Square tan cotton drawstring medical bag with red fabric cross sewn on middle front with black drawstring; interior of bag has two open pockets sewn into bottom seam; cream fabric label sewn on interior of bag at opening with black ink.
Square tan cotton drawstring medical bag with red fabric cross sewn on middle front with black drawstring; interior of bag has two open pockets sewn into bottom seam; cream fabric label sewn on interior of bag at opening with black ink.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Donated to the museum by Paul Fritz; originally belonged to donor's great-aunt Anne Elizabeth Green, graduate of Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1909; items were used during military service in World War 1.
Bag was created for overseas troops during 1914-1918
Material
fabric: tan, red, cream, black
ink: black
Inscriptions
Printed on label: "ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH // WIN[illeg.]"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007 Closet M
Length
42.0 cm
Width
41.5 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 42.0 cm x Width 41.5 cm
Condition Remarks
Several minor brown stains particularly above red cross and on side seam and back of bag; slight fraying on left of cross and on middle back of bag; small holes in fabric above and below cross; general fading of fabrics; interior of bag along drawstring seam is dirty and discoloured black and is frayed; interior label is discoloured and text has worn away
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Website
Reference Comments
Canadian Red Cross, "WWI Cloth Ditty Bag," https://www.redcross.ca/history/artifacts/wwi-cloth-ditty-bag
Research Facts
Bags like this were called "ditty bags," and were sewn by women across Canada who were volunteering with the Red Cross. The bags were meant to hold personal and hygiene items. Sometimes they would be given to military personnel empty in order to hold their personal items, and sometimes they were provided full of items such as a razor, soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a handkerchief, a pair of warm hand-knit socks, writing paper and envelopes, and perhaps gum and/or tobacco.