The Montgomery Club, Brussels, one of NAAFI's principal leave centres in liberated Europe. Images such as this illustrate the scale and atmosphere of the clubs created through the partnership between NAAFI and the Women's Voluntary Service.
Author's own collection.
More than Just a Canteen
How NAAFI and the Women's Voluntary Service Helped Sustain Morale During and After the Second World War
The buildings belonged to NAAFI. The welcome came from the people who worked in them.
Worn by Women's Voluntary Service members seconded to NAAFI, this badge identified the women who would become affectionately known to many servicemen as The Women in Green.
Craig Smith - Photograph reproduced by kind permission of WW2 Civil Defence Uniforms, Insignia, Helmets & Equipment.
The history of NAAFI has often been told through its remarkable network of shops, canteens and clubs, supported by a worldwide organisation that provided canteen and welfare services for Britain's rapidly expanding Armed Forces during the Second World War and into the post-war years. As the conflict spread across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and as British forces later took on occupation and garrison duties around the world, NAAFI's responsibilities continued to grow. Providing food, refreshments and essential supplies was only part of the challenge. Creating places where servicemen could relax, socialise and briefly escape the pressures of war, and later the routines of occupation and overseas service, demanded something more.
Less well known is the organisation that would help NAAFI meet that challenge. Founded in 1938 at the request of the Government, the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS) rapidly developed into one of Britain's largest voluntary organisations. By the end of the war its members were serving Government departments, local authorities and the Armed Forces in countless different roles, both at home and overseas. They were unpaid volunteers, drawn from every walk of life, united by a shared determination to serve their country wherever they were needed.
The partnership between NAAFI and the Women's Voluntary Service developed in response to the practical demands of war. It began during the Second World War, when the expanding scale of military operations exposed a growing problem. NAAFI possessed the experience, organisation and infrastructure to provide shops, canteens and clubs across the world, but it could not easily provide the social and recreational life that transformed these establishments into welcoming centres of welfare. The answer emerged when Sir Lancelot Royle, Chairman of NAAFI, met Stella Isaacs, the Dowager Marchioness of Reading and founder of the Women's Voluntary Service. What followed was a partnership that lasted throughout the remainder of the war and well into the post-war years. NAAFI contributed the organisation, experience and a worldwide network. The WVS contributed the welfare skills, hospitality and human touch that transformed clubs and leave centres into places where servicemen could relax and enjoy a little normality.
Two Remarkable People
Sir Lancelot Royle, Chairman of NAAFI, introduces King George VI to servicemen during a visit to a NAAFI club at Chatham in April 1952. Under his leadership, NAAFI continued to develop its worldwide welfare services for British forces during and after the Second World War. Author's own collection (NAAFI News, April 1952).
Lady Reading, founder of the Women's Voluntary Service, visits the NAAFI Other Ranks' Club in Berlin, where she watches a game of billiards with servicemen. Her organisation's partnership with NAAFI brought more than 1,000 WVS volunteers into clubs and leave centres across the world. Author's own collection (NAAFI News, Christmas 1947).
Before looking at how NAAFI and the Women's Voluntary Service came to work together, it is worth meeting the two people whose organisations made it possible. Sir Lancelot Royle, Chairman of NAAFI, and Stella Isaacs, the Dowager Marchioness of Reading and founder of the Women's Voluntary Service, came from very different backgrounds but shared a commitment to improving the welfare of Britain's servicemen and women. Their meeting during the Second World War laid the foundations for a partnership that endured long after the fighting had ended.
Sir Lancelot Royle
Sir Lancelot Royle's career combined military service, business leadership and international sport. Together, those experiences prepared him for the task of leading NAAFI through the Second World War and the demanding post-war years. An accomplished athlete, he represented Great Britain at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games before establishing a successful career in business. By the outbreak of the Second World War he had become one of Britain's leading retail executives, with extensive experience in the management of large retail organisations.
When war broke out in 1939, Royle rejoined the Royal Artillery, returning to military service as he had done during the First World War. His outstanding reputation as an organiser and retailer soon brought him to the attention of the Government and he was asked by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to serve as co-chairman of the Macharg/Royle Treasury Committee. Shortly afterwards, Churchill invited him to become Chairman of NAAFI. Royle would remain in the post for the next twelve years, overseeing the organisation's remarkable wartime expansion and its continued development into a worldwide organisation providing welfare services to British forces across the globe.
Stella Isaacs, Dowager Marchioness of Reading
Stella Isaacs, the Dowager Marchioness of Reading, believed that thousands of women across Britain were willing and able to serve their country if they were given the opportunity. In 1938 she founded the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), creating an organisation that quickly became one of Britain's largest voluntary movements. As war approached, the WVS trained its members for a wide variety of duties, from assisting with civil defence and evacuation to supporting local communities during emergencies. Within days of the outbreak of war, the organisation demonstrated its remarkable organisational ability by helping to evacuate around 1.5 million civilians from Britain's towns and cities in just three days.
As the war continued, the WVS expanded rapidly, taking on an ever wider range of welfare responsibilities. Its members became known for their practical skills, adaptability and ability to create welcoming surroundings wherever they served. These were precisely the qualities that attracted the attention of NAAFI Chairman Sir Lancelot Royle. He recognised that the WVS could provide the human touch needed to complement NAAFI's worldwide organisation.
The First Overseas Draft
The overseas partnership began in Algiers in March 1944 when the first eight WVS volunteers arrived to establish welfare services within NAAFI clubs serving the Central Mediterranean Forces. They were Miss Freda Long, Miss Freda Bonas, Mrs Cooper, Miss Veronica Eastwood, Miss Mollie Cox, Miss Mary Law, Miss Rose Goldberg and Miss Diblee. Writing only a few years later, the WVS described these women as pioneers whose work had "started a long trail" stretching from North Africa through Greece and eventually to Austria. They regarded the opening of the Pinder Club in Algiers on 19 March 1944, under Club Organiser Veronica Eastwood, as the moment "the foundation of the Welfare Services in the N.A.A.F.I. Clubs was laid."
Veronica Eastwood: The First Club Organiser
History often remembers organisations more readily than the individuals who built them. Yet Veronica Eastwood occupies a unique place in the story of the NAAFI–WVS partnership. As organiser of the Pinder Club, she became the first WVS Club Organiser to establish a welfare service within a NAAFI club overseas. From the example she and her small team created in Algiers, the partnership expanded rapidly across North Africa before following the Allied armies through Italy, North-West Europe and beyond.
Editorial Note
Little is currently known about Veronica Eastwood's life, yet her contribution deserves to be remembered. She was the first WVS Club Organiser to establish a welfare service within a NAAFI club overseas, standing at the beginning of a partnership that would eventually take more than 1,000 WVS volunteers around the world. To countless servicemen they would become affectionately known as The Women in Green.
Italy – The Partnership Comes of Age
Naples – Building Something from the Ruins
The transformation of the Royal Palace of Naples into a Forces Rest Centre marked one of the first great achievements of the NAAFI–WVS partnership in Italy. Before it could welcome a single serviceman, the former royal residence had to be transformed from a bomb-damaged building into a functioning Forces Rest Centre. WVS volunteers later recalled picking their way over rubble, broken floors and hanging chandeliers before beginning the enormous task of creating a place where soldiers could eat, rest and forget the war for a few precious hours. The official opening by General Sir Harold Alexander in June 1944 marked not only the completion of a remarkable restoration but also demonstrated how successfully NAAFI and the WVS were working together. The Royal Palace became a model for the welfare facilities that would accompany the advancing armies across Italy and beyond.
General Sir Harold Alexander opens the NAAFI Forces Rest Centre at the Royal Palace, Naples, June 1944. WVS personnel who helped transform the war-damaged palace into one of Italy's principal Forces Rest centres are presented to the General during the opening ceremony.
Imperial War Museums, Photograph NA 15790.
Rome – More than Just Refreshments
As the Allied armies advanced northwards, Rome became home to the Alexander Club, one of the largest and most popular NAAFI leave centres in Italy. The WVS Information Bureau quickly became one of its most valued services, helping soldiers make the most of their leave in the Rome. Staff provided practical advice, sightseeing information and assistance with countless everyday enquiries, while schemes such as "Say it with Flowers" allowed servicemen to send gifts and messages home. Contemporary accounts recalled that the club's facilities were so comprehensive that even Punch magazine summed it up with the simple verdict:
"What a lovely N.A.A.F.I."
The W.V.S. Information Bureau at the Alexander Club, Rome. Far more than an enquiry desk, it helped servicemen explore the Eternal City, arrange practical matters and enjoy a brief return to ordinary life during their leave. It was one of the many ways in which the WVS helped transform NAAFI clubs into centres of welfare as well as refreshment.
Author's own collection (Alexander Club souvenir postcard).
Florence – A Welcome in the Renaissance City
Further north, the Robertson Club at Florence offered another example of the partnership at its best. Remembered for its friendly atmosphere under the leadership of Kate Tibbetts and her WVS team, the club became a favourite destination for servicemen on leave. Alongside meals and refreshments, visitors found advice, recreation and even an indoor swimming pool. Complimentary city guides, such as the one preserved here, helped soldiers discover Florence's famous landmarks, turning a few days' leave into an unforgettable experience. The WVS contribution extended far beyond serving tea. They helped create an atmosphere that encouraged servicemen to relax, explore and enjoy a welcome sense of normality.
Complimentary guide and street map issued by the EFI–NAAFI Robertson Club, Florence. Produced for servicemen visiting Florence while on leave, it reflects the wider role of the WVS in helping soldiers make the most of their time away from the front by providing local information, practical advice and a warm welcome alongside the traditional services of the club.
Author's own collection (Roberston Club Complimentary map ).Featured Profile
Daisy Nicholls M.B.E.
One of The Women in Green
Among the many WVS volunteers who followed the Allied armies overseas was Daisy Nicholls, a hairdresser from Sutton-in-Ashfield. Having joined the WVS soon after its formation, she volunteered for overseas service with NAAFI and travelled to North Africa during the summer of 1944. From there she moved through Italy before being posted to the Phoenix Club in Athens.
Daisy Nicholls, awarded the M.B.E. for her "tireless devotion to duty under fire" while serving with NAAFI and the W.V.S. in Athens during the Greek Civil War.
Nottingham Journal, 8 January 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
Only weeks after her arrival, Greece was plunged into civil war. The Phoenix Club was forced to close as fighting spread through the city, and the NAAFI and WVS staff were hastily transferred to the Hotel Grande Bretagne, which had become British headquarters. Despite repeated outbreaks of gunfire and shelling, the club continued to operate, providing meals, refreshments and welfare services for British servicemen.
Newspaper reports described how Daisy and her colleagues cooked, served, washed up, cleaned and kept the club running while the hotel itself frequently came under fire. During the worst of the fighting they helped maintain a welcome refuge for soldiers passing through the city, continuing their work despite the dangers around them.
For her "tireless devotion to duty under fire", Daisy Nicholls was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) in January 1945, becoming one of the first British civilians to receive such recognition for courage in Greece following its liberation.
Newspapers across Britain reported Daisy Nicholls' award in January 1945. She became one of the first British civilians to be decorated for courage in Greece following its liberation, receiving the M.B.E. for "tireless devotion to duty under fire."
Belfast News-Letter, 6 January 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
Like so many WVS volunteers, Daisy's wartime service attracted little attention after peace returned. By 1949 she was once again working as a hairdresser in her home town of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Only the initials "M.B.E." beside her name in a local newspaper advertisement hinted at the extraordinary journey that had taken her from a Nottinghamshire salon to the front line of Britain's overseas welfare services.
By 1949 Daisy Nicholls had returned to civilian life as a hairdresser in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Her wartime service is recalled only by the initials "M.B.E." beside her name—a quiet reminder of the remarkable service she had given overseas with NAAFI and the W.V.S.
Nottingham Evening Post, 26 Jan 1949 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
Across North-West Europe
The partnership that had begun in North Africa and matured in Italy was soon following the Allied armies into North-West Europe. While Daisy Nicholls and her colleagues were working their way north through Italy and later into Greece, other WVS volunteers were following the Allied armies that had landed in Normandy. From the beaches of France to the towns and cities of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, the familiar combination of NAAFI organisation and WVS hospitality once again accompanied British servicemen as the campaign moved steadily towards victory in Europe.
Building on Experience
The work in North-West Europe did not begin entirely from scratch. Some of the WVS women selected for service in France and Belgium had already gained valuable experience in Italy and the Middle East. Contemporary reports described the first directors and assistant directors preparing to join NAAFI leave clubs in Paris, Brussels and Antwerp, while anticipating a steady flow of further volunteers as more countries were liberated and new clubs could be established.
Their task was clearly defined. Seconded to NAAFI from the WVS, they were responsible for the well-being and comfort of the men using the clubs, organising entertainments and helping to maintain what one report called a "happy leave atmosphere." Their green WVS uniform preserved their own identity, while the NAAFI flash worn on the sleeve or pocket visibly reflected the partnership between the two organisations.
WVS directors and assistant directors were selected for NAAFI leave clubs in Paris, Brussels and Antwerp. Many had already served in Italy and the Middle East, bringing valuable experience to the rapidly expanding network in liberated Europe.
Bayswater Chronicle, 29 Sep 1944 .
“Miss Naffy” Goes Across
At the same time, civilian NAAFI staff were also crossing the Channel in growing numbers. A contemporary recruitment advertisement announced that "Miss Naffy" was going overseas "in force", accompanied by women welfare officers as clubs and canteens opened across France, Belgium and later the Netherlands. Behind the light-hearted cartoon lay a major expansion of NAAFI's civilian service into liberated Europe.
The arrival of civilian NAAFI staff did more than increase welfare provision. It allowed EFI units to move forward with the advancing armies, while clubs and canteens established well behind the front could be transferred to NAAFI's Home Canteen Service. In this way, both organisations continually adapted to the changing demands of the campaign.
A contemporary NAAFI recruitment advertisement celebrating the movement of civilian women overseas as clubs and canteens followed the Allied advance across liberated Europe. Behind the humour lay a major expansion of NAAFI's civilian welfare service.
Melton Mowbray Times and Vale, 24 Nov 1944 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
Paris after Liberation
Among the WVS women serving in North-West Europe was Mrs H. R. Stuart-Hamilton, a welfare worker attached to a NAAFI club-hostel in Paris. Returning to Britain on leave early in 1945, she described a city still struggling with the consequences of occupation. Food remained desperately scarce, former prisoners and resistance workers carried the physical and emotional marks of their treatment, and ordinary Parisians were attempting to rebuild their lives amid continuing shortages.
Her account also revealed the wider world encountered by WVS workers. At the club she met servicemen returning from the battle zone, while outside its doors she witnessed the hardship of liberated civilians. In such surroundings, the familiar work of offering meals, practical help and companionship took on an added importance. The NAAFI club offered British servicemen a brief refuge from the war, while the WVS women helped create the atmosphere that made that refuge feel like home.
Mrs H. R. Stuart-Hamilton, a WVS welfare worker at a NAAFI club-hostel in Paris, described the shortages, hardship and lingering effects of occupation encountered by those serving in the newly liberated city.
Aberdeen Press and Journal, 1 March 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
The Montgomery Club – The Partnership Comes to Maturity
As the Allied armies advanced across Belgium during the autumn of 1944, NAAFI and the Women's Voluntary Service quickly established new centres for troops enjoying their first periods of leave after months of continuous campaigning. Among the finest was the Montgomery Club in Brussels, one of the largest and most impressive NAAFI leave centres established in North-West Europe. Named in honour of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, it soon became a major centre of rest and recreation for British servicemen serving in Belgium and, later, occupied Germany.
The Montgomery Club represented far more than somewhere to obtain meals and refreshments. It offered servicemen the opportunity to relax in comfortable surroundings, write letters home, meet friends, read newspapers, enjoy entertainment and, for a few precious hours, escape the routines of military life. Once again, the familiar partnership between NAAFI and the WVS created the welcoming atmosphere that countless servicemen remembered long after the war had ended.
The Montgomery Club, Brussels, one of the largest NAAFI leave centres established in liberated North-West Europe. Named after Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, it became a major centre of welfare and recreation for British servicemen serving in Belgium and later Germany.
Author's own collection (Montgomery Club information brochure).
The restaurants and dining rooms of the Montgomery Club reflected the scale of the NAAFI–WVS partnership by the closing months of the war, providing comfortable surroundings in which British servicemen could rest and enjoy a brief return to ordinary life.
Author's own collection (Montgomery Club souvenir postcard).
The scale of the Montgomery Club reflected the growing responsibilities of the NAAFI–WVS partnership during the closing months of the war. Spacious restaurants, tea lounges and recreation rooms welcomed thousands of servicemen passing through Brussels, while WVS volunteers helped ensure that the club retained the warm and informal atmosphere that had become the hallmark of NAAFI leave centres across Europe.
A contemporary guide to the Montgomery Club illustrates the remarkable range of facilities available to British servicemen. Alongside restaurants and tea lounges were an Information Bureau, conducted tours, a library, writing rooms, language lessons, piano practice rooms, a handcrafts section and the popular "Say it with Flowers" service.
Author's own collection (Montgomery Club information brochure).
Bringing Britain to the Front
Not every British serviceman could visit one of NAAFI's increasingly impressive clubs. While leave centres such as Naples, Brussels and Athens became important hubs for rest and recreation, thousands remained with front-line formations, artillery batteries, engineer units and transport columns spread across the battlefields of Europe. For them, the nearest NAAFI establishment might be many miles away.
The answer came on four wheels. Throughout the Italian campaign and the advance into North-West Europe, mobile NAAFI canteens staffed jointly by EFI personnel and Women's Voluntary Service volunteers carried tea, buns, cigarettes, chocolate and other small comforts directly to the troops. Leaving their depots early each morning, the vans travelled roads scarred by shellfire and littered with the debris of war, visiting one formation after another before returning late in the day.
Life on the mobile canteens demanded long hours, adaptability and considerable resourcefulness. The WVS vounteers drove the vehicles, prepared and served refreshments, kept the accounts and, wherever they stopped, became a welcome link with home. Soldiers queued not simply for tea and fresh buns but for conversation, news from Britain and the familiar warmth that only another friendly face could provide.
A Friendly Chat and a Cup of Tea
WVS volunteers, EFI staff and British servicemen gathered beside WVS/EFI Mobile Canteen No. 89 in Germany, June 1945. The official Imperial War Museums caption noted that the women quickly found "a happy Tommy... anxious to hear about the old country and a friendly chat", reminding us that the greatest comfort often came not from the refreshments themselves, but from the companionship they brought.
Imperial War Museums, Photograph BU 7565.
As the Allied armies crossed the Rhine and the war in Europe entered its closing weeks, the mobile canteens crossed with them. Their work did not end with victory. British troops now found themselves serving in occupied Germany, often far from home and uncertain how long they would remain. Once again, the familiar arrival of a NAAFI mobile brought not only refreshments but a welcome reminder of Britain.
This Imperial War Museum photograph, taken in Germany in June 1945, captures one such moment. Gathered around WVS/EFI Mobile Canteen No. 89 are WVS volunteers, EFI colleagues and British servicemen sharing what appears to be an ordinary conversation. The official caption recorded that the women quickly found "a happy Tommy... anxious to hear about the old country and a friendly chat." It was a simple observation, yet it perfectly illustrates the wider purpose of the NAAFI–WVS partnership. The tea and buns were always welcome, but equally important was the chance to talk, laugh and reconnect, if only briefly, with the life that had been left behind.
A Partnership Proven
By the end of the Second World War, the partnership that had begun with a small group of WVS pioneers in Algiers had become an established part of NAAFI's overseas welfare service. More than 1,000 WVS members had travelled abroad with NAAFI and the Expeditionary Force Institutes, serving in clubs, leave centres and mobile canteens wherever British forces were stationed. From the Mediterranean and North-West Europe to the Far East, they brought practical assistance, recreation and the human touch that had become the hallmark of the NAAFI–WVS partnership.
The contribution of the WVS did not replace the work of NAAFI; it completed it. NAAFI provided the organisation, supplies and buildings needed to support vast numbers of servicemen. The WVS helped turn those establishments into places where men could relax, find information, write home, enjoy their leave or simply sit down for a friendly conversation. Whether working in a royal palace, a crowded city club or from the back of a mobile canteen, the women brought with them the warmth and familiarity that made each one more than just a canteen.
Victory in Europe did not mark the end of the story. British forces remained overseas on occupation duties, while the defeat of Japan opened entirely new chapters in the history of the NAAFI–WVS partnership. In the years that followed, The Women in Green would accompany British servicemen into occupied Germany, Austria, Japan, Korea and many other parts of the world. Their story was only just beginning.
Continued in Part Two
More than just a canteen – The NAAFI and WVS Partnership in the Post-War World
Sources, References & Image Credits
This article has been compiled from contemporary publications, archival material and official records. Unless otherwise stated, images are reproduced from the author's own collection or from sources acknowledged below.
Image Credits
- Lead image – Montgomery Club, Brussels: Author's own collection.
- NAAFI–WVS Partnership Badge: Photograph reproduced by kind permission of Craig Smith, WW2 Civil Defence Uniforms, Insignia, Helmets & Equipment.
https://www.ww2civildefence.co.uk/ - Sir Lancelot Royle: Author's own collection (NAAFI News, April 1952).
- Lady Reading in Berlin: Author's own collection (NAAFI News, Christmas 1947).
- General Alexander opens the Naples Forces Rest Centre: Imperial War Museums Photograph NA 15790.
- W.V.S. Information Bureau, Alexander Club, Rome: Author's own collection.
- Robertson Club, Florence guide and map: Author's own collection.
- Daisy Nicholls – "Under Fire at Hotel": Nottingham Journal, 8 January 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- Daisy Nicholls M.B.E. announcement: Belfast News-Letter, 6 January 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- Daisy Nicholls hairdresser advertisement: Nottingham Evening Post, 26 January 1949 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- "W.V.S. for Overseas" recruitment article: Bayswater Chronicle, 29 September 1944 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- "Miss Naffy Goes Across" recruitment advertisement: Melton Mowbray Times and Vale, 24 November 1944 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- "You Pay in Cigarettes" – Paris article: Aberdeen Press and Journal, 1 March 1945 (British Newspaper Archive via Findmypast).
- Montgomery Club exterior: Author's own collection.
- Montgomery Club interior: Author's own collection.
- Montgomery Club guide and plan: Author's own collection.
- W.V.S./E.F.I. Mobile Canteen No. 89, Germany: Imperial War Museums Photograph BU 7565.
Primary Sources
- W.V.S. Bulletin, No. 64, February 1945.
- W.V.S. Bulletin, No. 67, May 1945.
- W.V.S. Bulletin, No. 89, May 1947.
- Women's Voluntary Service – Report on Ten Years' Work for the Nation, 1938–1948, December 1948.
- The Montgomery Club, Brussels – NAAFI/EFI information booklet for the British Liberation Army.
- The Robertson Club, Florence – Folding guide and street map issued with the compliments of EFI–NAAFI.
- NAAFI News, Christmas 1947.
- NAAFI News, April 1952.
- Imperial War Museums Collections (Photographs NA 15790 and BU 7565, including official captions).
- British Newspaper Archive (accessed via Findmypast).
Secondary Sources & References
- Harry Miller, Service to the Services (1971).
- George Forty and Anne Forty, They Also Served (1979).
- Craig Smith, WW2 Civil Defence Uniforms, Insignia, Helmets & Equipment.
