ROSL has a long history of active stateside membership, with groups meeting across the country since early in the organisation's history. Today, one of the largest growth areas in membership comes from Americans, now outnumbering New Zealanders.
This momentum is thanks to decades of activity in the country, vividly depicted by a recent donation from ROSL member Norman MacGilvray, whose mother owned the photo above. View a larger version here.
It shows a meeting of members in New York on 1 December 1937 at the Grand Central Palace, next door to Grand Central Station, attended by Lady Wrench, wife of ROSL founder Sir Evelyn Wrench.
Lady Wrench, shown in the centre of the photo in mourning, was at the two-day fundraiser for the Chinese, who had then just been invaded by the Japanese, arguably one of the first acts of the Second World War. To her right is Agnes Lawrie, mother of Norman.
Many current members, like Norman, can trace a connection to the very earliest days of ROSL. Does anyone recognise any family members in the photo?
