BIRTH OF OXFAM

It all began over 70 years ago when the charity OXFAM started to save the people of Greece in 1942.

The Nazis occupied the country and the Allies’ Navy blocked the Harbours. The result, Greece citizen was starving to death, about 2,000 a day. Thousands were walking skeletons. 

   

A poster was put up which read: “Oxford’s effort for the starving of our allies.” In 1942, it raised £10,700 which would be £370,000 today and given to the Greek Red Cross.  It was an incredible amount of money given during wartime and from a small university town. It was the first appeal from OXFAM which grew into a global charity during its 70 year of existence.

October 1942, the vicar of the University Church in Oxford, Rev Milford, held a meeting with a former professor in Greek, a refugee from Nazi Germany, social activist and local church members and called themselves the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. It was shortened to its telegraph address OXFAM.

In 1942 Milford and the committee encouraged by two radical women, the writer Vera Brittain and the Quaker Edit Pye.  They wrote and gave passionate speeches which were frowned on because in wartime it was looked upon as criticism but they saw it as a humanity duty to speak up for the starving children.

Greece stopped Mussolini with the help of Britain but was defeated by Hitler.  There were two major powers, the Nazis on one side and the Allies on the other.

Vera Brittain was the mother of Shirley Williams.  A former Labour Cabinet Minister and later was part of the founder of the Social Democratic Party in 1981.  After that she became the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Lords.  She was 12 when her mother persuaded the British government to let dried milk and vitamins through the blockade. 

Vera Brittain also went on tours with Benjamin Brittain and both tried to raise money.

Today humanitarian neutrality is established to help civilian on both sides but in 1940 it was a radical idea.

OXFAM is now working in 90 countries, including with other charity organisations.

Last year OXFAM GB alone helped 15million people in 55 countries and tried to prevent 17 humanitarian crises by spending £383million.