Women’s Patriotic Association

On 31 Aug. 1914 a group of women in Newfoundland, led by Margaret Davidson, founded the Women’s Patriotic Association to contribute to the war effort. Quickly bringing together more than 15,000 members of all faiths and social classes, the association became a symbol of the crucial contribution made by women during the First World War. Its volunteers accomplished much, including visiting soldiers’ families, raising more than $500,000, and making thousands of shirts, mittens, scarves, and socks (including the iconic grey wool socks), which brought comfort to soldiers on the front. At the end of the war, the mobilization of women in Newfoundland took a new path – one that led to the right to vote, which was obtained in 1925.