Abstract
This article examines the creation of the Royal Victoria Patriotic Fund (RVPF) during the Crimean War to care for widows and orphaned children of soldiers. It further discusses how elite Commissioners used donations from throughout the British Empire to invest in imperial infrastructure projects, creating a fund to build an asylum for orphaned children of soldiers. The aim was to ensure that these children would supply the next generation of soldiers and domestic help, thereby furthering the Empire’s expansion. This served as a primary mechanism for public/private charity in an era before the establishment of social welfare following the First World War.
Author’s Reflections
The inspiration for this article comes from my dissertation, which I wrote ten years ago. To be honest, the material on soldiers’ children was somewhat of an afterthought at the time. I had found rich archival material, but the main focus of the dissertation was on debates over soldiers’ marriages and the conflict between civilian moral reformers, army leaders, and Members of Parliament who sought to maintain fiscal control. I revisited the dissertation in 2025 and realized the material remains relevant. Over the years, many excellent works have been published on soldiers’ wives. However, there remains a gap in the historiography regarding soldiers’ children. This article aims to begin filling that gap and to form the core argument of my next book project.