Location

Syra (Syros), Greece

Year

1926–1928

Item Detail

Syra (Syros), Greece, 1926-1928. A line of orphan boys and youths in caps before the orphanage workrooms, the twin chimneys behind. The back of the print records that they are “going to play foot ball.”

Context

Fred and Carrie Midgley of Worcester, Massachusetts, served with Near East Relief on the island of Syra (Syros), Greece, from 1926 to 1928, Fred as agricultural director at the orphanage. The institution sheltered some 1,400 Armenian and Greek children orphaned by the genocides and the 1922 destruction of Smyrna (İzmir). The Midgley papers were given to the Near East Foundation by their granddaughter, Nancy Winter Taylor, and are held at the Rockefeller Archive Center.

Orphan Daily Life and Portraits — These are pictures of the orphans themselves: at play, at chores, in portraits, and at the 1928 distribution of American dolls. Where the Midgleys recorded a child's name, it appears in the caption. Many of the other children are not identified.

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Orphan boys lined up to play football, Syra