Silver salver presented to Dame May Whitty (1865-1948) thumbnail 1
Silver salver presented to Dame May Whitty (1865-1948) thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Silver salver presented to Dame May Whitty (1865-1948)

Salver
ca.1945 (engraving)

This silver salver was presented to the actress Dame May Whitty (1865-1948) who set up the Hollywood Committee involved in the evacuation of children from the Actors' Orphanage in Chertsey, Surrey, to the USA during World War II. It bears the engraved signatures of several members of the Hollywood coterie of British expatriot actors who lived in Hollywood at the time, each of whom sponsored one of the children. Dame May Whitty was involved in charitable work during both world wars, and in 1918 was the first theatre and film actress to be made a Dame Commander of the British Empire.

Kittie Carson founded the Actors' Orphanage in 1896. It was to be a home for orphaned children from acting families, and a temporary residence for children of actors who were unable to look after their families while on tour. Early supporters included George Bernard Shaw and Ellen Terry. In 1899 its first President, Henry Irving, held its initial fundraising event, the Actors' Cricket Match, a forebear to all future fundraisers such as the Theatrical Garden Parties. In 1905 the fund purchased 32 and 34 Moreland Road, Croydon as their first orphanage. Cyril Maude became President after Irving's death in 1905, followed by Gerald Du Maurier in 1914. The orphanage moved to bigger premises at Langley Hall, Slough, and when Du Maurier died in 1934 Noel Coward became the President. In 1938 it moved again, to larger premises at Silverlands, in Chertsey, Surrey, and on the outbreak of the World War II evacuated the children to the Edwin Gould Foundation in the Bronx, New York City, where they went to local schools.

When plans for a move to the US had first been formulated, it was mooted that the orphanage should be in Los Angeles where a Hollywood committee was set up under the aegis of Dame May Whitty. In the end it was agreed, with the help of Fanny Holzmann, that it should go to New York. At the end of the war some children stayed in America and others went back to the UK where the younger ones returned to Silverlands. Noel Coward brought Gertrude Lawrence to visit them. Committee members included Richard Attenborough, Sheila Sim, Clemence Dane and Stanley Holloway. The organisation also set up 27 Rutland Gate in Kensington for a relatively brief period in the early 1950s for those aged about 18 to take vocational classes. Funds were always an issue, but Noel Coward used his fame to keep the orphanage going and appeared with Marlene Dietrich in a midnight matinee fundraiser at the London Palladium, a 'Night of a Hundred Stars' that featured Danny Kaye and was produced by Richard Attenborough. Noel Coward resigned as President of the Orphanage in 1958 and was replaced by Laurence Olivier.

Silverlands closed in 1958 and the Actors' Charitable Trust was founded instead. The charity now exists as ACT (the Actors' Children's Trust).




Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSilver salver presented to Dame May Whitty (1865-1948) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraved silver
Brief description
Silver salver presented to Dame May Whitty in appreciation of her work for the British Actors Orphanage in America during World War II
Physical description
Circular silver salver with decorative 'bluebell' handles, engraved with the inscription: 'TO DAME MAY WHITTY In grateful appreciation BRITISH ACTORS ORPHANAGE WORLD WAR II 1940-1945' and with the engraved signatures of Vivien Leigh, Gertrude Lawrence, James Whale, Cary Grant, Constance Collier, Cedric Hardwicke, Maurice Evans, Evelyn Helmore, Edmund Gwenn, Madge Hogan, Laurence Olivier, Alma Hitchcock, Gladys Cooper, Edna Best, Lewis J. Deak, Margaret Webster, William Griffin, Victor Saville, Lloyd V. Almirall, Nigel Bruce, Brian Aherne, Boris Karloff and Herbert Marshall.
Dimensions
  • Widest point, handle to handle diameter: 35.6cm
  • Across the central part of the salver diameter: 31.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
'TO DAME MAY WHITTY In grateful appreciation BRITISH ACTORS ORPHANAGE WORLD WAR II 1940-1945' and the signatures: Vivien Leigh, Gertrude Lawrence, James Whale, Cary Grant, Constance Collier, Cedric Hardwicke, Maurice Evans, Evelyn Helmore, Edmund Gwenn, Madge Hogan, Laurence Olivier, Alma Hitchcock, Gladys Cooper, Edna Best, Lewis J. Deak, Margaret Webster, William Griffin, Victor Saville, Lloyd V. Almirall, Nigel Bruce, Brian Aherne, Boris Karloff and Herbert Marshall
Credit line
Given by the British Theatre Museum Association
Object history
Given to the British Theatre Museum Association by Margaret Webster in April 1963.
Associations
Summary
This silver salver was presented to the actress Dame May Whitty (1865-1948) who set up the Hollywood Committee involved in the evacuation of children from the Actors' Orphanage in Chertsey, Surrey, to the USA during World War II. It bears the engraved signatures of several members of the Hollywood coterie of British expatriot actors who lived in Hollywood at the time, each of whom sponsored one of the children. Dame May Whitty was involved in charitable work during both world wars, and in 1918 was the first theatre and film actress to be made a Dame Commander of the British Empire.

Kittie Carson founded the Actors' Orphanage in 1896. It was to be a home for orphaned children from acting families, and a temporary residence for children of actors who were unable to look after their families while on tour. Early supporters included George Bernard Shaw and Ellen Terry. In 1899 its first President, Henry Irving, held its initial fundraising event, the Actors' Cricket Match, a forebear to all future fundraisers such as the Theatrical Garden Parties. In 1905 the fund purchased 32 and 34 Moreland Road, Croydon as their first orphanage. Cyril Maude became President after Irving's death in 1905, followed by Gerald Du Maurier in 1914. The orphanage moved to bigger premises at Langley Hall, Slough, and when Du Maurier died in 1934 Noel Coward became the President. In 1938 it moved again, to larger premises at Silverlands, in Chertsey, Surrey, and on the outbreak of the World War II evacuated the children to the Edwin Gould Foundation in the Bronx, New York City, where they went to local schools.

When plans for a move to the US had first been formulated, it was mooted that the orphanage should be in Los Angeles where a Hollywood committee was set up under the aegis of Dame May Whitty. In the end it was agreed, with the help of Fanny Holzmann, that it should go to New York. At the end of the war some children stayed in America and others went back to the UK where the younger ones returned to Silverlands. Noel Coward brought Gertrude Lawrence to visit them. Committee members included Richard Attenborough, Sheila Sim, Clemence Dane and Stanley Holloway. The organisation also set up 27 Rutland Gate in Kensington for a relatively brief period in the early 1950s for those aged about 18 to take vocational classes. Funds were always an issue, but Noel Coward used his fame to keep the orphanage going and appeared with Marlene Dietrich in a midnight matinee fundraiser at the London Palladium, a 'Night of a Hundred Stars' that featured Danny Kaye and was produced by Richard Attenborough. Noel Coward resigned as President of the Orphanage in 1958 and was replaced by Laurence Olivier.

Silverlands closed in 1958 and the Actors' Charitable Trust was founded instead. The charity now exists as ACT (the Actors' Children's Trust).


Other number
1963/G/43 - BTMA accession number
Collection
Accession number
S.877-2019

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Record createdDecember 10, 2019
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