Nina Larrey Smith Duryea (1874 – 1951) - American writer awarded medals for her voluntary relief work in France during the First World War.

While watching a recording of the 2022 Final of the British Quiz Show Mastermind,

I discovered Nina and just had to research her

Nina Larrey Smith was born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States of America on 11th August 1874. Her parents were Franklin Waldo Smith and his wife, Laura Bevan Smith.   Nina’s father was a merchant in Boston.  He was a founder of the YMCA in the United States. Educated in Boston and Belgium, Nina married Chester Burrell Duryea, an inventor, in 1898. The couple had one son, Chester but separated in 1903.

Nina used to spend her summers in Brittany and at the start of the First World War, she was so horrified by the influx of refugees from Belgium that she founded Duryea War Relief (known in French as Secours Duryea) in Dinard - a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany, France.

With a headquarters in Roye, Somme in the Picardie Region and a depot in Lille, Nina and her volunteer assistants distributed clothing, food, garden tools, medicine and other necessities to over 70,000 war survivors and refugees.  The American lyricist/composer Cole Porter was one of the volunteers helping Duryea War Relief in WW1.

Nina's organization also opened a children's center, offering meals and a safe playground (when playing outdoors was still dangerous  because of shrapnel, explosives and other hazards), a hospital for children with tuberculosis and an orphanage. Nina was made a member of the French Legion of Honour for her war work, with additional decorations from Belgium, Italy, Russia and Montenegro.

Nina, 2nd from left front row in front
of her typewriter - with some of the volunteers

After the war, Nina beame Vice President of the International Revival of Industrial Arts, building a market for handicrafts from war-affected regions. She also invented a textile named Sona and a garment called Torsolite, for protective use in hazardous situations.

Nona also wrote plays.  In 1919 a comedy play written by Nina, entitled “Mrs. Drummond's War Relief”, was produced in New York.  The production was directed by Hilda Spong and Nina and her friends raised  funds and gave speeches about post-war reconstruction during the intervals   In 1932, nother play written by Nina - entitled WLove — Common or Preferred” - was also produced as a fundraiser.

Nina died on 1st November 1951 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

One of Nina's books was “The Soul of Fighting France”, which was published in 1918 - I have not been able to find any trace of a copy, unfortunately.

Additional information source:

https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/2014/01/machines-ecrire-et-de-secours-nina.html