Figure 1.-- Here is our letter of acceptance from the American Committee. It was after our parents received the letter that we we were told that we were going to America. Also attached is the receipt for our transport. You see this was dated Auguest 5, 1940. £25 was quite a lot of money in those days.

Granham and I were in a group called the 'Transcriptors'. The name was given as we were sponsored by the Boston Transcript newspaper. Our welfare was under the supervision of the American Committe for the Evacuation of Children. I have since read that there were big problems in allocating escorts at this time. A lot of behind the scenes activity was needed to put the scheme in motion in the first place. One of the difficulties was that visas could not be granted to unaccompanied minors, unless they were sponsored. This is where such organisation as Kodak, and the Boston Transcript came in. Up to then, children were only given visas if they had named friends or relatives to sponsor them. Attached is our letter of acceptance from the American Committee and the receipt for my passage and visas etc. You see this was dated Auguest 5, 1940. £25 was quite a lot of money in those days.

Boston Transcript

Granham and I were in a group called the 'Transcriptors'. The name was given as we were sponsored by the Boston Transcript newspaper. The Transcript was an important paper in American newspaper history. It was founded in 1830. The first editor and patron was Lynde Walter died. When he died, his sister Cornelia Wells Walter became the editor (1842). A woman newspaper editot was probably unknown at the time. She had been the Transcript's theatre critic. She was the first woman to become the editor of a major United States daily and worked in that capacity for 5 years (1842 to 1847). Poet Epes Sargent next became editor of the paper (1847). This female and literary left a continuing influence on the paper. The Transcrip devloped what would lsater be called a humanitarian and progressive outlook. It reported on race riots and woulkd give attention to black casualties and black citizens leff homeless. This was uncommon at the time. Many literary and poetic works were published in the Transcript. "America the Beautiful" by Katharine Lee Bates first appeared in what by then was knoen as the The Boston Evening Transcript (1909). Thus sponsoring refugee children was in the Transcript long traditiion. We do not know what editorial position the paper took on the War, a major issue in American politics at the time. The Transcript ceased publishing (1941). I am not sure yet of the circumstaces.

American Committee

Our welfare was under the supervision of the American Committe for the Evacuation of Children. The U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children (USCOM) is best known for its efforts to try to save Jewish refugee children during World War II. AFSC Chairman Clarence Pickett organized the USCOM (JKune 1940). USCOM also worked to save British children when the NAZIs began to bomb Britain into submission. Images of German bombing raids and European refugees had a major impact o American opinion and this only increased when the Germans began bombing Britain. USCOM was organized by the Quaker American Friends Service Connitte (AFSC), but operated on a non-sectarian basis. As America was neutral, USCOM?AFSC was able to operate in Vichy France even safter Hitler declared war on America. They managed to save over 800 Jewish children in Vichy France. First Lady Eklenor Roosevelt strongly supported their activities. USCOM spokesmen lobbied for immigration support, but this was not achieved until after the War. Mrs. Roosevelt's support helped USCOM expand its work. The committee continued to function after the War when chagese made to the immigrsation laws. USCOM closed (1953).

Visas

A lot of behind the scenes activity was needed to put the scheme in motion in the first place. One of the difficulties was that visas could not be granted to unaccompanied minors, unless they were sponsored. This is where such organisation as Kodak, and the Boston Transcript came in. Up to then, children were only given visas if they had named friends or relatives to sponsor them.

Selection

I am not entirely sure how the American Committee made their selections. Attached is our letter of acceptance from the American Committee and the receipt for my passage and visas etc. You see this was dated Auguest 5, 1940. £25 was quite a lot of money in those days and our parents had two boys to pat for. This lef to criticisms in the press that the better off were being preferences in the overseas evacuations.

Escorts

I have since read that there were big problems in allocating escorts at this time. The Royal Navy was totally unprepared for another U-boat commerce campsaign. The Admiralty had assumed thsat the ASDAC (SONAR) developed in World War would prevent U-boats from being used in any future War. This did not proive to be the case. The ASDAC available in 1940 had its deficencies. And the Germans had developed new tactics and improved U-boats. The result was that the Royal Navy could offer only minimal protection to Atlanctic convoys. And in 1940 America was not yet in the War and the U.S. Navy was not yet helping esort the convoys. This is the reason that Primeminister Churchill pressed President RFoosevelt so hard in what was announced as the Bases for Destroyers deal which was agreed to just was headed off for America.