80 years of… history
Citizens Advice. For everyone, for 80 years.
80 years ago today, on 3 September 1939, the UK and France declared war on Germany, and this was to have a huge impact on millions of lives.
A year before, with a World War looming, the National Council of Social Services (the forerunner of today’s National Council of Voluntary Organisations) established a group to look at meeting civilians needs during war time.
“Citizens Advice Bureaux should be established throughout the country, particularly in the large cities and industrial areas where social disorganisation may be acute.”
Citizens Advice opened in 200 locations the day after war was declared. Over the next few years, our locations grew from 200 to over 1,000 across England and Wales. Dedicated advisers helped members of the public with problems as diverse as loss of ration books, homelessness and evacuation. They even helped locate missing relatives and prisoners of war.
Jean’s story: setting up a Citizens Advice service in 1940
Jean Sheriff was 16 years old when a public meeting was called to set up Citizens Advice in Rhyl. Since the start of the war, over 50 Citizens Advice had been set-up in South Wales alone. There was clearly demand in North Wales as well.
Citizens Advice Rhyl opened its doors on 23 March 1940, in a shop on Water Street. It was business as usual for the ‘White Elephant Shop’ (as it was known), but anyone could drop in for a cup of tea and a chat.
Jean remembers that small donations could be made and small items were sold at the front of the shop to generate funds. There was a small room at the back of the shop where private discussions with clients were able to take place.
A small advert was placed in the shop window which read “Citizens Advice Bureau — bring us your problems.”
Shortly after the war ended, the local Citizens Advice in Rhyl closed. It was felt that there was no further need for this kind of community assistance, and Jean returned to work for local council.
23 years later in 1969, Citizens Advice Rhyl reopened its doors (this time in a church), and Jean returned to Citizens Advice.
Jean remained at Citizens Advice Rhyl for the next 41 years. In later years, Jean moved away from advice and focussed on the training and support of newly appointed advisers. She finally retired in 2010, aged 86, after dedicating an incredible 47 years to Citizens Advice.
Sadly Jean passed away a few years later in 2016, aged 92.
From our 80 years there are many stories like Jean’s, from our staff and volunteers, and they are all tightly woven into the rich tapestry that is Citizens Advice.
What’s next?
We’ve come a long way since 1939. Citizens Advice now provides support in 2,550 locations across England and Wales with over 21,300 volunteers and 7,000 staff.
Thankfully we no longer have to advise on homelessness after an air raid, rationing or prisoners of war, but we’re still helping more people than ever before — millions of people every year.
We are Citizens Advice. For everyone, for 80 years.
We’re continuing to adapt our services to meet the needs of the people we support. Tomorrow is our 80th birthday and we’ll be sharing where we are now, and where we plan to go.
We’ll also be exploring the future of our advice in a series of blogs, so don’t forget to check back or sign-up for our newsletter below.
