Description

Mrs Margaret Stavridi was with her husband (Alexander Gregory Stavridi) in India where he worked as an engineer with the East Indian Railway between 1921 and 1948. She was a writer and designer and was also much involved with welfare work, especially during the 1939-45 war.

Material given by Mrs Stavridi.

1. Typescript copies of four articles describing the work of BESA (Bengal Entertainment for the Services Association) both in Calcutta and in “the field”. Mrs Stavridi was also involved with running canteens for troops, organising visitors for the severely wounded in hospitals and launching the Hospital Welfare Service. She describes civilian life in Bengal 1939-48 with its natural disasters of cyclones, floods and famine.:-
   • Regarding government service during British rule in India. 2ff.
   • India 1939-1948: Bengal, Calcutta. 8ff.
   • The civilian war effort in Bengal, India 1939-1946. (For the “Forgotten Army”). 10ff.
   • The civilian war effort in Bengal for the welfare of the “Forgotten Army” of the East, 1942-1946. 8ff.
2. Six letters, written after the Stavridis returned to England, from their former servants 1948-69.
3. From a folder entitled: ‘The work of civilians in Calcutta and Bengal in the 1939-45 War’ containing:-
   • Schicklgrüber by Robert Colling-Pyper and Margaret Stavridi with an introduction by Lady Linlithgow. (Calcutta: Thacker’s Press and Directories, 1943.) The volume, which contains many coloured illustrations, is a parody of the German work Struwelpeter, and is subtitled ‘cautionary tales for modern times’. It treats cynically the various conquests of Hitler and Mussolini. The folder includes letters from the British Red Cross Museum and Archives written in 1992 and 1993 and relating to Schicklgrüber.
   • Annual reports, letters etc. concerning the Bengal Home Industries Association. 1946-48.
   • Miscellaneous designs, letters and newspaper cuttings. 8 Photographs. 1934-65.
   • Programmes, newspaper reviews, designs etc of BESA-ENSA productions. Calcutta, 1940-46.
     Includes items on the following productions:-
     • ‘For Poland’: Karel Capek’s Insect Play, 1940;
     • ‘Arms and Legs’, 1941;
     • Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, 1946.
4. Typescript of text of “Eve-an’ Now”: an intimate review of fashion. By Robert Colling-Pyper. 1942. 37pp.
5. A trip through the land of sunshine and surprise over the E.I.R. [East Indian Railway.] 37pp, illustrated.
6. 1934: The Statesman record of the great Indian earthquake. Calcutta. 44pp, illustrated.
7. “Hand outs” for press tour over East Indian Railway, October 1944: Howrah Station and environments. Calcutta: East Indian Railway Press, 1944. 6pp.
8. Costume and set designs for a review entitled “Rise and Smile”. 14 ff., plus 3ff containing 12 photos of the review “Arms and Legs” {now in photos box L15}