A meaningful initiative that began with the goal of strengthening the essential unity amongst Toc H members globally. Toc H was named after Talbot House, a resting place for soldiers during the First World War, envisioned by two army chaplains, Neville Talbot and Phillip ‘Tubby’ Clayton. Their intention was to create ‘an everyman’s club’ where social status was irrelevant, allowing friendships to flourish across divides. 

The impact of Talbot House on those who visited, persisted long after the war. This initiative garnered considerable support, resulting in the establishment of the Toc H movement, which received a Royal Charter in 1922. Throughout the 1920s, Toc H expanded globally, particularly within Commonwealth nations. In 1923, Lord Forster, then Governor General of Australia, communicated with Tubby Clayton expressing his and Lady Forster's desire to endow a Toc H Lamp in memory of their sons lost in World War I, while also working to initiate Toc H in Australia. The following year, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, the Patron of Toc H, lit a lamp at a festival in Albert Hall, London, naming it the Forster Lamp. In 1925, Tubby Clayton and Pat Leonard brought the lamp to Australia and presented it to Lord and Lady Forster. Initially, the Forster Lamp was meant for the first Toc H Group in Australia to achieve full branch status, but as groups formed almost simultaneously across all states, each branch received their own Lamp, being named after a fallen soldier and in honour of their supreme sacrifice in the Great War.  The men are known in Toc H as the 'Elder Brethren'.

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The World Chain of Light was initiated in 1929 by Toc H Perth, Western Australia, a tradition that far exceeded expectations and continues to be conducted annually by Toc H members worldwide. It takes place on the 11th – 12th December, those dates being chosen to commemorate the first opening of Talbot House in Poperinghe, Belgium on the 11th December 1915 and the birthday of the Founder Padre Tubby Clayton.

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The Western Australia President of Toc H, Lieutenant General Sir J. J Talbot Hobbs, K.C.B. was one of Australia’s most distinguished WWI soldiers, selected by Major General Bridges to command the 1st Australian Divisional Artillery where Hobbs and his men were the first ashore at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli on April, 25th 1915 and later commanded the 5th Division through a number of significant battles on the Western Front.  When Hobbs returned to Western Australia in late 1919, his response to a question on his future plans, he countered ‘The only idea I have at present is to try to become a good citizen again. But I am determined on one thing, that as far as lies in my power for the rest of my life I shall be at the service of the men who did so very much to win the war, the Australian soldiers.’ Hobbs continued to be strong advocate for the welfare of returned soldiers and was a major part of the Western Australian branches of Toc H success and opened Edward House, Mark I Australia in Albany on December 5th, 1931.

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​In 2025, the World Chain of Light will commence by the lighting of the Rae Lamp on Sunday, December 11th, 2025 at 9:00 PM local time at Edward House - Mark I Australia, Albany (now known as Norman House).  The Toc H lamp, symbolic in its own right, is lit to remember those who had died in the First World War. The Rae Lamp is named after Captain William John Rae, 3rd Battalion Imperial Camel Corps who was killed on March, 27th 1917 at El Mandar near Gaza, Egypt. Captain Rae was held in high regard in his home town of Albany.​

As the first link of light is lit in Albany, the chain moves westward globally, through many countries including South Africa, Germany, Belgium, other parts of Europe, Britain, Canada, South America, New Zealand, parts of the Pacific, Eastern parts of Australia, and back to the west, with each branch lighting their Lamps at 9:00 PM local time until the last link in the Chain of Light is completed at 9:00 PM on December 12th, in Albany.

We look forward to hosting the World Chain of Light in 2025, and joining together with our community, members and special guests, lighting the Rae Lamp from the first and only Mark in Australia and honouring the fallen and paying our respect for their sacrifice.

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Since 1929, the World Chain of Light has been observed in various locations worldwide.