Review of Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross by Sarah Glassford

Montgomery, Adam

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

Canadian Military HistoryVolume 28 | Issue 1 Article 124-29-2019Review of "Mobilizing Mercy: A History of theCanadian Red Cross" by Sarah GlassfordAdam MontgomeryThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian MilitaryHistory by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationMontgomery, Adam () "Review of "Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross" by Sarah Glassford," Canadian MilitaryHistory: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.Available at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol28/iss1/1234 Book ReviewsSarah Glassford. Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017. Pp. 408.Sarah Glassford’s Mobilizing Mercy is a taut, insightful, and incisive look at the history of the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRCS)—later the Canadian Red Cross—from its inception on the battlefield of Batoche in 1885 to 1970. Using a plethora of primary sources, including CRCS minute books, annual reports, newsletters, and, for an outside perspective, House of Commons Debates and Sessional Papers, she takes readers on a tour of CRCS work both within Canada and overseas.The Red Cross emblem is so familiar to people across the world that most of us, this author included, often assume that the organisation has always had lasting appeal, staying power, and has survived the decades with ease. But as Glassford demonstrates, the history of the CRCS is characterised more by “a tension between renewal and obsolescence” (p. 275). As Canadian society was affected by world events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly during and after the World Wars, the CRCS sometimes struggled to stay relevant. Put simply, its work as a neutral humanitarian aid organisation during wartime was easy to justify and understand, but governments and citizens sometimes struggled to see its purpose, and the appeal of volunteering, during peacetime.Glassford’s chapters include discussions of the North-West Rebellion, the South African War, the First and Second World Wars, the interwar years, and the post-1945 era. Perhaps the most interesting chapter is Chapter Three, which examines the CRCS’s meteoric rise during the First World War. The war, in Glassford’s words, “made the CRCS a national institution” (p. 82). Amidst the burst of patriotism and war fever, the CRCS was able to bring in a surge of donations, volunteers, and local popular support all across Canada. The combination of grassroots enthusiasm and national direction turned the CRCS from a Toronto-centric organisation into Canada’s largest humanitarian body. One of the organisation’s smartest moves during this period of professionalisation was its advertising activities, which included a monthly periodical begun in April 1915 that conveyed to both Red Cross workers and Canadians more broadly the work it was undertaking on the Western Front and domestically. It was during the CRCS’s work overseas, such as with prisoners of war, and metaphorical battles with headstrong Minister 1Montgomery: Review of "Mobilizing Mercy" by Sarah GlassfordPublished by Scholars Commons @ Laurier,  35C A N A D I A N  M I L I TA RY  H I S T O RY of Militia and Defence Sam Hughes, who wished to “extend his influence into the voluntary sector” by appointing—in an unsolicited manner—three people to the society’s London headquarters, that a growing and consistent struggle between government and the CRCS began to take shape (p. 86).This struggle was representative of larger changes in Canadian society as the First World War initiated the slow but ineluctable move over the coming decades from private/voluntary charity and aid to public/federal provisions—those in line with “big government.” But that was still far in the future and, as it turned out, a gradual evolution.What makes Glassford’s combination of institutional and social history approaches so effective is that she is consistently able to balance the macro and micro events. Of particular interest is her emphasis on the CRCS’s change from a largely male-dominated and elite organisation to one with a significant number of middle class women and, later, grassroots leaders. The CRCS was able to deftly steer a path that attracted widespread support because of its spin on “traditionally ‘feminine’ activities” like knitting that allowed women to participate in war work while still extending the domestic space, and appealing to the conservative views of a woman’s “place” in society (p. 122). Of even greater significance was the CRCS’s Information Bureau which provided updates to families on wounded and missing soldiers during the First World War and was referred to by Mary Macleod Moore as the “Mothering Bureau” (p. 122). Such widely varied activities at both a local and international level contributed to the “many and varied meanings” that gave the CRCS a broad appeal (p. 127).Despite the CRCS’s successes during the First World War, the interwar years led to “mission drift” as the organisation struggled to find a place for itself in peacetime society. A move into public health work emphasising, among numerous other things, the prevention of disease, health care education, and healthy bodies led to financial difficulties when the Great Depression hit and fundraising activities came up dry. Assistance for veterans and general relief measures kept the society afloat, but volunteers nonetheless deserted in droves and the interwar years proved that no voluntary organisation, “no matter how prestigious or widely supported, could provide comprehensive services in the fields of public health or social welfare” (p. 160). Glassford’s emphasis on the constant tension between public and private and the creeping influence of big government over time is a 2Canadian Military History, Vol. 28 [], Iss. 1, Art. 12https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol28/iss1/1236 Book Reviewsrecurring theme, and she does an excellent job of highlighting both the CRCS’s triumphs and struggles amidst those changes.It must be said that at the back of this reviewer’s mind, and I am sure many others’ when they began reading this book, was whether Glassford would address the event (unfortunately) most remembered by Canadians in the past several decades: the “Tainted Blood Scandal” of the 1980s, which led to thousands of Canadians contracting HIV and Hepatitis C, and blood transfusion services being (voluntarily) removed as one of the CRCS’s activities. Although Glassford’s account stops at 1970, to her credit she does address the scandal briefly in her conclusion, and acknowledges the mistakes that were made. This frankness is important, and also helps the book to remain a strong and honest account of the CRCS’s successes, trials, and tribulations, rather than letting it edge into hagiographical territory. Although I wish the book had extended beyond 1970, she has nonetheless left the door open for future historians to trace the difficulties the CRCS experienced during the Tainted Blood Scandal and its subsequent activities in the early twenty-first century.Mobilizing Mercy is an engaging and well-written account of the CRCS’s history, and, given that McKenzie Porter’s 1960 CRCS-approved (and mainly anecdotal) monograph To All Men: The Story of the Canadian Red Cross has been the standard work on the organisation since its publication over sixty years ago, Glassford’s book is timely and needed.1 She has provided a new and refreshing addition to the CRCS’s history using a wide range of sources, and has managed a multitude of themes and issues with verve. Given the ubiquity of the Red Cross and how important the CRCS has been to Canadian society, it behooves those interested in humanitarian aid in Canada, and those studying the growth of the big state, among other things, to read this book. Lastly, Mobilizing Mercy will of course be of particular use to other (international) historians studying national Red Cross/Crescent/Crystal branches around the world. I learned a lot from this book, and as Glassford convincingly demonstrates, the history of the CRCS to a large degree mirrors that of Canada itself. adam montgomery, independent researcher1  McKenzie Porter, To All Men: The Story of the Canadian Red Cross (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1960).3Montgomery: Review of "Mobilizing Mercy" by Sarah GlassfordPublished by Scholars Commons @ Laurier,

Review of  Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross  by Sarah Glassford

Scholars Commons

Canadian Military History
Volume 28 | Issue 1 Article 12
4-29-2019
Review of "Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the
Canadian Red Cross" by Sarah Glassford
Adam Montgomery
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military
History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Montgomery, Adam () "Review of "Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red Cross" by Sarah Glassford," Canadian Military
History: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.
Available at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol28/iss1/12
34 Book Reviews
Sarah Glassford. Mobilizing Mercy: A History of the Canadian Red 
Cross. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 
2017. Pp. 408.
Sarah Glassford’s Mobilizing Mercy is a taut, insightful, and incisive 
look at the history of the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRCS)—later 
the Canadian Red Cross—from its inception on the battlefield of 
Batoche in 1885 to 1970. Using a plethora of primary sources, including 
CRCS minute books, annual reports, newsletters, and, for an outside 
perspective, House of Commons Debates and Sessional Papers, she takes 
readers on a tour of CRCS work both within Canada and overseas.
The Red Cross emblem is so familiar to people across the 
world that most of us, this author included, often assume that the 
organisation has always had lasting appeal, staying power, and has 
survived the decades with ease. But as Glassford demonstrates, the 
history of the CRCS is characterised more by “a tension between 
renewal and obsolescence” (p. 275). As Canadian society was affected 
by world events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly 
during and after the World Wars, the CRCS sometimes struggled to 
stay relevant. Put simply, its work as a neutral humanitarian aid 
organisation during wartime was easy to justify and understand, but 
governments and citizens sometimes struggled to see its purpose, and 
the appeal of volunteering, during peacetime.
Glassford’s chapters include discussions of the North-West 
Rebellion, the South African War, the First and Second World 
Wars, the interwar years, and the post-1945 era. Perhaps the most 
interesting chapter is Chapter Three, which examines the CRCS’s 
meteoric rise during the First World War. The war, in Glassford’s 
words, “made the CRCS a national institution” (p. 82). Amidst the 
burst of patriotism and war fever, the CRCS was able to bring in a 
surge of donations, volunteers, and local popular support all across 
Canada. The combination of grassroots enthusiasm and national 
direction turned the CRCS from a Toronto-centric organisation 
into Canada’s largest humanitarian body. One of the organisation’s 
smartest moves during this period of professionalisation was its 
advertising activities, which included a monthly periodical begun in 
April 1915 that conveyed to both Red Cross workers and Canadians 
more broadly the work it was undertaking on the Western Front and 
domestically. It was during the CRCS’s work overseas, such as with 
prisoners of war, and metaphorical battles with headstrong Minister 
1
Montgomery: Review of "Mobilizing Mercy" by Sarah Glassford
Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier,
  35C A N A D I A N  M I L I TA RY  H I S T O RY 
of Militia and Defence Sam Hughes, who wished to “extend his 
influence into the voluntary sector” by appointing—in an unsolicited 
manner—three people to the society’s London headquarters, that a 
growing and consistent struggle between government and the CRCS 
began to take shape (p. 86).
This struggle was representative of larger changes in Canadian 
society as the First World War initiated the slow but ineluctable move 
over the coming decades from private/voluntary charity and aid to 
public/federal provisions—those in line with “big government.” But 
that was still far in the future and, as it turned out, a gradual evolution.
What makes Glassford’s combination of institutional and social 
history approaches so effective is that she is consistently able to 
balance the macro and micro events. Of particular interest is her 
emphasis on the CRCS’s change from a largely male-dominated 
and elite organisation to one with a significant number of middle 
class women and, later, grassroots leaders. The CRCS was able to 
deftly steer a path that attracted widespread support because of its 
spin on “traditionally ‘feminine’ activities” like knitting that allowed 
women to participate in war work while still extending the domestic 
space, and appealing to the conservative views of a woman’s “place” 
in society (p. 122). Of even greater significance was the CRCS’s 
Information Bureau which provided updates to families on wounded 
and missing soldiers during the First World War and was referred 
to by Mary Macleod Moore as the “Mothering Bureau” (p. 122). 
Such widely varied activities at both a local and international level 
contributed to the “many and varied meanings” that gave the CRCS 
a broad appeal (p. 127).
Despite the CRCS’s successes during the First World War, the 
interwar years led to “mission drift” as the organisation struggled to 
find a place for itself in peacetime society. A move into public health 
work emphasising, among numerous other things, the prevention of 
disease, health care education, and healthy bodies led to financial 
difficulties when the Great Depression hit and fundraising activities 
came up dry. Assistance for veterans and general relief measures kept 
the society afloat, but volunteers nonetheless deserted in droves and 
the interwar years proved that no voluntary organisation, “no matter 
how prestigious or widely supported, could provide comprehensive 
services in the fields of public health or social welfare” (p. 160). 
Glassford’s emphasis on the constant tension between public and 
private and the creeping influence of big government over time is a 
2
Canadian Military History, Vol. 28 [], Iss. 1, Art. 12
https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol28/iss1/12
36 Book Reviews
recurring theme, and she does an excellent job of highlighting both 
the CRCS’s triumphs and struggles amidst those changes.
It must be said that at the back of this reviewer’s mind, and 
I am sure many others’ when they began reading this book, was 
whether Glassford would address the event (unfortunately) most 
remembered by Canadians in the past several decades: the “Tainted 
Blood Scandal” of the 1980s, which led to thousands of Canadians 
contracting HIV and Hepatitis C, and blood transfusion services 
being (voluntarily) removed as one of the CRCS’s activities. Although 
Glassford’s account stops at 1970, to her credit she does address the 
scandal briefly in her conclusion, and acknowledges the mistakes that 
were made. This frankness is important, and also helps the book 
to remain a strong and honest account of the CRCS’s successes, 
trials, and tribulations, rather than letting it edge into hagiographical 
territory. Although I wish the book had extended beyond 1970, she 
has nonetheless left the door open for future historians to trace the 
difficulties the CRCS experienced during the Tainted Blood Scandal 
and its subsequent activities in the early twenty-first century.
Mobilizing Mercy is an engaging and well-written account of 
the CRCS’s history, and, given that McKenzie Porter’s 1960 CRCS-
approved (and mainly anecdotal) monograph To All Men: The Story 
of the Canadian Red Cross has been the standard work on the 
organisation since its publication over sixty years ago, Glassford’s 
book is timely and needed.1 She has provided a new and refreshing 
addition to the CRCS’s history using a wide range of sources, and 
has managed a multitude of themes and issues with verve. Given the 
ubiquity of the Red Cross and how important the CRCS has been to 
Canadian society, it behooves those interested in humanitarian aid in 
Canada, and those studying the growth of the big state, among other 
things, to read this book. Lastly, Mobilizing Mercy will of course be 
of particular use to other (international) historians studying national 
Red Cross/Crescent/Crystal branches around the world. I learned a 
lot from this book, and as Glassford convincingly demonstrates, the 
history of the CRCS to a large degree mirrors that of Canada itself. 
adam montgomery, independent researcher
1  McKenzie Porter, To All Men: The Story of the Canadian Red Cross (Toronto: 
McClelland & Stewart, 1960).
3
Montgomery: Review of "Mobilizing Mercy" by Sarah Glassford
Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier,


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