Wars are costly, not only in terms of people, but money too. In 1915 with the cost of the war spiralling, the Government had to use their monetary reserves to purchase guns, bullets, ships, tanks and to pay the soldiers’ wages. Government, both local and national, increasingly sought to raise funds for the war effort.

Individual towns and villages were encouraged to arrange dances, concerts, fetes and garden parties and to set up War Saving Certificate Schemes to bring in revenue. The Government commissioned a series of posters, which urged people to buy government bonds. These posters featured patriotic messages.

“Now is the time to buy something worth having - War Savings

Certificates”.“Lend to defend”.

“Every War certificate means…more ships, more food”.

Even if you only had £5, you were still encouraged to buy War Bonds.

Sefton accepted the challenge to fund raise with gusto. In Southport, garden fetes were held to raise money for the local Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Hospital. At one fete, the entrance fee was one blanket. Overall the fetes raised £6,500 towards the running costs of the hospital. In the Bootle and Crosby area concerts were arranged featuring local choirs and bands.

L£NDTO DEFEND

Wounded soldiers were invited along to the events; this helped to encourage people to ‘dig deep to help the war wounded’. The Government devised the ‘Tank Banks’ fund raising campaign. Six Mark IV tanks toured the towns and cities of Britain; the primary purpose of the campaign being to promote the sale of Government War Bonds and War Savings Certificates. It was seen as a civic duty to raise as much money as possible, in each community. Southport welcomed his Majesty’s tank ‘Drake’, from 11th to 19th May 1916. Local businessmen were urged to each buy £1,000 worth of War Bonds; ‘this would provide enough money to buy 1/5th of a tank’, they were told. Excited children were charged a penny to go inside the tank.

The tank paraded down London Street and along Lord Street to the band stand, accompanied by the Vulcan (Factory) Band. It was a very large procession which included six members of the 8th (Southport) Battalion and two ambulances from the Vulcan Ambulance Corps. At the end of the first day £133,238 had been raised.

SOUTHPORT: Tank in Lord Street.

“Sefton accepted thechallenge to fund raise

with gusto!”

£1,000 was enough to buy one fifth of a tank.

Large LocalContributions

Prudential Assurance Co£15,000

Pearl Assurance £10,000

Mr Richard T Maguire£10,000

Southport Corporation£10,000

Mr J M Dewhurst£5,000

Mutual Life assurance Co£2,150

Mr Alfred Watson£1,500

British tank factory, 1917.