With the support of the British ambassador Sir Rennell Rodd, the BSR decided in 1912 to relocate a new, larger, permanent building in the Valle Giulia, designed by Lutyens, and to expand into not only archaeology but also art and architecture. The move itself occurred in 1915 saw the actual move, and Ashby's volunteering not to fight in the First World War but instead to serve as a translator in the first British Red Cross ambulance unit, based at the Villa Trento near Udine, leaving Mrs Strong to run the School. Ashby felt this appropriate to his Quaker leanings and, though it drew criticism, he was still asked to return to Rome and the BSR, and was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery in his ambulance work on the Asiago plateau.