Dates

• Existence: 1885 - 1977

Biographical Note

Annie Christitch was born in Belgrade in 1885. Her grandfather was the Prime Minister who helped form the young Serbian kingdom. Annie received her B. A. at London University and attained fluency in English, French, Italian, German, Serb, Croat, Russian, and Gaelic. She served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, and she and her brother accompanied the Duke of York (later King George VI) to Belgrade for the baptism of the Crown Prince Peter. During the First World War, Annie Christitch worked with her mother as a nurse in Serbia and supervised several military hospitals. It is at this time that she and her mother were held prisoners. Christitch gave lectures in England in order to raise funds for medical supplies, and ran a soup kitchen for the Red Cross. During WWII, Annie Christitch helped allied soldiers escape from Balkan countries, and worked with Queen Marie and the British Red Cross to supply Yugoslav prisoners of war in Germany and Italy with parcels. Annie Christitch worked for many years for the Daily Express and was one of the first women reporters to fly in an airplane. She was a founding member of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society, which later became St. Jone's Alliance. In 1919, Pope Benedict XV gave her his blessing on the women's franchise movement. For the International Council of Women, she served as the Convener for the Press Committee from 1838 to 1947. Annie Christitch died in 1977 in London.

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