Elise Sandes

Elizabeth Anne (Elise) Sandes was born in 1851 in Oak Villa in Oakpark, Tralee into a relatively wealthy family. She had six sisters and two brothers and was described as being a very clever child with an imaginative mind and studious nature.[2] She remembered reading books and writing letters even before she first entered a school classroom. Among her friends on the next estate was the boy who would later become the famous senior British Army officer Earl Kitchener. Sandes was devastated by the death of her father in 1866 when she was just fifteen years of age, and sought solace in the companionship of her good friend Mary Fry. Together the girls resolved to do God's work in helping to lead others towards Christianity. At this time, regiments of British soldiers were stationed in many parts of Ireland and Mary was moved with compassion to see how young lads of around eighteen years of age were being drawn away into bad company and falling deeper and deeper into sin. Mary began to invite the young soldiers to her home and encouraged them to converse and ask questions. Elise's interest was aroused and together the two women worked and prayed together for the young soldiers. Sadly, Mary died not long after these early exchanges, but just before she died she had asked Elise to befriend a young soldier stationed not far from her home in Tralee.

Reading Room, Elise Sandes Soldiers Home, Curragh

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. Soldiers gladly accepted the invitation and by 1871 the meetings had to be moved to a new location in Nelson Street to accommodate the swelling numbers. 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.[3] Shortly after the regiment had been posted to Cork, she met the soldiers again and discovered how much they missed the friendly atmosphere of the rooms in Tralee. It was also apparent that since arriving in Cork many of the soldiers had since fallen prey to the destructive effects of alcohol and needed help. 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.[4] It was here that the first 'Sandes Home for Soldiers' opened its doors on 10 June 1877.

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. The house was a plain ordinary dwelling-house, but Elise made every effort to ensure that the rooms were bright and cosy, and that the atmosphere in the homes was always welcoming. The prayers and religious services were always provided on a voluntary basis for the soldiers. The ground floor of the first homes typically had a tea-room, a meeting room and a reading room, while the top floor had private accommodation for the proprietors Very soon, many more homes were established in widely scattered, remote locations of the British Empire.[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." Elise Sandes 1877[4]

Elise Sandes set up a second home in Belfast in March 1891 in Clifton Street, opposite Victoria Barracks. Very soon, homes in Dublin, Ballincollig, Queenstown and Dundalk became part of a growing network, and Elise Sandes' dream of having a home in every garrison town in Ireland was fast becoming a reality. In 1899 the opening of a home in the Curragh, where there were 5,000 soldiers, was particularly gratifying to Elise Sandes. The erection of 'canvas homes' in South Africa during the Boer war led to a similar type of temporary home for the summer months in army camps like Coolmoney in the Glen of Imaal, Co. Wicklow. There was no shortage of willing helpers ready to assist Elise – many gave life service towards steering men away from sin and onto the path of virtue. The women in charge were addressed as 'mother', and it is clear from the many testimonies of grateful soldiers that they created a 'homely atmosphere for lonely men, some of whom were alcoholics. Many men came to see themselves as saved in body and spirit, and some went on to become evangelical missionaries.[1] Elise Sandes was a charismatic leader who had a profound impact on all who met her.

With the establishment of the Irish Free State most of the homes in Ireland became obsolete and were closed and Elise Sandes departed from the Curragh on 3 August 1922. She moved to a new home in Ballykinlar, Co. Down, where she died in August 1934. She was buried in nearby Tyrella, with full military honours. Elise Sandes and her successor, Eva Maguire, are the only civilian women to have received this distinction. Both women were also awarded the CBE and OBE respectively. Elise Sandes' simple headstone reads: ‘For 66 years the friend of soldiers’.[1]

Closure of Sandes' homes

Dining Room, Elise Sandes Soldiers Home, Curragh Camp

All the homes in India closed in 1947 when the former dominion finally gained its independence and the British departed. For a short period after World War II, there were homes in such diverse locations such as Borneo, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore and even Iceland. None of these international centres survive today. Three of the homes in Ireland remained open for considerably longer : one in the Curragh, at the request of the Irish Army, one in Cobh (Queenstown) and one in Dublin. These last two closed soon after, but the home in the Curragh remained open until the 1980s, surviving mainly on account of the determination of the women who ran it.

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. The staff consists of eighteen full-time workers. Since those humble beginnings 1869, Sandes has become an integral part of the military community and is recognised as such. Over the years Sandes has adapted to meet the changing needs of each new generation of servicemen and women.[5]