2013 is the 150th anniversary of theInternational Red Cross, and 2014

will be the 100th anniversary of the Aust-ralian Red Cross and the 150th anniver-sary of the Geneva Convention. All thiswas started by Henry Dunant. Althoughhe is one of the great benefactors ofhumankind and was the first recipientof the Nobel Peace Prize, his name is notwidely known today. Over the yearsstamps (Figure 1), coins (Figure 2), med-allions (Figure 3) and badges (Figure 4)have been issued in his honour, but mostpeople have never heard of him. The story of his life is amazing. Born

in Geneva in 1828 he was brought up ina wealthy, Christian home. Early in hislife he developed religious convictionsand was the leading figure in the forma-tion of the YMCA in Geneva. He becamea businessman with interests in Algeria,which was under French control. In conn-ection with his business he sought aninterview with the French emperor,Napoleon III, who was campaigning inItaly at the time. The War of Italian Independence was

taking place in northern Italy. The Aust-rians who controlled the eastern regionwere being driven out by a combined forceof French and Piedmontese soldiers. TheFranco-Piedmontese army consisted of130,000 men and the Austrian army of129,000, and both sides had cavalry andartillery. On 14th June 1859 the two greatarmies clashed in and around the villageof Solferino, which is 10 kms south ofLake Garda and 7 kms south-east of thetown of Castiglione (Figure 5 – map).Who should arrive at Castiglione in the

evening of 24th June but Henry Dunant.He stepped out of his carriage elegantlydressed in a white suit completely un-aware that one of the bloodiest battles inhistory had been fought that day (Figure6). The Austrians retreated but thousandsof dead and wounded soldiers remainedon the battlefield. Of the Austrians,3000 were killed, 10,800 wounded and

8640 captured or missing. Of the allies,2490 were killed, 12,510 wounded and2920 captured or missing. Incredible scenes of carnage and suffer-

ing faced Henry as he wandered about.He tried to help, giving water to thethirsty and comforting the dying, butthere was little he could do. The followingdays were spent at Castiglione assistingin the care of the thousands of woundedsoldiers who made their way to thatsmall town. The whole experience made atremendous impression on this sensitiveyoung man and he wrote a book describ-ing what he saw. It is called Un Souvenir

de Solferino.The English version is calledA Memory of Solferino (Figure 7).The book shocked European society. A

few brief excerpts will give an idea of itsimpact. His description of the battle isbased on what the soldiers told him:

Figure 1 – Many countries have issued stampsin honour of Henry Dunant. This one wasissued by Slovenia in 2010 to mark the 100th

anniversary of his death.

The headquarters of the International Committee of theRed Cross in Geneva. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 2 – This coin was issued by Switzerlandin 2010 to mark the 100th anniversary ofHenry’s death.

Figure 4 – This ‘pin’ is 25 mms in diameter.It celebrates the 100th anniversary of Henry’sbirth. The portrait shows him at age 67.

Figure 3 – Many medals and medallionshave been issued in Henry’s honour. This oneis 50 mms in diameter and was made in Spainin about 1980.

Here is a hand-to-hand struggle inall its horror and frightfulness; Aus-trians and Allies trampling each otherunder foot, killing one another onpiles of bleeding corpses, felling theirenemies with rifle butts, crushingskulls, ripping bellies open with sabreand bayonet. No quarter is given; itis sheer butchery; a struggle betweensavage beasts, maddened with bloodand fury.

Concerning the conditions in Castig-lione he wrote:

The crowding in Castiglione becamesomething unspeakable . . . Strawhad also been spread in the streets,courtyards and squares . . . Privatehouses were very soon taken over.

Then there is this cry of despair:

Oh, the agony and the suffering dur-ing those days . . . Wounds were in-fected by the heat and dust, byshortage of water and lack of propercare, and grew more and morepainful. Foul exhalations contami-nated the air . . .

Even greater horrors are intimated bythe following:

With faces black with the flies thatswarmed about their wounds, mengazed around them, wild-eyed andhelpless. Others were no more than aworm-ridden, inextricable com-pound of coat and shirt and fleshand blood. Many were shuddering atthe thought of being devoured by theworms . . .

Towards the end of the book there is asection where he explains why he toldof these scenes of suffering and he asksthe famous question which led to theformation of the Red Cross and changedthe world:

Would it not be possible, in timeof peace and quiet, to form reliefsocieties for the purpose of hav-ing care given to the wounded inwartime by zealous, devoted andthoroughly qualified volunteers?

The book was published in 1862. Henrypaid for the printing of 1600 copies him-self and sent copies to all the influential

people that he could think of. In GenevaHenry and four others formed the Inter-national Committee of the Red Cross in1863 (Figure 8). Gustave Moynier, amember of the Committee and later thepresident, suggested the name Red Cross.General Dufour, the first chairman ofthe Committee, suggested the symbol ofa red cross on a white background, whichis the Swiss flag in reverse colours.Following Henry’s initiatives the Inter-

national Committee arranged a confer-ence where delegates from variousEuropean powers could discuss the care ofthe wounded, and in1864 the Conventionfor the Amelioration of the Wounded inTime of War (the First Geneva Conven-tion) was signed by twenty-four delegates.The British delegate hesitated sayingthat he could not sign without a seal,but General Dufour stepped forward andcut a button off the British delegate’stunic with his penknife, saying thatnow he had a seal with the arms of hermajesty. But it was the book that created the

energy for all this to happen. Years laterHenry wrote: In writing the Souvenir de SolferinoI was, as it were, lifted out of myself,compelled by some higher power andinspired by the breath of God. In thisstate of pent-up emotion which filledmy heart, I was aware of an intuition,vague and yet profound, that my workwas an instrument of His Will . . .If a wounded soldier lying among the

dead on the battlefield had cried out,“Where is God?” he would not haveknown that His angel, dressed in white,

Figure 5 – Map of the battle of Solferino.

Figure 6 – A 19th century chromolithograph of the battle of Solferino.

Figure 7 – This is the first English translationof Henry’s book, although an abridged ver-sion had been published in 1911. This editionwas published by the American National RedCross in 1939 to mark the 75th anniversary ofthe Geneva Convention.

was in a coach speeding towards thebattlefield. As Angela Bennett says inher book, The Geneva Convention: theHidden Origins of the Red Cross(Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2005), ‘That same evening, unknown to the

generals and statesmen of the day, or in-deed to anyone who fought in that terri-ble battle, a coach rattled into the littletown of Castiglione driven at break-neckspeed.’Much of the information in this article

comes from Angela’s book, which is anexcellent biography of Henry Dunant.In it she describes his terrible downfall,how he became bankrupt and disgracedin Geneva, how he existed in abject pov-erty in Paris, how he lived like a hermitin a small hotel in Switzerland for thelast eighteen years of his life. Everyonethought he was dead until a journalist,George Baumberger, sought him out. InAngela’s words, ‘As suddenly as he hadbeen pitched from a life of fame and easesome thirty years earlier into a poverty-stricken existence in Paris, so he was nowpropelled back into the limelight, thedazed if grateful recipient of torrents ofsympathy, recognition and acclaim.’ Worldfigures sent him greetings, Red CrossSocieties throughout Europe paid himhomage, and a grateful public recognizedhim as the founder of the Red Cross.Henry Dunant and the members of the

original committee were Christians, butin order to be more effective globally theorganization is neutral in all matters, i.e.it is non-religious and non-political. Thefirst of its core values is ‘humanity’. Itsofficial name is the International RedCross and Red Crescent Movement.

Since 1876 the Red Crescent has beenits symbol in Muslim countries, andsince 2007 the Red Crystal has been itssymbol in countries not wanting to belinked with Christian or Muslim tradi-tions. The Movement is made up of threedifferent elements. The InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross dealswith war and the victims of war. It isbased in Geneva and has offices in about80 countries. It is concerned with therules of warfare and promotes interna-tional humanitarian law, also known asthe Geneva Convention. National RedCross and Red Crescent Societiesare 186 national societies that assist theirgovernments in dealing with health anddevelopment issues, including disasterrelief. Then there is the InternationalFederation of Red Cross and RedCrescent Societieswhich concentrateson helping victims of natural disasters.The organization started by HenryDunant has helped millions of peopleall over the world. Thanks, Henry.

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Figure 8 – The original members of the International Committee of the Red Cross.(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

A medallion showing Henry overlooking thebattle of Solferino.

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