About: American Red Cross Clubmobile Service

The American Red Cross Clubmobile Service was a mobile service club created during World War II to provide servicemen with food, entertainment and "a connection home." The Clubmobile was conceived by Harvey D. Gibson, a prominent New York banker and American Red Cross Commissioner to Great Britain, as a way to reach servicemen in airfields, camps and other theaters of war. All of the services provided by the Clubmobile were free, although some Clubmobiles began charging for food after 1942. The original Clubmobiles operated from late 1942 until 1946, traveling all throughout Great Britain and Europe. Women who volunteered for the Clubmobiles were popularly referred to as "donut dollies," since one of their biggest tasks was making doughnuts for the servicemen.