The Crimean War occurred during a period of large-scale, popular philanthropy in the United Kingdom, wider Europe and north america, when middle-class women were heavily involved in societies which championed a variety of issues including prison and workhouse visiting and moral and legal reform. Thus the war might also be seen, at least initially, as another charitable ‘rage’ during which women and men provided large sums of money as well as clothing and foodstuffs to aid the fighting men abroad and their families at home. although L loyd's Patriotic Fund was established in 1803 in order to provide some financial assistance to servicemen and their families during and after the napoleonic Wars, it was a private endeavour with private capital. While it was later aided by public subscriptions, it did not expand into a popular social movement. In contrast, during the Russian campaign, the people of the United Kingdom, from the queen to the commoner, responded to the needs of the soldier and his family on a huge scale. yet the provisions available and the magnitude of the support and attention were things that grew steadily throughout the campaign; they did not burst forth in a large wave of public enthusiasm following the declaration of war. In contrast, the enthusiasm with which men in Ireland and in Great Britain rushed to rally round the colours did burst forth in the early months of 1854. although it became steadily more difficult for the authorities to obtain men across the United Kingdom as the war drew on, men in Ireland continued to enlist and seek commissions in the services right up until the end of the war. Much like the wartime philanthropy, wartime recruitment formed a part of a long-term tradition and also a long-term trend. The tradition was the overrepresentation of Irishmen in the British army in proportion to the island's population. The trend was the increasing difficulty of the British state to obtain men for the services between the napoleonic Wars and the Great War and the declining presence of Irishmen in the British military during the same period. yet, regardless of the number of men or the alacrity with which they sought to serve at the front during the Crimean War, the soldier's wife was still forced to do as she had always done: attempt to survive.