Pearls Before Poppies
The Story of the Red Cross Pearls

In February 1918, as the First World War was still being bitterly fought, Lady Northcliffe appealed to the women of Britain and the Empire to give a pearl from their necklaces to make a new string which could be sold in aid of the British Red Cross. Nearly 4,000 pearls poured in, from priceless heirlooms - one had survived the sinking of the Titanic - to treasured trinkets. Working with Christie's and the International Fundraising Committee of the British Red Cross, Rachel Trethewey weaves the touching story of a generation of women who gave what they had to aid the war effort and commemorate their losses.