The Old People's Welfare Committee

People in poverty were especially vulnerable to the impact of the Second World War, during which many families had been torn apart due to conscriptions and loss of life.

In 1940, several individuals and governmental and voluntary groups organised around the belief that Poor Law provisions had been inadequate in dealing with hardship facing poor people and, particularly, older poor people.

The committee aimed to improve the situation, gaining national recognition. It became known as the National Old People's Welfare Committee in 1944. It incorporated a range of organisations working at a local level, to improve older people's welfare.