MONEY


THE NUFFIELD TRUST FOR THE


FORCES OF THE 75 years of Giving T 24


he 14th October 2014 saw the 75th birthday of the Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the Crown which was


endowed by Lord Nuffield, who as William Morris had founded Morris Motors and who used his wealth to set up a myriad of charitable trusts.


In May 1939 he had seen the remarkable response to a National Appeal for Voluntary Recruiting and on 14th October 1939 he endowed the Trust with 1 million shares in Morris Motors worth £1,500,000 to provide ‘facilities for recreation’ for the Armed Forces including the Militia, the Territorial Army and the Auxiliary Services. With the


Envoy Winter 2014


call up of Territorials and conscripts, Lord Nuffield gifted a further £50,000 to tide the Trust over until dividends from the shares were received.


Lord Nuffield was clear that it was the Armed Services who would set out what they needed, and the Trust gave each of the Services an allocation to spend. However, he was also clear that the Trust would not meet the cost of anything that should be paid from public funds. During the Second World War, many newly- formed units at home and overseas were set up with sports equipment, furnishings, libraries, games and radios. When the Trust found that Service personnel were having


to sleep in railway stations when transiting through London, they started a subsidised hotel accommodation scheme and gave grants to existing Service Clubs (such as the Union Jack Club) to expand their premises or to cover running costs. They also opened several clubs, including the renowned Nuffield Centre which offered meals, variety shows by top-rate artists of the time, dances and complimentary theatre tickets. The Trust also founded rest and recuperation schemes, the largest of which being the Nuffield Aircrew Leave Scheme providing operational aircrew (mainly from Bomber Command) with subsidised or free accommodation at some 30 hotels throughout the Country as well as offering


www.raf-ff.org.uk CROWN


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