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At the outbreak of war Lily Thomas was a widow living in Stapenhill in Burton on Trent. Soon the community started getting word from local men who were serving time as prisoners of war (POWs) in Germany.

Touched by their plight, Lily decided to send five packages of food to some of them. As the conflict progressed she scaled her project up, moving to premises and employing a number of volunteers.

Lily also put messages in her parcels; in the advent of censorship this became more difficult so Lily qualified as one of the town’s censors, as such editing her own messages.

By the end of the conflict it’s thought she had helped 500 Burton men serving as POW’s, having sent out more than 25,000 parcels. After the war many of the men she had helped held a reception for her, apart from which there is no memorial to her work.

Location: Stapenhill, Staffordshire DE15 9DX ‎
Image: Lily Thomas pictured with some of the POWs she helped, courtesy of Richard Stone