Sarah Robinson

Sarah Robinson (1 August 1834 – 26 November 1921) was a British temperance activist. She set up the Aldershot Mission Institute in 1863 to cater to the town's garrison. Robinson spent much of the 1860s travelling around British Army camps and garrisons distributing bibles, holding prayer meetings and providing games and reading material to the soldiers. She established the Portsmouth Soldiers' Institute in 1874 to cater for soldiers travelling through the port. For her efforts she was nicknamed the "Soldier's Friend" and received some recognition from the government. Robinson suffered from a spinal problem that limited her mobility in later life, though she continued to travel widely to raise funds for her missions. She retired to Burley, Hampshire and wrote a number of books before her death.

Early life Sarah Robinson was born on 1 August 1834 at Peckham, Surrey. She was the fourth child (out of six) of Rebecca and John James Robinson – who farmed a 150-acre estate near Lewes, Sussex.

Aldershot temperance movement In 1858 the Robinson family moved to Guildford where Robinson worked as a Sunday school singing teacher and lecturer on the bible. She also visited the homes of the sick and poor.

Together with Agnes Weston, who led the movement in the navy, she was instructed by the National Temperance League to promote a series of initiatives in the armed forces and campaigned for better accommodation, entertainment and education facilities for the men. From 1865 to 1873 she travelled widely across garrisons in England, including nine weeks spent camping in Dartmoor observing units on manoeuvres where she set up two marquees selling cheap food and non-alcoholic drinks. She also distributed bibles, held prayer meetings and provided games, newspapers and books to the troops. One of her canteens was visited by the secretary of state for war and in 1874 the Portsmouth Institute was inspected by Prince George, Duke of Cambridge – the commander-in-chief of the army. Robinson was also mentioned by Jeannie Chappell in her 1900 book Noble Work by Noble Women. Robinson herself published several works on temperance including an essay in Hatford Battersby's 1868 work Temperance Reformation, the 1876 book Christianity and Teetotalism and the autobiographical A Life Record of 1898. She established night schools, a coffee shop and a public laundry in the town. Also, she travelled more than 3,000 miles in a specially constructed coach; ultimately, despite these measures, she was forced to retire for health reasons to Burley, Hampshire, though she remained superintendent of the Institute. She published The Soldiers Friend: A Pioneer's Record in 1913 and her last autobiography My Book: a Personal Narrative in 1914. Robinson died at home on 26 November 1921; her wealth at probate was £1207 14s 10d and she was cremated in Woking. Robinson has been described as the "most widely known female reformer in the field of rescue work among soldiers".