The first National President of the DBE was Mrs. George Cooke Adams, CBE, and the first Annual Meeting of the National Society, DBE, was held in Detroit, Michigan, on May 5-6, 1921. April 14, the birth date of Mrs. J. Elliot Langstaff, as well as the date of the signing of the National Covenant, has been declared “Founders Day” and celebrated each year by all States.

In 1920, shortly after the reorganization of the DBE as a National Society, the governments of Canada and the United States initiated plans for the creation of a Garden of Peace on both sides of the border between two countries, to be a living memorial to the long-established friendship between the United States and Canada. The Province of Manitoba and the State of North Dakota together donated 2,300 acres of land in the Turtle Mountains. This area became the International Peace Garden, Inc., symbolizing the peace and harmony existing along the longest unfortified boundary in the world. The National Society Daughters of the British Empire in the USA and the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire in Canada became Charter Members of this great enterprise and their contributions over the years have helped in the development and maintenance of this unique and noble concept.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Chapters were formed in rapid succession with 76 being organized between 1914 and 1918. DBE members were responsible for the largest War Relief Fund raised by any British organization in the U.S. The Second World War saw members in all states working unceasingly. Six ambulances and a mobile kitchen were provided by the DBE. Members also worked with many other relief services.

During the early years, 1909-1915, much philanthropic work was done in local communities and assistance given on an individual basis to elderly British women who were in need. Mrs. Langstaff suggested that a home for the aged would serve as “cohesive philanthropy in which each and all Chapters could have a common interest,” and so was born the concept of “Homes for the Aged”.