Ruby Gledhill from Avoca: raising money for sick children

The Weekly Times “Young Folks” column was not merely a children’s page. Under the guidance of Uncle Ben and Aunt Connie, young readers across Victoria raised money for Melbourne’s Children’s Hospital. Their efforts were so successful that they endowed not one but two hospital cots. The first, “Uncle Ben’s Cot,” was established in 1893 when the children’s subscriptions reached £30. A second cot, “Aunt Connie’s Cot,” was endowed early the following year. Through collecting cards, small donations and regular fundraising, generations of readers helped support sick children in hospital while learning the value of charitable service.

The newspaper regularly reported on the cot and the children it helped. In June 1896 The Weekly Times had a feature article on The Children’s Hospital. The article mentioned the cot, supported by “the subscriptions of gentle-hearted, sympathetic little folks among the readers of this paper,” occupied a corner of the Elizabeth Ward and was continually in use. The article described eight-year-old Alfred Curtis, photographed in the Aunt Connie cot while receiving treatment for severe hip disease. 

In 1898 Uncle Ben’s cot was renamed the Young Victoria cot. Aunt Connie’s cot was permanently endowed, over £500 having been raised over the previous 5 years.

Children who collected substantial amounts could receive certificates and other recognition. One of the highest honours was admission to the “Legion of Honor,” awarded to particularly successful collectors. The following letters from Ruby May Gledhill (1890-1947)l of Avoca show her enthusiasm for the scheme. Between 1899 and 1900 she raised more than £2 for the Cot, qualifying for a Legion of Honor certificate. 

Ruby’s letters also provide glimpses of everyday life in Avoca, including celebrations following the capture of General Cronje during the South African War, family events, school life and Sunday school picnics.

Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 9 December 1899, page 13

Another Good Collection.-Avoca, 16th November, 1899.-Dear Aunt Connie, -I hope I have not kept my card too long, for I wanted to get it full. I am sending it back with the amount collected, L1 7s 2d. I hope in a short time to be able to collect a little more for the Cot, as mama says it is a good thing to do. Please publish the list of names. Dad is paying for the postal note. With love to Cousins Connie and Florrie, Uncle Ben and yourself, I remain your affectionate niece,-Ruby May Gledhill.

Weekly Times, Saturday 7 April 1900, page 14

Great Rejoicings. Faraday street, Avoca, 13th March, 1900, Dear Aunt Connie,-- it is a long time since I wrote to you. I was going to write when you and Uncle Ben went away for a holiday, and you said in "The Weekly Times" not to write till after a certain date. I now take great pleasure in writing, and thanking you and the secretary of the Hospital for the nice certificate I received at Christmas. We had a half-holiday at our school the day a wire came to Avoca stating that General Cronje had surrendered. We had such fun. There were flags flying all over Avoca, and we had a Union Jack. too. Is not the war terrible? I wish it were ended. Such a lot of brave men are getting killed; it is very sad. I had an uncle married last Thursday. I was at the wedding, and enjoyed myself very much, and now uncle and aunty have gone to Western Australia for two or three years. He had been away four years over there, and he came home at Christmas to see grandma and granddad, and has been with us ever since then, and now we miss him very much. Dear Aunt Connie,-- Would you send me another collecting card, that I can keep for a little while and collect with it in my spare time. Everything is so dry in this district. Rain is wanted badly. I passed when the inspector came to our school at Christmas, and now I am in the third class. With love to Cousins Connie, Florrie, and Uncle Ben, not forgetting yourself. I remain, your loving niece, Ruby May Gledhill.

Weekly Times, Saturday 15 December 1900, page 10

The Legion of Honor. Faraday street, Avoca. -Dear Aunt Connie, I am sending back my collecting card, with post office order for the amount, 16s. They are all little amounts, but ever so small I am sure it will be a help for the poor little children. We had our Sunday school picnic on the 9th of November. I won a wire skipping rope and my sister won a Star tea set. I am going to give my cousins a riddle:-

There is a grey goose
She is of a large size,
And those who would buy her
They need to be wise.
She has feet in her body
And walks upon none,
Goes far for her living.
And seldom comes home.

Am I entitled to a Legion of Honor Certificate? With love to Cousins Connie and Florrie, I remain your loving niece, Ruby May Gledhill. I am sending 6d in stamps for the Christmas Tree.
(As you collected L1 7s 2d on your former card, dear, you are, I am glad to say, entitled to a Legion of Honor card. Aunt Connie.]

Related posts

• Letters from Maurice Leyden Percydale in 1900: Maurice was also collecting for the “poor little children. He raised 15s 6d.

Wikitree: Ruby May Gledhill (1890-1947)

Note: I had to search for the answer to the riddle, it is a ship.