The future Empress of Russia was born in Copenhagen in September 1847 and was named Sophia-Frederica Dagmar, by her parents, the King and Queen of Denmark. Her childhood was a simple and happy one and she grew into a charming young girl whom, by common consent, the Russian and Danish sovereigns intended for the Czarevitch. However, the latter had previously fallen in love with a young Russian girl and lacked both the strength to break this liaison and the courage to abide by the law in force which made it his duty to marry a princess of the blood royal or of royal descent. Faced with this cruel dilemna, his reason gave way and he sought oblivion in the South of France, where he died.

What do we find at the origin of the work which does most honour to mankind, at the roots of a movement which has been spread across the world for the past hundred years? There is of course one man, Henry Dunant, but there is also a book. A slight volume which was soon to stir the hearts and consciences of Europe from end to end, by its fluent style, its stark reality and its warmhearted appeal. This was A Memory of Solferino.

The International Committee and the League of Red Cross Societies made a point of informing those taking part in the meetings of the International Red Cross in Prague, by means of information sessions and a booklet, of the work undertaken by the Red Cross in the Congo since 1960. This has been dealt with in the International Review on a number of occasions but in a fragmentary manner and we think it would be useful to summarize for our readers some of the successive stages in an operation which has mobilized, and which continues to mobilize, part of the forces of the Red Cross.

Here, first of all, are the main points of a speech made by Mr. Gallopin, Executive Director of the ICRC, to which we have added certain details on the interventions which have taken place in recent months, following events in Katanga. Secondly, we are publishing some passages from a booklet edited jointly by the ICRC and the League on medical assistance in the Congo and to finish we are giving a few details on the medal distributed to the members of medical teams to whom the ICRC wished to express its grateful recognition.

The Florence Nightingale Medal is awarded every two years by the ICRC, after being proposed by the National Societies, in order to honour nurses who, by their example, their attachment to Red Cross principles, continue to work in the defence of humanity throughout the world. They appear to be animated not only by a sense of duty towards others, but also by the desire to help, without exception, all those they encounter, both physically and morally. We therefore have pleasure in presenting to our readers the thirty-four recipients who, through their self-sacrifice, obtained the award in 1961.

In his book A Memory of Solferino, Henry Dunant vividly communicates his emotion to the reader when he describes the relentless development of the battle between the French and Sardinian armies and the Austrian forces. But he shows in the second part of the book the wide-spread feeling, in the face of so much misery, which stirred the people from Mantua to Milan and Turin during those June and July days of 1859.

The work of the Red Cross is born of a high ideal, from which it continually draws fresh life, but as it primarily consists of practical actions, frequently improvised, there is a serious risk that in the haste of charitable action and in spite of the purity of one's intentions, one may deviate from the guiding principles and unity of thought may diminish, the more so as the institution takes root in every corner of the world. It is therefore particularly necessary that the Red Cross possesses a well-defined and firmly established doctrine.

The Centenary of Solferino brought to light a number of historical and private documents which had for ages lain forgotten in disused files.

Numerous National Red Cross. Societies drew on this source to give a particularly authentic aspect to their reviews and publications and to the various celebrations which coincided with the commemoration of the Centenary. The International Review, either in the form of commentaries and articles or by illustrations, has also shown its readers a number of documents which seemed to it to hold some interest.

The International Committee of the Red Cross was asked some time ago to give its views on the problem relative to the arming of Civil Defence personnel. In view of the general interest which this question has aroused we consider it to be opportune to publish the ICRC's comments below, especially as they touch upon several points of international law and the Geneva Conventions.

If the humanitarian conventions accord special guarantees to medical personnel of the armed forces in the interest itself of its mission on behalf of wounded and sick military, why should we, members of civil defence, who carry out similar tasks for civilian victims of hostilities, not benefit as well from a privileged status and especially from a distinctive sign?

This is a wish often expressed by representatives of civil defence organizations, particularly when they are of a non-military character. This same question was thoroughly examined by a group of experts convened in June 1961 by the ICRC, and whose task it was to study the position of civil defence organizations in international law

Man has always been a gregarious animal. It is contrary to his nature to live alone and hence has emerged in every part of the world, however backward or advanced, the concept of society which, because of man's innate desire for companionship, has developed from family life to the wider field of community and nation. No society, however, primitive or small in numbers, can prosper unless its members are united and aware of their duties and responsibilities. In order, therefore, to evolve a mode of life which contributes to the prosperity of the community, certain laws of behaviour had to be formulated and I feel that it would be interesting for us to turn our minds for a little while towards the earliest concepts of a social order. Coming as I do from a country whose civilisation stretches back to many milleniums, I should like to place before you the Indian concept of life which, though it may not be followed in action in modern India, does still sway the minds of our masses.

Among the friends and supporters of Henry Dunant, two Dutchmen take an outstanding place: Dr. J. H. C. Basting and Captain C. W. M. van de Velde.

In the July issue of the Review we recalled that the International Committee, in co-operation with the League, had organised an Arab language competition and we gave the results. This competition, which took place under the auspices of the ICRC radio broadcasts, was a great success. The first prizewinner (who comes from Jerusalem, Jordan) chose as his subject “The Red Cross as an important factor in closer relations between people”, and we think it will be of interest to publish extracts of his essay, which has been translated by the ICRC. This is followed by part of the essay by the 3rd prize-wiitner (from Gaza, U.A.R.), who chose to write on “Experiences or stories connected with the idea of the Red Crescent and the Red Cross”, and did so in the simple and moving manner which this theme required.

While continuing its numerous efforts on behalf of Algerians detained by the French authorities in Algeria and France, the International Committee of the Red Cross has continued to intervene with the Algerian nationalists on behalf of Frenchmen who have fallen into their hands. These efforts are usually made through a representative of the " Algerian Red Crescent", in Geneva, a body which is not officially recognized but with which the ICRC maintains working relations for the benefit of the victims of the conflict. On different occasions the ICRC has also intervened directly in Tunis with members of the GPRA and senior officers of the " Algerian Red Crescent ".

Dr. Ernest GLOOR will remain Vice-President of the International Committee in 1962 and Mr. Frederic SIORDET has been appointed Vice-President for 1962 and 1963.

The ICRC actively developed its relief operation in Algeria in June. Acute medical and sanitary problems are facing its delegates, especially in Oran. As reported earlier the ICRC has sent a medical team of three to the Moslem city of Oran, where medicines, surgical instruments and equipment, and dietetic milk for new-born children, are most urgently needed. Following urgent requests by its delegates on the spot the ICRC immediately despatched by air two tons of dietetic powdered milk: Two further shipments were also sent by the French Red Cross, one of eight crates of sugared concentrated milk, the other of one and a half tons of standardised milk.

The Central Tracing Agency in Geneva has always had, amongst many other tasks in time of war, that of tracing the graves of missing military personnel. If we are more especially considering the Second World War, we can see that this activity began for the Central Prisoners of War Agency (its official title at that time), when hundreds of thousands of regimental enquiries were opened for French prisoners of war in Germany, in order to discover the fate of French military personnel missing during the summer of 1940.

The provisional Government of the Algerian Republic after having informed the International Committee of the Red Cross, has released three members of the French armed forces. These three men had been captured during the course of operations along the fortified protective zone adjoining the Algero-Tunisian frontier in the spring of 1961. They were part of a group of five prisoners of whom two had been released at the end of December 1961 in Tunis, and handed over to an ICRC representative.

The ICRC's humanitarian activity on behalf of the victims of the conflict covers various fields: visits to prisons and places of detention in France and Algeria, representations to the authorities of penal establishments, and the question of the resettlement centres.

Since the beginning of the fighting the International Committee of the Red Cross has tried to give help and protection to all victims, such as detainees or prisoners, regrouped populations in the interior of Algeria and, during the first phase of their exile, refugees in Tunisia and Morocco.

Two representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Algeria were present on September 13 last at the release of twenty-five European nationals on whose behalf they had intervened energetically for the past few weeks. They had, in fact, already approached the Algerian authorities on a number of occasions with a view to obtaining the release of more than a thousand cases of missing persons which had been brought to their notice. The ICRC sent the following telegram from Geneva to Mr. Ben Bella, President of the Political Bureau :