Pearls Before Poppies

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 4000 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.