Australian women knitting socks for soldiers during World War I had to follow strict instructions to ensure a quality product for our boys, says Alva Maguire, a researcher with the National Archives of Australia.
‘Knitting socks enabled those at home to feel they were contributing towards the war effort in a very practical way,’ said Ms Maguire. ‘But they were expected to meet certain standards to ensure they made life easier, not more difficult, for the troops.
‘The National Archives collection includes a Red Cross sock measure, submitted for copyright registration in 1916, which shows the importance of ensuring that socks were comfortable.’
The measure included certain instructions beyond knit-one, purl-one. It specified that ‘to be of use to soldiers, socks must be free from knots and lumps’. Socks should also be ‘cast on loosely’, with a top that stretched ‘at least 15 inches’ (38cm). They also had to be green.
‘The Germans wore grey socks so you couldn’t knit for the soldiers with grey wool,’ said Ms Maguire.
The National Archives has chosen this item and its accompanying application for copyright as its June ‘Find of the Month’ (also online) to highlight the domestic side of Red Cross activity. The Australian Red Cross was founded in 1914, just nine days after the start of World War I.
Accompanying the documents on display is a partly knitted sock, contributed by a National Archives staff member, Jane Ellis, who followed a wartime pattern to show how the home-knitted socks looked.
This month also marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions to protect the safety of civilians and prisoners of war during times of conflict.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has played a key role in developing and monitoring the Conventions. The National Archives is hosting an exhibition of Red Cross photographs called Humanity in the Midst of Conflict.
The National Archives of Australia has details of its ‘Find of the Month’ and the Red Cross exhibition on its website at naa.gov.au.