British Red Cross: we're here for humanity

Story
2 minutes

Disaster can strike any time, anywhere. With millions of volunteers across 192 countries, the Red Cross can reach people with the help they need to get through a crisis

READ MORE
Joe Carstairs 1084 x 610

LGBTQ+ history month: Joe Carstairs - ambulance driver and fastest woman on water

By British Red Cross

Red Cross ambulance driver Joe Carstairs lived life fearlessly, shunning societal norms while always helping others.

Read the story
A close-up image of a section of the original Changi quilt

The Changi quilt: secrets and survival

By British Red Cross

Created by a group of defiant women prisoners during the Second World War, the Changi quilt is packed with secret messages and hidden meanings

 

READ MORE

Then and now: meet some of our most inspiring volunteers

Portrait of Florence Nightingale.

The legacy of Florence Nightingale, the first professional nurse

Her influence is still felt more than a century after her death

Article
3 minutes
JB Gill with Red Cross volunteer and lead farmer Tadios Chikuko.

Six notable people you didn't know volunteered for the British Red Cross

Just a few of the notable names who have volunteered with us

Article
3 minutes
Two police officers and two other men lift cardboard boxes into the back of a van at the time of the mining disaster in Aberfan.

Memories of a Red Cross volunteer at Aberfan

John Cole was one of hundreds of British Red Cross volunteers who helped the local community in Aberfan. Now, his daughter Anna shares his story.

Article
3 minutes
A photograph of Dr John Alcindor.

The famous Black doctor of Paddington

A doctor who overcame prejudice to help others during the First World War finally won recognition a hundred years later.

Article
3 minutes
Laszlo inside a hospital room

Caring for others through coronavirus: one nurse's story

Long-standing Red Cross volunteer and NHS community nurse, Laszlo, shares his story

Article
4 minutes
Stephen and other children from Christchurch Primary School practise first aid in school.

We campaigned to get first aid on the curriculum - now children are saving lives

By British Red Cross

When Stephen saw a woman who had collapsed in the street, he knew what to do because he had learned first aid at school with the help of the Red Cross.

How Stephen saved a life

150 years of the power of kindness

Poster designed for the recruitment of Voluntary Aid Detachments, or VADs, during the First World War.

Spanish flu: what the Red Cross did in a global pandemic

This is how we helped in the 1918 health crisis

Article
4 minutes
The Royal Mint 150th anniversary coin designed to honour 150 years of kindness through the British Red Cross.

Celebrating our 150th on a Royal Mint coin

A look at the inspiration and history behind the design

Article
3 minutes
British Red Cross staff members at a hospital in Stockport

The Red Cross and the NHS: a history of helping

A look at how we've worked with the NHS for over 70 years

Article
3 minutes
A group of British Red Cross volunteers smile for the camera.

The beginnings of the British Red Cross

Our museum and archives curator explains how it all began

Article
3 minutes
Princess Diana holds flowers and smiles at a group of adults and disabled children at a British Red Cross camp.

From beans on toast to landmines, memories of Princess Diana and the Red Cross

We look back at the life of a dedicated humanitarian

Story
4 minutes
A British Red Cross nurse from the first world war holds a letter and looks thoughtful in a garden.

Letters from a First World War nurse

These letters from our archive show the challenges of nursing during difficult times, as well as some of the lighter moments.

Story
5 minutes

Our Emergencies Fund

When disaster strikes, the first few hours are critical. Our Emergencies Fund helps us to respond quickly and give people urgent help in the UK and overseas.

DONATE