fund

I think this should be Marjorie STERRETT, the 13-year-old Brooklyn girl who wrote a letter to the Navy Department in February, 1916 that resulted in the founding of a fund to give prizes for battleship preparedness that is awarded to this day. See: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A15FF345C13738... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Sterrett_Battleship_Fund_A... I think this photo and the following ones of Teddy Roosevelt, may have been taken at the same event. Roosevelt was actively campaigning for he US to enter the World War in 1916, and Marjorie's offer to contribute her weekly 10 cent allowance towards the building of a dreadnaught, would have made a great PR opportunity for TR. The New York Times reports that TR met with Marjorie Sterrett on board the SS Guiana on February 11, 1916. Roosevelt was on a 5 week trip to the Caribbean for health reasons. According to the Times, Teddy greeted Marjorie with, "Hello Mabel, how do you do? I am glad to meet you and give three cheers for you and your battleship. You are doing great work."

The article about the meeting of TR with Marjorie Sterrett is here: query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50C15FF345C13... Another photo of her: New-York tribune., February 06, 1916, Page 3

I have been unable to identify Marjorie or her family in US Census records at ancestry.com. The only entry that I have found that is indisputably her is the following: STERRETT, MARJORIE DEAN; b. 1902, Silver Creek N.Y.; educ. Pub.. schls., Erie Pennsylvania and Phila. ,Pa., and N.Y.C.; screen career, Edison (“Cy Whittaker’s Ward,” “Three Things”); rides, swims, skates, wrestles, boxes; founder of Marjorie Sterrett battleship fundfor children that spread all over the country; rough soubrettes and comedy. Hght., 5, 1; wght., 126; brown hair, blue eyes. Home address, 28 N. Decatur ave., N. Y. C. Motion Picture Studio Directory, 1919 at ancestry.com Language note: A "rough soubrette", according to a biography of Mae West, is "a woman who attempted songs, dances and jokes that were considered the domain of male performers."

Thanks to both of you for your great research. We'll add some of the information to this record the next time we update

After some research and correspondence it appears more than likely that Marjorie Sterrett, of the battleship fund, was born as Marjorie Rockwood Dean in Silver Creek, Chautauqua Co., New York, on May 29th. 1902. Her parents were Fred C. Dean and Grace Rockland, both natives of Erie Co., PA. Around 1911, Grace and Fred Dean separated, and Grace remarried Thomas Garfield Sterrett, a native of Erie who was in the newspaper business. Tom Sterrett was a veteran of the Spanish American War, who had re-enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1907 and seems to have split his time between New York and Pennsylvania newspaper work and military service. In the Marines he was employed in recruiting efforts in the years before and during the USA’s entry into World War I. He is credited with having a genius for publicity and was responsible for staging public events and placing copy in newspapers in order to increase the repute of the Corps. By 1915, Captain Sterrett was the chief of the Marine Corps’ New York Publicity Bureau on East 24th Street in Manhattan. Various records and newspaper articles give Brooklyn addresses for himself and/or his family, although they are not shown living there in any of the Federal Censuses. In 1916 there was mounting pressure on the non-interventionist Wilson administration to ready the US armed forces for entry into the raging European war. One of the most visible proponents of “preparedness” was former president Theodore Roosevelt. It is against this background that Captain Sterrett’s pretty 13-year-old stepdaughter wrote her moving letter to the New York Tribune offering up her dime allowance to help build a battleship for the Navy. Within a very short amount of time she was standing on the deck of the SS Guiana schmoozing with the ailing Roosevelt who very publicly had embraced Marjorie’s cause and contributed dimes on behalf of his young grandchildren. (I find it curious that Bain didn’t archive a photo of TR and Marjorie together although they each are shown separately on board the ship.) Marjorie’s letter generated a great deal of publicity across the US and bolstered the public acceptance of a pro-war stance. There were deep-seated suspicions that the war was being fought for the benefit of munitions manufacturers and profiteers, and that the US should stay out of Europe’s mess. Marjorie’s act provided a patriotic subtext for the hawks of that day. The fact that her stepfather was a PR man for the armed forces was not discussed in the coverage of the story. Sometime after she burst upon the public scene, Marjorie was invited to make some short films for the Edison Company. Her film career never took off and, rather soon, was living quietly with her parents Thomas and Grace Sterrett back in Erie. Tom Sterrett returned to the newspaper publishing business after the conclusion of the War, and by the late 1920’s had been elected Sherriff of Erie County PA. In 1920, Marjorie (under the name Marjorie Rockwood Dean) was married to Peter Raun in Erie, with whom she had several children. Marjorie died at the age of 24 in Wattsburg, Erie Co. PA on March 2, 1927. See also: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2013/11/naval-award-named-for-er...

Queensland Soldiers' Comforts Fund, a working subdivision of the Australian Comforts Fund, was established during World War I. The purpose of the Fund was to provide comforts to soldiers on active service. This was achieved via appeals for donations, public subscriptions, and organising fundraising activities. Numerous branches of the Queensland Soldiers' Comforts Fund were spread throughout Queensland, Australia during this period. One of the committee's first activities was to appeal for public donations of various items that could be dispatched to soldiers overseas in time for Christmas. Accepted items included shirts, undershirts with short sleeves, mufflers, balaclava caps, handkerchiefs, writing pads, envelopes, pencils, pipes, tobacco, cigarettes, bootlaces, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, Vaseline, sweets, coffee, games, books and magazines.[2][3] By the end of World War I, the Queensland Soldiers' Comfort Fund declared that since October 1915 they had packed and shipped 5,010 cases to soldiers overseas, which included 17,324 shirts and 37,983 pairs of socks. Queensland Soldiers' Comfort Fund oversaw several fundraising operations: The Coo-ee Cafe was a volunteer-run cafe, War-time Kitchen operated by volunteers, Jam Shop, Refreshment stall at the Brisbane Exhibition selling sandwiches, fruit and soft drinks with proceeds going toward the Fund. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland_Soldiers%27_Comforts_Fund

Nice behind the bar shot, check out the rat traps!

The glasses are surprisingly small, either Sevens (7 fl oz or 200 ml) or Ponies (140 ml). And they appear to be sculling them, none of your warm pints sipped for an hour.

Merryjack Looks that way, although I've seen Qld cane cutters sipping Ponies of Barb Wire (XXXX) after a long, hot day. Apparently so the alcohol doesn't go straight to the head and they collapse.

Interesting mix of cold and hot weather uniforms!

The name of their ship has been blanked out from their caps, that would be due to wartime censorship so the enemy would not know which ships were in port.

Congratulation for your beautiful Album.

The Irish have contributed so much to America. Fought, bled, and died during the Civil War, under both the Union and Confederate Flags. John Mitchel's sons fought during the Civil war, though on the Confederate side. He had his reasons.

From the Wikipedia page of Balbriggan, 54 houses and a hosiery factory were destroyed during the "Sack of Balbriggan" on 20 September 1920. The US delegation pledged to rebuild 30 homes and a factory.

Wikipedia says:: On Monday 21 September 1920 during the night the Black and Tans sacked the town of Balbriggan in County Dublin, Ireland. ... On Clonard Street, 20 houses were destroyed. Several pubs were looted and burned including Derham’s Pub and McGowan’s Pub on George’s Hill. Overall a factory, 49 houses and four pubs were burnt down. This is presumably the ruins of the factory.

On the OSI 25" map (somewhat earlier date) there are no factorys on Clonard Street, but there is a Linen Factory on George's Hill.