Smokes for the Troops - British and Canadian Tobacco Funds during WWI with Dr. Jean Wang

 Smokes for the Troops - British and Canadian Tobacco Funds during WWI

with Dr. Jean Wang

 June 12 2025

6PM NY Time

     In World War I decades before the health dangers of smoking became recognized newspapers and organizations such as the Over-Seas Club in London set up charitable funds to send cigarettes and tobacco (“smokes”) to British Empire troops fighting overseas. Smokes bought by donations were sent to the front with the aid of military authorities and allowed to enter duty-free.

    For soldiers smoking could relieve stress and boredom and boost morale. The smokes sent overseas represented a piece of home and were a reminder to the men that they were not forgotten by the people they were fighting for. Providing smokes for the troops was considered patriotic and a way for people at home to contribute to the war effort. Every parcel of smokes sent to the front included a postcard addressed to the donor. The postcards returned via military post gave civilians a tangible connection to the men serving overseas and the messages of thanks stimulated further donations.

     In this presentation Jean will discuss the reach and impact of British and Canadian WWI tobacco funds through study of reply postcards sent back from the front.

Dr. Jean Wang is a hematologist and leukemia researcher in Toronto. She is an active collector exhibitor presenter editor and author with an interest in medical and social philately. Her 5-frame exhibit on ‘blood donation and transfusion’ was the first thematic exhibit to win a National level Grand Award in Canada. Her current collecting and exhibiting interests include Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children’s early Christmas fundraising campaigns Canadian Red Cross blood donor appeals during the Second World War and British and Canadian Tobacco Funds that raised money to send cigarettes and tobacco to troops fighting overseas during the First World War – the topic of tonight’s presentation.

Jean is the Membership Director of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada delegate to the FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) Thematic Commission a Director of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada and the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation and a Trustee of the American Philatelic Research Library. She served on Canada Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee from 2018 to the present and was this year elected as a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.

   This is the link to the talk and registration. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9717218430596/WN_4BbsdVZOTjGKNMjsbJjshQ

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