How It All Began
The Red Cross was founded on the vision of Jean Henri Dunant, a Swiss man who witnessed the suffering of injured men going untended after the Battle of Solferino in Italy in 1859. Dunant was so moved by what he saw that he inspired others to create the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the First Geneva Convention in 1864. Britain joined in 1865, bringing in all of the Commonwealth countries including Canada. The Geneva Convention grants neutral status to military hospitals and medical personnel and provides for the treatment for soldiers wounded on the battlefield. It adopted the now-familiar red cross on white background as its symbol, although other nations now use the red crescent or the red crystal as their emblem. The use of the red cross emblem is restricted in Canada and its use is legislated by the Geneva Conventions, the Trade Mark Act, and the Canadian Red Cross Society Act. Only the Canadian Red Cross and the armed forces medical services can use the emblem, ensuring that remains a trusted, respected and recognized symbol of protection and aid throughout the world.
Federation of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
References
Canadian Red Cross. redcross.ca
Porter, McKenzie. To All Men: the Story of the Canadian Red Cross. McClelland and Stewart. 1960.