Elise Sandes

In recognition of her work as a humanitarian and her dedication to the soldiers' general well-being Elise Sandes is one of only two civilian women to be buried with full military honours – the other being her successor Eva Maguire.

Elizabeth Anne (Elise) Sandes was born in 1851 in Oak Villa in Oakpark, Tralee into a relatively wealthy family, which had been settled at Sallow Glen, near Tarbert, County Kerry, for several generations.

In 1869 she invited that young soldier and his friends to her mother's house in Oak Villa for regular sessions of Bible study, prayers, hymn-singing, as well as lessons in reading and writing.

Initially, she had felt particularly sorry for the drummer boys (ten to a regiment) who had been recruited into the Army at just fifteen years of age, and yet there were just as many hardened men in the ranks seeking the same friendship and sympathy.

Elise resolved to find alternative premises in Cork for this purpose and eventually rooms in King Street were purchased for £259 due to the generosity of a retired Naval Officer.

Although the movement is officially registered as being founded in 1869, the new premises in Cork was the first building to bear the name, its stated purpose being to steer young soldiers away from the evils of drink and offer them an accommodating centre for companionship, entertainment and self-improvement.

[1] "I try to make my Homes not institutes or clubs or mission halls, but in the truest sense of the word 'HOMES' that any Christian mother would allow for her boys, I feel free to have for my soldiers."

The description of the operations there include: "religions and temperance meetings for the benefit of those who wished to attend them; there were also reading, recreation, smoking, and coffee rooms for social intercourse.

The soldiers found themselves cast into an environment where supplies and medical care were rudimentary and the dangers of cholera, dysentery and venereal disease were ever-present.

She responded to military requests for homes to be set up there with the aim of drawing soldiers away from the wet canteens, opium dens and bazaar brothels to more wholesome recreations.

Army camps rapidly expanded with the calling up of thousands of reserves and new recruits, and she and her helpers quickly became familiar with the horror of war as reported in the many letters sent from the trenches.

For a short period after World War II, there were homes in diverse locations such as Borneo, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore and even Iceland.

A 300lb bomb had been concealed in the back of a delivery van parked on the opposite side of the road from the Sandes Home building which caught fire and was gutted within minutes.

Lance Corporal Alan Coughlin and Private Michael Swanick of 1st Battalion Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berks and Wilts) lost their lives.

Today the organisation survives as 'Sandes Soldiers' and Airmen's Centres' in Thievpal Barracks, Lisburn, Ballykinlar and Holywood in Northern Ireland, and Pirbright and Harrogate in Great Britain.