South Australian Army Nurses' Day souvenir fan 1917

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1917

Overview

Ovoid cardboard fan on a timber stick produced as a souvenir of South Australian Army Nurses Day on October 27 1917.
The fan has a central portrait of a nurse wearing a white veil covering her dark brown, wavy hair and a red tippet over her grey dress with a high white collar. She is looking to one side and has a serious expression.
The background is white and the words 'One of God's Angels' are written below in black.
The reverse of the fan is plain grey in colour and has two logos at the top featuring the monogrammed letters C, T, &, W (representing Commercial Travellers & Warehouse) with the words 'South Australian' above and 'Association' below. Between the logos is the text 'Souvenir of Army Nurses Day October 27, 1917'. Both the logos and text are printed in dark blue.
A thin, flat piece of timber with rounded edges is attached to the back of the fan with a horizontal piece of fabric securing the top and with glue further down. A small cursive capital E is written in red pencil at the lower left.

Historical information

The first South Australian Army Nurses' Day was held at Adelaide Oval on October 27 1917. It was organised by the Commercial Travellers' and Warehousemen's Association (C.T. & W.A.). This event aimed to raise funds for army nurses serving with the Australian Imperial Force. The day was a success and became an annual event, with the Army Nurses' Fund ultimately raising £10,960 throughout the war.

There are number of items in the collection relating to this fundraising effort, including souvenir fans, a pin tray and several badges. The same nurse motif was used on a number of these items. They are all true ephemera, as they were made from poor quality materials and not designed to last.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00620

Item type

Themes

Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1