Tucked away in Save the Children’s archive is a leaflet produced in 1919. It shows a shocking image of two severely malnourished Austrian children under a stark headline: “Our blockade has caused this – millions of children are starving to death.”

That leaflet is more than a piece of quaint agitprop memorabilia. It’s part of our national DNA.

One hundred years ago our founder, Eglantyne Jebb, was arrested for illegally handing out copies in Trafalgar Square. The target of her ire was Britain’s post-First World War naval blockade against Germany and Austria. This continued long after the Armistice, compounding a famine that was claiming the lives of hundreds of children every day.

Charged under the Defence of the Realm Act, Jebb found her legal case swiftly demolished by the chief prosecutor, Sir Archibald Bodkin. She had broken what she saw as an unjust law. In her defence, Jebb insisted she was bound by a higher moral code that called on her to protect children facing starvation, whatever their nationality and wherever they lived.

Clearly impressed, the magistrate imposed a minimum penalty of £5. Sir Archibald promptly paid the fine on her behalf – making him Save the Children’s first contributor.