Over the past 120 years, many citizens have worn a uniform that identified them as volunteers or staff of the Canadian Red Cross. But few have done so with greater pride or distinction than the members of the Canadian Red Cross Corps (CRCC) or Far East Welfare Team (FEWT), who wore theirs while representing Canada and the Red Cross in wartime service overseas. This is the uniform of a CRCC member who served overseas during the Second World War (1939-45).
 

Uniforms often serve practical purposes (such as safety or convenience), but above all they make a visual statement about who the wearer is and what she or he does. The uniforms worn by CRCC and FEWT members identified them as Red Cross volunteers, of course, but more specifically as highly trained, disciplined, specialist volunteers. Their vaguely military style also linked them to the broader contexts of war in which they were worn.
 

The CRCC was created during the Second World War, and 641 of its members served overseas in Britain or continental Europe. Others were stationed in Newfoundland (a separate country until 1949) or aboard the ships that transported Canadian servicemen’s war brides and children from Europe to Canada at the end of the war. They drove ambulances, they served in hospitals, canteens, and Red Cross offices, and they attended to the welfare of sick and wounded military personnel.
 

The FEWT did similar welfare work for Canadian personnel on leave in Japan or South Korea during the Korean War (1950-53). Both the CRCC and FEWT consisted solely of women. Members were extensively trained, many had previous professional backgrounds in their areas of service, and all gave hundreds of hours of voluntary service.
 

Few members considered their uniform even remotely stylish, and many disliked the “ice-bag”-style hat that went with it. Yet the fact that many held onto their uniforms and later donated them to museums or Red Cross branches indicates that they believed the work they did while in uniform was important. 
 

The esprit de corps and pride felt by these dedicated volunteers is also evident in the fact that many of them remained in contact with each other, and with the Red Cross, through their alumnae association, the Overseas Club, for up to 60 years after their overseas service ended. The club raised money to buy new equipment for the Red Cross’ Sickroom Equipment Loan Service (SELS) for roughly 50 years.