Serbian and French charity stamps
Charity stamps were a good way of raising money and awareness for causes. Shown here are three charity stamps with a focus on providing help and relief to Serbia, as well as France. First is the 'Serbian War Orphans Fund', costing 1 cent. At the top, in Serbian Cyrillic is the text, 'СРПСКА РАТНА СИРОЧАД', which transliterates as 'Srpska Ratna Sirocad', and which translates to 'Serbian War Orphans'. The central motif shows ruins, children, a female figure, looking at the rays of the sun, and the words 'Humanity' within the rays. The address at the bottom of the stamp, 1905 Fowler Street, Chicago, Illinois, which is property of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Second is the Serbian Relief Fund stamp, which shows an image of a desolate Serbian soldier, below which is the text 'Begs Aid For Our Brave Ally', and the price of one penny. The Patroness of the Serbian Relief Fund was Britain’s own Queen Mary, its President the Lord Bishop of London, and Vice-Presidents included the Lord Bishop of Oxford, H.H. Asquith, W.S. Churchill, and Lloyd George. The work of the Fund included the establishment of a number of hospital units in Serbia, including some mobile ones, as well as sending nurses and medical supplies and stores, helping also the work of the Red Cross. Thirdly, is a stamp for the California Committee For Relief in Serbia and France, with a central figure of a nurse, above which is the text 'Merry Christmas', and the year 1919 below, and the text ‘California Committee for Relief in Serbia and France’ surrounding the central figure. The background has the Serbian tricolour of horizontal red-blue-white in the top half, and the French tricolor of vertical blue-white-red in the bottom half. This Californian stamp showed that, despite the war having been over for a year and more, clothing and other supplies were still needed and that, though California may have been half a world away, it was still going to help.
Three charity stamps. One for the Serbian War Orphans Fund, one for the Serbian Relief Fund, and one for the California Committee For Relief in Serbia and France.
CONTRIBUTOR
Špiro Vranješ
DATE
/
LANGUAGE
eng
ITEMS
4
INSTITUTION
Europeana 1914-1918
PROGRESS
METADATA
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French Serbian charity plaques and medal by Szirmai
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Serbian Cross of Charity
6 Items
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Pair of Italian-made Serbian poster stamps
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