| Admin History | The Newbury Relief Committee was established in c.1892 to administer the Newbury Relief Fund, raised by individual subscriptions. In 1911 the Guild of Social Help was set up, under the auspices of the Committee, to extend the scope of the latter's work. The Committee then became affiliated to the Guild, together with new committees dedicated to Children's Care, Registration (combatting fraudulent applications for relief) and Rescue (moral welfare). The charity's aims, as adopted in 1913, were to assist those in temporary distress or sick, inculcate the virtues of self-help, and fight 'moral failure'.The mayor of Newbury was de facto President of the Guild, and local clergy and ministers of all denominations took leading roles. The charity's formal name was the 'Newbury Relief Committee & Guild of Social Help' from 1913 until 1927 when the Guild was dissolved. The Committee then reverted to its original purpose of relief of temporary distress, mostly in kind or as financial contributions towards a specific expense. From c.1934, the charity adopted the name of the 'Newbury Relief Fund' which it had always administered. |