D'Aeth started out on the search for an answer conventionally enough. The then Lord Mayor, the Earl of Derby, called a meeting of citizens in the Town Hall in December 1911 to consider the question of ‘Personal Service Amongst the Poor’. Perhaps fortunately, the Earl himself was absent, having to receive in his parlour a deputation of carters who were at that time on strike. His place was taken by Chaloner Dowdall, as chairman of the LCVA, who formally proposed ‘That this Meeting is of the opinion that a further development of personal interest in charitable service will increase the efficiency of charities, and promote the welfare of the citizens’. This was seconded by Bishop Chavasse, the Lord Bishop of Liverpool, and supported by Professor Campagnac as representing the university. Notables of the business community added weight to the platform party. The resolution was carried unanimously. But although the sentiments of the meeting emphasised the value of voluntary service, both to the city and to those who undertook it, the only practical suggestions came from such as Margaret Beavan, who pleaded the need for more volunteers for childcare. It was left to D'Aeth to put flesh on the bones of a good intention.

At first glance, the years following the first AGM in 1911 present a picture of apparently undisciplined expenditure of energy on D'Aeth's part, but this is misleading. It should be no surprise to realise that he was in fact working to the carefully constructed plan of action which he had indicated in his first report. It was this steadfast sense of direction that enabled him to keep his head in the face of the multiple demands now made on him.

Right from his first preliminary report on charitable effort in 1909, it is clear that D'Aeth had thought out precisely how he proposed to organise his work. His ultimate aim was to implement MacCunn's vision of a socially responsible society – which was, of course, the whole purpose of the LCVA that he had worked so hard to create.