League of Mercy
Formation30 March 1899 (1899-03-30)
FounderEdward, Prince of Wales
Founded atLondon
Dissolved1947
PurposeTo recruit volunteers for hospitals
First President
Edward, Prince of Wales[1]
Last President
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

The League of Mercy was a British foundation established in 1899 by Royal Charter of Queen Victoria. The goal of the organisation was to recruit a large number of volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals. It was disbanded at the establishment of the National Health Service in 1947,[2] with its royal charter subsequently surrendered.[3]

In its lifetime it collected a total of £850,000, £600,000 for London Hospitals and £250,000 for rural 'cottage hospitals' with subscriptions being as little as a shilling (12p) a year for servants and tradespeople.[4]

In 1999, the League of Mercy Foundation was established to recognise and reward volunteers.[5]

History

In 1898, Sir Everard Hambro chaired a committee established to consider several submitted plans and proposals on devising a badly needed organisation.[6]

On 1 March 1899, the Edward, Prince of Wales chaired a meeting at Marlborough House[6] to establish a fundraising body to support voluntary hospitals and announce subsequent directives.[4] Sixty-five districts were established based on Parliamentary constituency divisions, each with a president (grandee) who coordinated the collection of donations through middle class volunteers.[4] Many notable contemporaries were in attendance at the meeting, including the Duke of Westminster, the Marquess of Lorne, the Marquess of Camden, Earl Carrington, Earl of Clarendon, Earl of Dartmouth, Sir W. Hart Dyke, Sir Whittaker Ellis, Sir Arthur Hayter, Sir Fitzroy D. Maclean, Weetman Pearson and Edmund Boulnois.[6]

The prince stated:[6]

The purpose for which the League of Mercy has been established is to promote the welfare and to further the objects of the Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund for London, and in every way, but especially by encouraging personal service on the part of large numbers of persons to further the interests and to promote the adequate maintenance of hospitals and other institutions for the relief of sickness and suffering, and especially those institutions which are supported by voluntary contributions.

— Edward, Prince of Wales, The Times, 2 March 1899[6]

After being active for nearly half a century, the League ceased its work in 1947 on the creation of the National Health Service,[2] its Royal Charter subsequently surrendered.[3]

Presidents

The presidents of the original League were:

Badge of the Order of Mercy

Badge of the Order of the League of Mercy, version awarded 1899–1946. The bow was for ladies' awards

The original badge of the order, awarded from 1899, was a red enamelled silver gilt cross surmounted by the plumes of the Prince of Wales and with a central roundel bearing the crest of the League, an image of ‘Charity’.[7] The reverse is plain, save for the inscription “League of Mercy 1898” on the central roundel. It was awarded for at least five years distinguished and unpaid personal service to the League in support of charity hospitals, or in the relief of suffering, poverty or distress. A bar for a second award was introduced in 1917.[8] The Order ceased to be awarded after 1946, and the League itself closed in 1947.[2]

In the United Kingdom, the pre-1947 Badge comes after the Service Medal of the Order of St John and before the Voluntary Medical Service Medal in the order precedence.[9]

League of Mercy Foundation

League of Mercy Foundation
Formation30 March 1999 (1999-03-30)
Legal statusCharity
PurposeTo reward distinguished voluntary service in health and social care.
HeadquartersSurrey
President
Sir Robert Balchin, Baron Lingfield
Websiteleagueofmercy.co.uk
Badge of the Order awarded since 1999

The League of Mercy Foundation was established as a charity on 30 March 1999, exactly 100 years after the founding of the original League.[5] Its role is to recognise and encourage outstanding voluntary work in the care of the sick, injured or disabled, young people who are at risk, the homeless, the elderly or the dying.[10] Volunteers’ nominations may be made only by charitable organisations in these fields. Other than having the same name, there is no formal connection between the original League of Mercy and the foundation.

The foundation re-established the Order of Mercy with a similar medal design, but in silver gilt and without enamel or the Prince of Wales's plumes. The reverse follows the earlier version, but now shows the year “1999”.[2] A special Companion's Badge was also created to reward wider humanitarian work. This has red enamel, similar to the original badge, and is worn around the neck.[11] The restored League established an annual award ceremony in which approximately 50 people are awarded the Order of Mercy, "as a reward for personal services gratuitously rendered in connection with the purposes for which the League was established." The Medal of the Order of the League of Mercy (OLM) and Companion's Badge of the Order of the League of Mercy are awarded each year at the Mansion House in London with awards appearing in the London Gazette.[12] The Badge of the Order of the League of Mercy is part of the official Order of Wear of the United Kingdom, but this only applies to awards made prior to June 1947 when the League's royal charter was surrendered.[13]

Recipients are predominately chosen from long-serving community volunteers in the UK, but recipients have also included heads of former ruling houses, including Prince David Bagrationi of Georgia,[14] and Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies,[11] who have received the higher grade of Companion of the Order of Mercy and, in return, have bestowed dynastic orders upon the League's president.[15]

Professor Alan Roberts, OBE, TD, a former pro-chancellor of Leeds University and cadet-commandant of Yorkshire Army Cadet Force, was appointed a Companion of the Order of Mercy in 2002,[16] having previously received an honorary doctorate from Brunel University, whose pro-chancellor is Lord Lingfield.[17] Professor Roberts also serves as gentleman usher of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor, whose Knight Principal is Lord Lingfield.[18]

Other recipients include Thomas Balchin, Lord Lingfield's son,[19] who also serves as secretary to the council of the League of Mercy, and Anthony Bailey, OBE.

Legitimacy

The League of Mercy Foundation claims to be the legitimate successor of the original League,[5] however lacks official approval from the monarch.[3] In the United Kingdom, where legitimacy of any particular order is determined by the monarch – some societies have permission from the monarch to award medals, but these are to be worn on the right side of the chest. No UK citizen may accept and wear an award without the sovereign's permission. Moreover, the government is explicit that permission for foreign awards conferred by private societies or institutions will not be granted.[20][21]

References

  1. 1 2 "The History of the League of Mercy". League of Mercy. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 John Mussell (ed). Medal Yearbook 2015. p. 302. Published by Token Publishing Ltd. Honiton, Devon.
  3. 1 2 3 "No. 62529". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 2019. p. 329.
  4. 1 2 3 Davenport-Hines, Richard (1 March 2016). Edward VII: The Cosmopolitan King (1st ed.). London: Allen Lane. ISBN 9780241014806. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 "The League of Mercy Today". League of Mercy Foundation. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "The League of Mercy". The Times. 2 March 1899. p. 12.
  7. ↑ "Michiel van der Voort (1667 - 1737)-Charity".
  8. ↑ Captain H. Taprell Dorling. Ribbons and Medals. p. 129. Published A.H.Baldwin & Sons, London. 1956.
  9. ↑ "No. 62529". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 2019. p. 327.
  10. ↑ "Areas of Care – the League of Mercy Foundation".
  11. 1 2 Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies. Duke of Castro receives the Companion’s Badge of the League of Mercy.
  12. ↑ "No. 60171". The London Gazette. 13 June 2012. p. 11312.
  13. ↑ "No. 56878". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 17 March 2003. p. 3354.
  14. ↑ The Royal House of Georgia. Prince David receives the Grand Companion's Badge of the Order of Mercy.
  15. ↑ Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Constantinian Order & Royal Order of Francis I in Great Britain.
  16. ↑ League of Mercy Foundation. Awards 2002.
  17. ↑ Brunel University. Honorary Graduates.
  18. ↑ Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor. Knights Principal.
  19. ↑ League of Mercy Foundation. Awards 2015.
  20. ↑ Rules Governing the Accepting and Wearing of Foreign Orders, Decorations and Medals by Citizens of the United Kingdom and Her Overseas Territories (Annex D of the document)
  21. ↑ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 24 Nov 2005 (pt 24)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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