The Gift Box - production problems

Designed by Messrs Adshead and Ramsay, the embossed brass box formed the principal feature of the gift. But limited production of such items in the immediate pre-war period however meant that the Committee encountered quite considerable reluctance on the part of manufacturers to undertake the work. Eventually four firms agreed to co-operate, and contracts were let for 498,000 boxes at a cost of 6¼d per box. The principal production problem stemmed from difficulties in the supply of raw materials. The firms, having undertaken to obtain the brass strip, in fact experienced real difficulty obtaining the material, so much so that at one point the whole scheme faced breakdown. As a consequence the Committee agreed to undertake strip supply direct to the box makers.

Dies for the embossed brass box and proof box. These together with a complete set of the gifts sent out by the Fund, were presented to the Imperial War Museum in 1920. Following the winding up of the Fund, the Secretary, Rowland Berkeley, handed over the records to the Museum and they now form part of the Women's Work Collection, administered by the Department of Printed Books (MH 30526)

A manager of brass supply was engaged, contracts let and a warehouse opened in Birmingham as a collection and distribution point. But the Committee's efforts were not noticeably more successful than the makers, and in the end all the original contracts were abandoned due to the metal suppliers failing to fulfil their obligations. Enough brass was obtained for the initial despatch of gifts, though, with the later expansion of the scheme the Committee had to look to the USA to make good the shortfall. Ironically, the bulk of the brass strip supplied under this arrangement went down with RMS Lusitania when she was torpedoed on 7 May 1915. The problems over the supply of brass plagued the Committee throughout the life of the scheme.

Fund raising:
In contrast, raising money for the scheme proved a great success and on 18 October 1914 the 'Sunday Times' reporting on the splendid response to the initial request for help, published a long list of well-known names of folk who had already donated money. On the second meeting of the Committee, 20 October, Berkeley was able to report that Fund contributions stood at just over £12,000. A week later this figure had risen to £31,000. The total eventually subscribed amounted to £162,591 12s 5d, most of this coming from thousands of small gifts sent by ordinary people from all parts of the United Kingdom. A notable factor in this success was the publicity campaign organised to great effect by Hedley le Bas.