WWI quilt auctioned in Harborough will return to its home in New Zealand after 100 years

A Red Cross quilt made during the First World War will return to the remote New Zealand town where it was created, following an auction in Market Harborough.

The quilt was made by residents of Otautau in the Southland region, who paid small fee for squares of fabric which they used to embroider names, pictures and phrases, some of which are dated 1917. These 40 squares were then sewn together to make one of the many Red Cross quilts which were sent to soldiers during the war.

An auction bid at Gildings Auctioneers saw the quilt won through a telephone bid by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association (RSA). It was estimated to fetch £200 but reached £320 following bids by private collectors.

Auction house director Will Gilding said: “We’re delighted that the Otautau Quilt is returning home after over a century here in the UK.

“On hearing about the auction, the local branch of the RSA were understandably keen to get the quilt back on home soil. It was well worth their representatives staying up until 1.30 am New Zealand time to secure this important piece of local heritage.

“Although the quilt has some iron staining and a few small holes, it’s returning home remarkably intact, considering it’s a fairly delicate.”

Around a century ago the completed quilt was displayed in the window of J.J. Boyd’s shop in Otautau, before being sent to a military hospital near London for convalescing soldiers from New Zealand. After the war, it was owned by Mr Ambler of Cumbernauld, near Glasgow and has remained in the UK ever since.

In 1976, Otautau’s local newspaper, The Southland Times, printed a letter from Mr Ambler, resulting in correspondence from the editor, the secretary general of the New Zealand Red Cross and people who made a square for the quilt. The correspondence, comprised of over 20 letters which were included in the auction and will be sent along with the quilt.

The quilt bears the names of many Otautau families, a British bulldog with a flag, a lifebuoy ring, a songbird, good luck horseshoes, the Māori greeting 'Kia ora' and phrases.