Letter writing case

item details

NameLetter writing case

ProductionUnknown; leatherworker; 1940 - 1945; New Zealand

Classificationportfolios

Materialsleather

Techniquestooling

DimensionsOverall: 230mm (width), 290mm (height), 24mm (depth)

Registration NumberGH024731

Credit lineGift of Brian Michael Fitzgerald and Noel Frances Hudson, 2015

Overview

This leather letter writing case was made by a wounded soldier or sailor during the Second World War (1939-45) when he was recuperating at the Military Hospital at Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland.

The sister-in-charge, Phyllis Hutton, encouraged patients to take up activities such as leatherwork for rehabilitation purposes. She commissioned two letter cases as gifts for her sisters Lila and Mavis Fitzgerald (Lila was also a nurse).

Lila Fitzgerald

The letter case is embossed with the initials of Lila Elizabeth Fitzgerald (1899-1990), with an inscription inside: 'Souvenir from Military Annexe, Ellerslie Race-Course.'

Ellerslie Military Hospital

Also known as the Emergency or Auxiliary Military Hospital, it came into service in June 1940. Rooms inside the grandstand were converted into wards and operated with the assistance of the Red Cross and Order of St John. There were 722 beds in total.