Committee, made easier by the co-locating of both organisations in the same building. This mutual assistance, including fund-raising, continued until the formal amalgamation of the two organisation in 1997. |