On alert to go into action

But there is one group of people which could, quite rightly, take the title - The Women's Royal Voluntary Service.

They are the emergency service the emergency services call on in times of need.

This means that when the rest of us are dozing in an armchair after the traditional Christmas Day over-indulgence, unpaid volunteers in Swindon - such as Pat Snow and Derek Langley - may find themselves manning a rest centre or supplying fire fighters with hot drinks to keep them going through a bitter night.

They will be among the men and women who are on standby 365 days a year with their emergency kit packed whatever the weather or terrorist threat level, to deal with anything from a major fire to a bomb scare. Around 20 per cent of the volunteers are men in spite of the charity's name. Now the organisation, which was made famous by its efforts during the Second World War, needs you to swell its ranks.

Images of kindly WRVS ladies dishing out mugs of tea and blankets to bombed out families or exhausted firemen stayed in the nation's memory for decades and won them the accolade Royal.

The uniform may have changed into a bright orange tabard, but the service is much the same, as fire crews and police officers in Swindon will confirm.

Pat is the leader of the Swindon emergency services team.

She joined the organisation nearly a year ago and was made a team leader four months later.

"Two weeks after becoming team leader I had my first call out. This was the fire at the Locarno in Old Town, where I and a colleague covered the first shift of four hours providing hot drinks and soup for about 80 fire fighters," she said.

It was literally a baptism of fire.

Only a few weeks before she was one of many WRVS members doing shifts at RAF Fairford dishing up cuppas and snacks to more than 2,000 officers policing the demonstrations against the Gulf War.

"We had set things up in an open ended barn, which proved to be fine when sheltering from the hot sun, but not so good the second time when there was a fierce wind blowing!"

Their third visit to the base was for the Royal International Air Tattoo, where they helped at the information stand and in the disabled enclosure.

But the surroundings were a little more luxurious. "Off duty we were lucky enough to be able to watch the show from the BAE pilots' enclosure," Pat explained.

In June, she and her team were at Stonehenge for the summer solstice.

As well as feeding the police, she managed to get through two night shifts and see the sun rise on both mornings.

WRVS Emergency Services manager Penny Feathers said: "Our mission statement is to assist people in their communities."

But she said the organisation was constantly trying to recruit new volunteers because it didn't know when its services were going to be called upon.

Members were often needed to support not only the police and fire brigades, but also local authorities and the military.

"What a lot of people are not aware of, is that our members are trained to help in rest centres, not only to help, but to manage them," she explained.

The February bomb scare in Swindon resulted in a call from the council to staff a rest centre.

Armed with an emergency box containing a few basics such as tea, coffee and registration forms, they swung into action.

"Documentation is very important," said Penny. "If people have had to be evacuated, the police need to know who is at the centre.

"People hear about emergencies through the TV or radio and want to call and check friends and relatives are OK.We register people when they come in, then we take care of their general welfare with the assistance of the Red Cross and other agencies."

"We often get help from the general public as well.

"We went to a large fire in Wiltshire and the village hall was opened for us to use. But because of the fire there was no electricity. The villagers offered their Agas so we could serve hot food and drink to the fire fighters."

The gratitude of the people they help is sometimes overwhelming.

"People are often stressed and unhappy, but most of them appreciate what we do," she said.

"Sometimes they are embarrassingly grateful. One man came up and hugged us when he was finally allowed home from a rest centre.

"The police and the fire brigade are tremendous.

"They are always pleased to see us," she added.

Emergency services may be the original raison d' etre of the WRVS, but in fact they are just one aspect of its work. Many housebound folk in Swindon will have benefited from the Home Choice meals services, where pre-cooked frozen dinners are delivered to the door. Customers can even order online.

The contact centre service run at the Health Hydro in Milton Road is another voluntary scheme, which allows children to see estranged parents on neutral ground. It is a vital tool in helping them to keep in contact.

And one of the organisations' most high profile services locally, is at the Great Western Hospital. Members escort patients to and from the wards, while other volunteers man a busy shop.

For more information on volunteering contact the head office at Milton Hill House, Steventon, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 6AD or the website at www.wrvs.org.uk

How it started

THE Women's Voluntary Service was born in 1938 when the storm clouds of war were gathering.

By September 3, when war was declared there were 165,000 members all people who couldn't be called up or do war work.

One of their first big tasks was to evacuate more than a million mothers and children from the cities.

When refugees began to arrive from invaded countries, the volunteers provided clothes and food.

During the bombing they manned rest centres for the homeless, distributed ration books and darned army socks.

The Americans arrived in 1942 and the WVS ran British Welcome Clubs.

As the bombing intensified they set up information points in bombed areas, to help people locate missing families.

In 1944, when Germany was invaded, they followed and organised services welfare.