Actress Recruiter

Celebrated stage star Olga Nethersole does her bit for a WWI recruitment drive

In a rare screen appearance, celebrated stage star Olga Nethersole addresses a rapt crowd in London's Trafalgar Square in a bid to encourage men to sign up to fight. Ms Nethersole had been one of Britain's most successful and popular theatre since the late 1880s, and her fame grew internationally in the 1900s. During WWI she served as a nurse, beginning a lifelong commitment to public health.

In early 1900, she and her co-star Hamilton Revelle were charged - though quickly acquitted - for public indecency for their roles in Clyde Fitch's notorious play Sapho. She seems to have shunned the screen, which helps to explain why she is largely forgotten today.