Helena Mary Hicks, F.A.U. - Quaker?

[alf mcm]

   Helen Mary Hicks served as a Nurse with the Friends Ambulance unit. Here Red Cross record is here;- http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/Who-we-are/History-and-origin/First-World-War/Card?sname=HICKS&page=4&id=104398

  Does anyone know if, as a Nurse with the F.A.U., she herself was a Quaker?

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

 

[ForeignGong]

Hi Alf McM

Try this, it does not answer your query but has a nice photo of her

 

http://fau.quaker.org.uk/search-view?forename=&surname=Hicks&=Search

 

Peter

[alf mcm]

Thanks Peter,

  Excellent photograph. The Religion part on the cards gives a choice of 'Member' or 'Attender', so it would seem that not everyone was a Member. Not sure what is meant by 'Attender'.

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[Bernard_Lewis]

Forum member Magnumbellum might know the answer to this.

 

The Peace Pledge Union might be able to help, too.

 

Bernard

[alf mcm]

Thanks Bernard,

 

  I hadn't heard of the Peace Pledge Union. I have looked at their website, and it's extremely interesting. However, there is nothing about the F.A.U. as far as I can see.

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[Bernard_Lewis]

FAU members were usually Quakers and I think the PPU was compiling a list of conscientious objectors and might know their religious objectors.

 

Bernard

[Magnumbellum]

A number of overlapping concerns have been raised in this thread.

 

First, the Freinds' Ambulance Unit was not an official organ of the Religious Society of Friends, to give the "The Qkakers" their formal legal name. It was an intiative in 1914 of a number of Friends of good standing acting in a personal capacity, and was acknowledged by the Society as a worthy prpject , but its status was never more than that.

 

Its formal distance from the Society enabled it to make its own own rules about membership, and initially it was open to non-Quakers, provided that they accepted Quaker values generally. However, the number of applicants was such that after a period the FAU felt constrained to limit new membership solely to Quakers.

 

Those constraints appled to male members, who were the overwhelming majority. I am not sure whether the constraints applied to the relatively few female members.

 

However, I think it likely that Helena Mary Hicks was, indeed, a Quaker. If she were not a Quaker, she could have become  a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse serving with the Red Cross, as for example, did the Anglican Vera Brittain.

 

With regard to the distinction between "Attenders" and "Members" among Quakers, they properly regard full membership as a serious commitment, and therefore new people are registered as Attenders, meaning they regularly attend Meetings until such time as they and their local Meeting agree that they aare ready and attuned for full membership.

 

On conscientious objection, as conscription was was never applied to British women in the Great War, the question of Helena Hicks being a conscientious objector never arose.

 

 

 

 

[gethine45]

On 18/12/2017 at 06:34, alf mcm said:

Thanks Peter,

  Excellent photograph. The Religion part on the cards gives a choice of 'Member' or 'Attender', so it would seem that not everyone was a Member. Not sure what is meant by 'Attender'.

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

Attender = someone who regularly attends Quaker meeting for worship but is not a member