Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1942)

263

November 2, 1942

London, England –
The train left soon after 9:00 yesterday morning and Mrs. Churchill was our hostess. She was charming as always, and interested in everything we saw, but I imagine that so much of it must be familiar to her that she will be relieved when she does not feel responsible for me!

Our first stop was Canterbury, where the Mayor met us with the Lady Mayoress, and we drove through the narrow main street which I remembered so well. On every side there were evidences of the severe bombing to which Canterbury has been subjected.

We got out of the car at the Archway leading to the Cathedral grounds and there Lady Reading introduced me to some of the WVS people, who were there in full force with every possible type of mobile canteen. They had canteens which had been sent from the United States. Others which had come from Canada, one belonging to the Church army, one to the Christian Science group, one to the Salvation Army. They varied in size from those which could serve 250 full meals and 500 cups of tea, and sandwiches, to the little portable type which can be put on the luggage rack of a car and from which I suppose fifty men could be given tea and sandwiches. I was particularly interested in this because I think it would be valuable anywhere where people had to meet a sudden emergency like a forest fire. There was a trailer which can be hooked onto an ordinary car which consisted of three tanks of water, and which must be a godsend when an area is blitzed and sewers and water mains are both affected.

The drivers and the workers on these canteens are volunteers. Many of them work at least five days a week, sometimes more, for a full eight-hour day. They take school lunches to children and food to the outposts where women work in lonely places. They use all of this equipment for general welfare when it is not needed for emergency work. We afterwards met the Dean and made brief visit to the Cathedral which is very different from what it was when I saw it several years ago.

Our next stop was at Barham to visit a Women’s Institute. Lady Denman is the head of the National organization. The women proudly showed me a canning machine from America, sent by Miss Grace Frysinger of the Department of Agriculture. There was also a table with vegetables grown from the seeds sent from the United States.

Our last stop was Dover. The Mayor met us and showed us the Civilian Defense work. Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell showed us the Navy’s work and we saw the work of the Wrens. Their head is Mrs. Laughton Mathews. Miss Mildred McAfee heads a comparable organization of women in the U.S. Navy. Of course, the women here do a greater variety of things than they do at present in the United States, but it is a great satisfaction to see how completely accepted they are by their co-workers and how well they carry their responsibilities.

Dover is interesting as a city in many ways. The shelters, the offices, the people were all worth seeing. No one would dream from watching these people go about their daily business that the enemy is so near at hand and that everyone is prepared at all times to take up active defense work.

264

November 3, 1942

London, England –
Early Saturday morning Ambassador Winant took me to the exhibition of aerial photographs showing the damage done by the RAF in German, French and Italian cities. These photographs are very much enlarged and show up everything on the ground. It is really appalling to see what one big bomb can do, and certainly a well-organized raid with skilled people in the planes, can leave a city practically in ruins. Once the fires start it must become an inferno in which even trained defense workers could hardly do anything to decrease the damage.

President Benes and Foreign Minister Masaryk of Czechoslovakia came to call at 10 o’clock and then our Ambassador, Mr. Biddle, took me to call on Her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina. It was very pleasant to see her again, and I was particularly touched by her willingness to come into London so as to save my time.

At 12:30, I visited the British Red Cross and saw samples of the various packages they send to prisoners. The Christmas packages were sent off in July which seems slow delivery, but they put in a great variety of things which must supplement whatever the men are given to eat. Food packages are not sent to special men, but in sufficient numbers so that enough packages can be sent to each prison camp for all of the men. It is possible for next of kin to send packages to individual soldiers and the keeping of the records seems to me a very extraordinary piece of work. The headquarters are in the old St. James Palace and it certainly is curious to see the throne room and banquet hall filled with wooden work tables and typewriters and girls hard at work.

I lunched with the American press and enjoyed seeing some familiar faces, and afterwards met with representatives of the British magazines. Finally, I drove to the home of the Duchess of Kent and made the acquaintance of my husband’s godchild who is a very lovely four-month-old baby.

Back in London, I had a chat with Sir Arthur and Lady Murray, and a number of other people who came in for a short time and then at 8 o’clock I went to see some of the centers open to service men and women. One YWCA center room was given up to dancing and another one to a ping-pong tournament. I saw the dormitories below ground where during the blitz, people had slept every night and where some girls sleep when beds are not obtainable in other places. I also visited a YWCA center run for service girls only, and where a hundred or more can be accommodated over the weekend. A bed and breakfast costs two shillings which is about 40¢, and a fair meal can be had for a little over a shilling. Lastly, we went to the Hans Crescent American Red Cross club for servicemen where a Halloween dance was in full swing and the men seemed to be having a very good time.

As I came out, a boy on the steps asked me if I liked the magnolia gardens in Charleston, South Carolina, and another who lived not far from Atlanta, Georgia, said:

When you come down there, Mrs. Roosevelt, it’s like your second home, isn’t it?

265

November 4, 1942

London, England – (Sunday)
I saw a good many of our troops. We arrived in time at the camp to go to the 11 o’clock Church Service. The church was filled.

Directly afterwards we visited the kitchens where the men’s food was being prepared, saw their mess hall, visited some of their barracks. Each unit had a little fireplace at the end and in the evenings at least, they could have an open fire to crowd around so they could be warm before they turned in. In spite of the rain and the mud, they manage to keep everything extraordinarily clean which is a real achievement.

After lunch with the commanding general, who keeps to the nice custom of saying grace before meals, we went into the hospital. There were very few serious cases of illness. The accidents are mainly motor vehicle accidents or accidental gunshot wounds. Many had colds, more or less serious, but all of them seemed to be getting well!

I was amused by one boy, a quick-tempered southerner, who was suffering from the results of a fight – he insisted that he “had to do it.” Another one with a patch over his eye who said:

My friend threw a hot coal at me.

We went next to the American Red Cross canteen, run by Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. It was crowded, some Army talent was doing very well with a Sunday afternoon musical entertainment. They have a very good building which they opened without any equipment and they are only just beginning to get the things they need to run smoothly. There is no other place for the boys to go nearby, so the movies and dances and “eats” offered by the Red Cross are very much appreciated.

We reached our final destination by 6:30, and Miss Thompson and I spent the night with Queen Mary in the country. It was a very pleasant visit and both the Queen and the Princess Royal were very kind and helpful in talking to me about the work of the women and the things which they thought it might be useful for me to study.

Monday morning we left at 9:30, visited our paratroops, saw a demonstration of their equipment, their marching and various training. They are a grand and adventurous group of boys.

We then drove to the training center for officer candidates and for special services. These candidates are chosen after they have received considerable training in the United States. The specialists are there to learn about the particular things which will be valuable in their branches of the Service. They are fortunate in having a very good lay-out with sufficient space for every type of training. The canteen for the men and for the officer candidates are both run by the British ATS.

I saw some colored troops at this camp, and among the non-commissioned officer candidates were a number of young colored trainees. We lunched with the colonel in charge and then went to see another of our hospitals. Unfortunately, I only had time to see the surgical wards which was a great disappointment to me.

During the day I saw my old friends, Sir Arthur and Lady Willert and their granddaughter who is my godchild.

266

November 5, 1942

London, England –
On Monday night Mrs. Leonard Elmhirst and our Ambassador dined with us, and I was happy that my son, Elliott, could come up again for the night. We had a very pleasant evening and I, for one, was greatly surprised to find how late it was when finally, Elliott and I went to bed! I had to get some mail signed on Tuesday morning before breakfast, so the papers got a rather cursory reading as we had to leave the apartment at 9 o’clock.

Our first visit was to one of the day nurseries run by the government. Here were about sixty children whose mothers were industrially employed. They are brought in every morning between half past seven and half past 8 o’clock. The women have to go to work because in the majority of cases their husbands are in the services and they need the money and incidentally the government needs their work.

Everything was very simple but well arranged. The children are given all their meals and cared for during the entire day and the problems seem to me to be very much the same as at home. The only complication is the necessity of having ration books in order to obtain some of the food for the children. Two little twins presented me with a red, white and blue bouquet.

It seems that the government is only gradually able to get women to leave their children in these day nurseries. The numbers are increasing steadily, but for a time there was great suspicion on the part of the mothers who thought that their children were going to be taken away from their influence and preferred to leave the child with a neighbor if a neighbor could be found. Now there are no longer any neighbors and an isolation ward exists in every nursery where children having a cold are kept. If any sign of a rash appears they are sent to a contagious hospital. This obviates the necessity of keeping a child who is ill in the home except during the night period if it is well enough to go home.

The second nursery we visited was another type, conducted by the Women’s Voluntary Services. For two days, it accepts children who are going to be evacuated from the city to the country. They get bathed, their hair is washed, and they are outfitted with whatever clothes they need. There are volunteers also who take them to their destinations in the country, by car or by train. They even have a baby bus, so arranged that the children are strapped in, having a thermos bottle of warm milk for refreshment, and windows at just the right height for them to look out on their way to their destination. The children are all very good. The poor little things – I suppose so much has happened to them that nothing surprises them anymore. Usually, these children are in some private house with large gardens where the children thrive, but I fear the complication of returning to London’s slums afterwards will be great for both mother and child, as the latter will undoubtedly be very unhappy.

267

November 6, 1942

London, England –
I didn’t have space to tell you an amusing coincidence which occurred at a railroad station the other afternoon. Three American soldiers were standing near our compartment door. I asked them where they came from and the first one answered:

Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York, right near your home.

The second one said:

I’m from New York City. You know my mother – she’s Mrs. Slevin, president of one of the New York City women’s democratic clubs.

…and the third one said:

Where’s Tommy Qualters now? He and I worked together and we often did guard duty at Nahant near your son’s home.

All three boys looked cheerful and well. I used to notice in the old days whenever I travelled abroad that meeting a friend from home was cause for rejoicing, but now every American soldier I see is a friend from home and I want to stop and talk with him, whether I know him or not! When I find we really have some point of contact it gives me a warm feeling around my heart for the rest of the day.

Another thing I left out was my visit on Tuesday morning to the Ministry of Food. It was one of the most interesting things I have done since I have been in London. Lord Woolton had arranged an exhibition of the development of their work which was intensely interesting and I hope to bring back with me some of the posters and pamphlets, for I am sure many people will be interested in them.

Every morning at 8:30, they give a radio talk for the housewives of Great Britain, giving the facts about food. They run kitchens in the building where dietitians work out the best possible way of using the foods which are available, and every week they bring a housewife from some part of Great Britain and she cooks in their kitchen and carries back to her community the knowledge she acquired. The housewife present came from Glasgow and was making delicious oatmeal cakes. One of their cooks showed me how she prepared an entire meal in an hour in one big boiler, which is a saving of fuel. The Ministry of Food sees to it that hot school lunches are served for every child; that factory canteens are established in which every worker gets a hot meal in the middle of the day, and there are British restaurants all over England where for a reasonable sum any citizen can get a really good meal. They showed me also the organization which is called “The Queen’s Messengers.” British War Relief in America has furnished many of their canteens which go out to the blitzed areas immediately after there is news of any disaster. They also have emergency shops to set up in the communities where all the existing shops are bombed out; water wagons, and all the other necessary things which make it possible to look after the people of a town until some semblance of order can be restored. The work of the Ministry of Food is twofold – furnishing immediate care in an emergency, and the long-term feeding of the people of Britain.

268

November 7, 1942

London, England – (Thursday)
I must go back a little and tell you that I lunched at the Ministry of Information on Tuesday and met there, and afterwards at a short reception, the women leaders and some of the men interested, in various fields, such as labor, education, etc. Then I was shown through the Houses of Parliament by the British-American Parliamentary Committee of which Col. Elliott is chairman. It was most interesting because I had never previously been there on any of my visits. I was glad also to have an opportunity to meet Lord Simon, The Lord Chancellor, and Lady Simon.

The committee was more than kind and I was deeply appreciative of their courtesy in inviting me to meet with them. Then we stopped at the headquarters of the British War Relief which is in Lady Ward’s house, and I saw how the supplies received from America are distributed. From there I proceeded to the headquarters of the American Red Cross to meet the staff and workers there.

Miss Thompson and I dined with Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Eden and had a very pleasant and interesting evening.

Early Wednesday morning we left for Cambridge, and I was delighted to have an opportunity to meet Dr. J. A. Venn, Vice-Chancellor of the University and the President of Queen’s College, and to see one of the old halls. Beautiful woodwork and the historic interest of this place, made me wish that the days of peace and leisurely sightseeing were still with us. Interest in the past, however, is not at present my mission, so we proceeded at once to a new American Red Cross center which was being opened there that day.

Then we were shown how the industrial billeting system works. I talked to two girls who had come over from Ireland, and to a man who has been moved from London where his family still lives, and also to a woman who has had people billeted with her for a long time and has been particularly successful in making them happy. The whole system interested me very much, but for its success it depends very greatly upon the ability of the administrative people to take a real interest in bringing together people who can live in harmony.

We then saw several exhibitions of work done by the women’s voluntary services and went with the regional director to a village where we were given lunch and shown how food is prepared under emergency conditions. It was an excellent lunch and everyone seemed to “carry on” well. This is an expression frequently heard and expressive of the way people behave! I was also impressed by the Queen’s Messenger mobile canteens of this area and the laundry unit which must be of great value in a town which has been badly damaged. How would you like to work in a laundry on wheels?

On the way back to London, I stopped to see a British Fighter Command where some of our American aviators are also at work. Our last stop was at one of the houses run by the Foster Parents, Inc. where they had brought together the three children to whose support I have been contributing. It was interesting to see them and they were all nice children.

Wednesday evening, I had some old school friends dine with me and later Lady Cripps brought in some young people to talk about their International Council meeting. Thursday, I spent quietly in town, lunching with Mrs. Churchill to meet the wives of the members of the Cabinet and doing some errands before leaving today for the industrial areas in the north.

269

November 9, 1942

England –
Friday and Saturday I have spent in part, at least, seeing industries of various kinds. One airplane factory employs about 23% of women workers and seemed to me in many ways very like our factories at home where the women are gradually taking over in a great variety of departments. I also have seen a complete factory underground which is gradually employing more and more women. One other factory connected with war industries employs 80% women. Connected with that they showed me a hostel for women workers which is the first I have seen.

The hostels seem to me very well planned for purely functional purposes. At present they satisfy the needs of the single woman worker, or man worker for the matter of that where they are used for both sexes. One woman answered my question as to why she had gone to work, as follows:

We have to get on with the war and get it over with quickly.

I imagine there are a tremendous number of women, especially those whose husbands are in the Services who have just that feeling. They need the money they are making to give a little better chance to the child or children they may have at home, but the main purpose in going to work is to get on with the war.

I saw one young girl who had had an accident to her wrist, but who had insisted as soon as it was dressed on going back to work because she too wanted to “get on with the war.” Practically every factory in England runs a canteen for its workers where a hot noon-day meal is obtainable as well as food for the night shifts when one is working. The cost is somewhere around one and three pence which in our money is about equivalent to 27¢ and it is a good meal.

The good news from Africa of the battle which seems to be becoming a very rapid retreat on the part of the Germans and in which our air force has already taken part, according to news reports, has given the British people a tremendous lift. For months they have met disappointment and disaster with a grim determination to do their best until the change came. Now the change is here and we feel the exhilaration and the intensifying of their willingness to work to push on with this success.

In the past two days we have visited two industrial cities and in each case the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress and the other officials have greeted us with the greatest of warmth and told us how much the help received when it was needed from the United States, helped them during enemy air attacks. The destruction in many cases is pitiful for it strikes the homes of people, not always even the workers in factories. I talked to a great many of the civilian defense workers, and to a great many people who had been bombed out and rehoused again. Even in the cases of people who had been injured, the spirit of cheerfulness is extraordinary.

I was also given a most wonderful demonstration of the work of the land army. The place chosen was a farm where six girl workers are employed regularly but for the purpose of demonstration, a number had been lent also from neighboring farms. Many of them have been hairdressers or typists or housewives once upon a time, but they love their new work. They have become experts at plowing with tractors, at thatching, digging ditches, hedging and, of course, caring for cows. In fact there is very little work on a farm which they cannot do. The owner of this 500 acre farm, 320 acres of which or under cultivation, had 21 head of cattle. He showed us his old house with a moat around it and a room dating back to the 13th century.

We spent a night in what was once a very large and pleasant country house, run with a large staff for pleasure only. Now it houses one of the country nurseries with 35 children under five years of age. The lady of the house works hard in helping to run the nursery as well as the small part of the house she and her family live in.

270

November 10, 1942

England –
Last evening one could feel in everyone one spoke to, the excitement which the landing of the American troops in Northern Africa has created. Everywhere there was the feeling “Now we are fighting together.” It seemed to add to people’s courage and it was reflected in group after group. The workers along the Liverpool docks and streets, cheered more lustily I thought, and one woman said:

God bless your men, and may this be the beginning of the end for old Hitler.

I have not succeeded as yet in getting the words of the radio message which my husband broadcast to France. I am told that we assured that nation that we had no desire to take over any of her territory, and that at the end of the war whatever we were obliged to invade, we would return to them. This seems fairly obvious as I cannot imagine that we would want to remain in Northern Africa. A young U.S. Army aide who accompanied us today, told me that when I made the request to visit many American troops in this country, he was put to it to find any great concentrations. Still, I wanted like everybody else to hear the great news which has of course, been on the mind of every military man for days past. This speaks well for their ability to keep a secret and I am grateful to them, for probably this very secrecy saved many lives.

After spending Saturday night in a country house whose mistress runs the Women’s Voluntary Services for her county, we left fairly early to drive to Liverpool. Mrs. Warburton showed us two of the most delightful and amusing paintings over the fireplaces of rooms which for the present are dismantled. We drove through the old walled town of Chester and lunched with Lord Derby at the Hotel Adelphi in Liverpool.

Immediately after lunch we started out with our army to see some of our activities here. We also looked over a ship which is like those which Mr. Kaiser is turning out so rapidly in the U.S. Later in the day someone told me he had been over it with a critical eye, looking for some of the defects he was sure he would find, but he failed to find any. This seems to be a case where speed does not prevent production on a quality basis as well. Finally, the army handed us over to the British Navy and we went down to review the Wrens and to stand and see them parade. They do this very smartly and the swinging of their arms seems to act as a substitute for carrying a gun.

Then we returned to the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the western approaches, Admiral Sir Percy Noble. He will soon be coming to the United States much to the regret of everyone here. I am sure he will have a warm welcome there, and as he has so often been stationed somewhere near the Americans, he should not find it hard to adjust to his new environment.

The Naval Station has its corresponding air force people in charge and the WAAFs mingle with the WRNS, but the WRNS far outnumber them. We spent the night in one of the WRNS’ headquarters, and after I had done my broadcast, we returned to the big recreation hall where the personnel put on a really excellent show. I discovered that many of the songs must be the same for all of us, as “Just A Song At Twilight,” sung by two young sisters, and “A Bicycle Built For Two,” carried me back to the days of my childhood.

I talked to a number of the girls after the entertainment and found that their occupations ranged from cooks and stewards and transport drivers to plotters, coders and radio experts. The only thing I have not seen these girls do is man a ship’s boat and do the actual repairs, both of which I am told they do extremely well.

271

November 11, 1942

England –
I was awakened yesterday morning, by a very charming WREN who brought me the juice of an orange! I was so surprised that I forgot to protest, but by the time I reached the other WRNS’ quarters where we were to breakfast, my conscience was bothering me a great deal, and I knew I had been treated to something special. Even though the Ministry of Food told me that for the moment oranges were more possible to buy, as a big shipment had been received, still I felt guilty. I found however that the real explanation lay in the fact that some of our Naval officers repay a little of the hospitality which is shown by the WRNS in sharing with them a few of their oranges which come from the United States. This made me feel a little happier.

One becomes very conscious of food over here. Everyone is urged to eat potatoes so potatoes usually appear in two forms at every meal. In the factory where we had lunch today there was a wonderful Lancashire pie, which ordinarily has layers of various meats with potatoes in between. Now they use mushrooms and any little scraps of meat they can obtain. In spite of which the pie is still good.

Our first visit this morning near Manchester was to an assembly plant and I just say the factory looked very much the way one would look at home. However, we do not have such model cafeterias in every factory.

I talked to a number of the women working in this factory and in spite of long hours, they told me they liked the work and they spoke with enthusiasm and used that ever-recurring phrase “We have to get on with the war.”

The fact that the government sees to it that the children get a hot lunch in school seems to solve the midday problem for any child over five. They all tell me that they get tea after they get home and the children get up when they do about six a.m. and have breakfast before they leave. Washing and cleaning is done on the one day off in seven, and yet the women told me they were not over-tired. They do have an hour off at noon and ten minutes in the morning and again the afternoon for tea. I doubt if these hours could be kept day in and day out were it not for the satisfaction of doing a job which needs to be done and which is helping the war effort.

After a view of the airfield where one of the planes was flown for our benefit, we drove on to the other factory where the making of the parts was going on. Here again I had a chance to talk to some of the girls and women and I met all the shop stewards as well as saying a word during the lunch hour over a loud speaker system which went to all the different canteens.

The manager, Mr. Dobson, seemed to be a grand person and his workers certainly smiled as he approached. He told me whenever a man in the services got leave, the woman in the factory got time off. They are also using part-time people and they do it in rather unique fashion. They team them up and tell them it does not matter what hours they chose or when they work as long as between them, they do a full day’s work.

Afterwards we went to one of the training centers of which there are a number scattered around where engineers are trained. By engineers they mean skilled machinists, draftsmen and inspectors. Many of these are girls, some are injured men, boys of 16 and men from Jamaica and the Bahamas. Those who are trained in the making of instruments spend about sixteen weeks training, and the last part of any training is on actual production work. The only things I can think of which are comparable in the United States are the actual training schools run by industry itself, or the National Youth Administration centers for young people.

The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress kindly received us and gave us tea. I had the opportunity of reviewing women representatives from 47 war activities. We spent the night with Sir John and Lady Stafford. He is head of the University of Manchester. This morning we left for Northern Ireland.

272

November 12, 1942

Londonderry, Ireland –
The flight to Ireland yesterday morning was smooth and uneventful, but there was just enough mist to prevent our seeing a great deal below us. We arrived in time to lunch with the Governor General, His Grace, the Duke of Abercorn and the Duchess of Abercorn. We then hurried on to visit a hospital in Belfast and the American Red Cross headquarters. They were so afraid that the weather might prevent our flying to Londonderry that they hurried us as much as they could. I missed seeing a number of the wards in the hospital, which I regretted, because any change, I think, is diverting to people who are in bed and seeing someone who has recently come from the United States, is naturally a great excitement to any of the American boys.

This particular hospital is undoubtedly efficiently run, and meets the needs of the Forces, but I cannot say that it seemed to me a particularly cheerful spot, and I think the nurses must do most of the bringing of sunshine into those wards for they tell me that there has been very little good weather for months past.

The American Red Cross Club was a very nice one with a wonderful gymnasium which they also use for dancing and which must give them a really adequate floor. They have several game rooms and a very good canteen. A committee of Belfast ladies have taken an interest here and they were assembled and presented me with some pieces of Irish linen. In spite of the fact that in my hurry I hardly took time to express my appreciation of their thought, I am delighted with this gift. One of the ladies told me she was a sister of the late Mr. Charles Fayerweather. It is curious in how many places one runs across people with whom there is some connection.

We reached our plane in ample time and found that the weather had cleared and that the short flight to Londonderry was made in the sunlight and ended with quite a beautiful sunset. There we went directly to Capt. Kirkman’s house for the night. He had kindly invited the heads of the various British women’s organizations and of our Red Cross, to dine. Capt. Sir Stewart and his wife also were at dinner, since he is in charge of the British Naval establishment here.

The “WRENS” are undertaking a campaign to bring British and American sailors closer together, giving parties at which each “Wren” is responsible and one American. This I think may be a very excellent idea.

After dinner we went to the Londonderry American Red Cross Club which was the first one established on this side of the ocean. There was a big crowd and what I would consider a very successful dance going on. They stopped dancing for a little while and the Army gave a little concert for our benefit and the Glee club sang two or three numbers. Then they went back to dancing and I went on to the Marine Corps dance in another building where they were celebrating their 167th anniversary. Here I cut the cake and said a few words of congratulation and then we returned to our own abode, somewhat weary but glad to have been able to fly, because it made it possible to see so much more.

Today is Armistice Day. When I think of the rejoicing which we all felt on this date in 1918, I cannot help having a sense of futility. There is just one thing for which I pray on this day – that as a nation we will not fool ourselves again into believing that which is pleasant but will accept reality and grasp the fact that we are part of a world which cannot be divided and treated in sections.

273

November 13, 1942

Glasgow, Scotland –
I found myself sitting at breakfast yesterday morning between a young member of the ATS and a young WREN as well. Having asked the heads of the women’s organization to dine, the Captain Kirkman decided I should see some of the privates as well. The girl on my right gasped when two fried eggs appeared on the plate in front of her and every other girl around the table gazed with complete incredulity at the sight, for the one girl said:

It’s two months rations all at once.

I had greatly benefitted from the fact that the Navy and Army get things from America! Having run out of Kleenex, which then you have a cold in your head, is almost a necessity, I laid in a new store at the hospital knowing that nowhere in Great Britain could I buy anything of the kind. We still have a few things in the U.S. which we probably enjoy rather thoughtlessly, but a little while on this side of the ocean takes you not only conscious of them, but very grateful for them.

At nine-thirty we started out and visited some of the permanent Naval establishments in and around Londonderry, both British and American, including a visit to one British destroyer which has been one of the 50 we turned over early in the war, and a Canadian Corvette. These little ships do much of the convoying and are very workmanlike. They carry about 72 men and look as though they would be quite efficient with a submarine. We visited one of our own repair shops where the boys presented me with two ashtrays, one for the President and one for myself. I don’t smoke but I wouldn’t give mine up for anything as it has inscribed on it my code name which I imagine will be always my nickname in these parts, so all my friends may use this ashtray only in my sitting room.

At eleven o’clock we stood in a Londonderry Square filled with people for the Armistice Day memorial ceremony. The bugle sounded, the bell tolled, the clock struck eleven and we read the inscription on the shaft “To the men who fought in 1914-1918 and their glorious dead.” Capt. Kirkman asked me to take his place in laying the wreath from the American Forces at the base of the monument. I like the custom which prevails of having all the wreaths made very largely of red poppies which are being sold everywhere and worn by practically every serviceman and every civilian one sees in the street.

After this ceremony at which His Honor the Mayor greeted me and I went to the City Building and signed the visitors’ book, we went to the Naval Hospital which is some distance from the rest of the establishment. It cares for all the men of the Forces, both British and American and any Merchant Marine men who have been rescued from torpedoed ships. They told me they had had seven different nationalities at one time. I saw a fine looking Polish boy and an Australian in one of the wards. This entire hospital is set up in Nissen huts and is one of the most efficient and finely-equipped hospitals I have seen. The food looked excellent and what was more, the wards were cheerful. The parting message from the doctor in charge was to Adm. McIntyre, and I think it should please him for you seldom find someone who is quite contented with his job! The head doctor also said that they had been very fortunate and had not lost a single man.

After lunch with Capt. Thehaud, who is in command of we were fortunate in having good weather and so had a perfect flight from Londonderry to Prestwick. There we were met by the Regional Commissioner, Lord Rosebery, and a number of Scottish officials. We had a pleasant drive into Glasgow and arrived at the American Red Cross club where we dined, after I had looked over the building. Later I went into the canteen to have coffee with the boys. There seemed to be quite a number on hand but they tell me their really strenuous time was in the days before our African expedition got off. We had an evening filled with activity but that I must tell you about tomorrow.

274

November 14, 1942

London, England –
Space didn’t allow me to tell you yesterday of our visit to the Weir factories on Wednesday evening. I am, of course, not an expert on machinery, but it looked as though everything was remarkably well organized and working at top speed. My real interest lay in the people, particularly the women, who were at work. I wanted to know the working conditions and the way they organized their lives. When a woman is unmarried and has no home responsibilities, there seems to be no problem whether she works seven and a half hours a day or ten or eleven hours, either by night or by day. It is the married women who constitute a problem.

In spite of government nurseries, I should say that the women here are not yet educated up to the point of using them to the full extent, but the school lunches are perhaps the biggest help in keeping children well and in relieving mothers of anxiety during the day. Relatives and friends who “have an eye to them” are still counted upon. A second element which seems to vastly increase the ability of people to work, is the shop canteen where good meals can be obtained at such low prices. Curiously enough, the old skilled worker, still prefers to bring his “piece” with him and sit and eat it, but they are trying to educate them to eat a good hot meal which is far healthier.

We ended our day in the Rolls factory at 11:30 p.m., talking to all the women workers on the night shift, between seven and eight hundred, I should think. We went back with Lord and Lady Weir to their house for the night. My feet felt as though I had walked at least 500 miles on concrete floors, but in spite of that it was a most interesting day. Lord Rosebery, who is the Scottish Civil Defense Commissioner, had planned our time in Scotland and apologized for rather full days, but assured us that our Ambassador said we could “take it” and to go right ahead. So we did!

At eight-forty yesterday morning we started out again, visited a mixed-battery which was most interesting to me as the “ATS” girls work side by side with the men and than we went down the Clyde a little man-made river in which some of the biggest ships of the world have been launched, and on which a good part of Glasgow’s wellbeing depends.

At our landing place, there was a big gathering of workers and Sir Harry Lauder added greatly to the popularity of the party. After a few words from Sir Stephen Piggott and from me, he wound up the meeting by getting the whole crowd to sing with him, “At The End of the Road.”

We lunched with the Lord Provost, Mr. Biggar and his wife, in the City Chambers. Then we started on our drive to Edinburgh, stopping at a Scottish Royal Institute on the way. The work is much the same as that done by all the other Institutes I have seen though the food produced is Scotch food. They asked me to carry back to America their thanks for the help which has been sent from here, and they sent the President a box of shortbread which he will appreciate, for the ingredients were secured from their rations. Then we stopped just outside Edinburgh at an exhibit of the Women’s Voluntary Services. This was designed to show the value of the scrap collection and what the various things can be turned into for war use. It was extremely well done.

275

November 16, 1942

London, England –
To continue my Edinburgh visit! Thursday, we drove up to the Castle where an old friend, Lt. Gen. Sir Andrew Thorne, received us, and Mr. J. Wilson Patterson showed us the points of interest. I fell in love with the little St. Margaret’s Chapel which all the Margarets of Scotland keep provided with flowers, week by week. We spent a little while in the very beautiful War Memorial, but of course, things of greatest interest are at present carefully put away.

We stopped at St. Giles Cathedral where the Dean took us about. Then we went to tea with the Lord Provost and his wife and met about two hundred of the leading citizens of Edinburgh in the Council Chambers. The Lord Provost made a charming speech of welcome and for the second time, the song “Will Ye No Come Back Again” was sung.

At about 6 o’clock we reached the American Red Cross Club and spent an hour. Here I saw two friends I had almost given up hope of meeting, Lt. McIlwraith and Third Officer Doris Goodwin of the “Wrens”. I went through the building which is very well adapted to its purposes. Finally, we dined with Lord and Lady Rosebery and I enjoyed very much meeting the interesting people he had gathered together.

We got off on the evening train for London and arrived exactly on time. As we found our car in the early morning darkness, Mr. Dorsey Fisher of the American Embassy, who with Mr. Chalmers Roberts of the Office of War Information, has been with us on the whole trip, remarked on how fortunate we were, to have planned everything for a week ahead and carried everything out on schedule time! This really is an achievement where we had to fly to Ireland and back to Scotland, but in both of those countries we had such beautiful weather we could hardly believe the tales we were told a London fog when our skies looked clear and blue.

I felt almost as much at home coming back to Ambassador Winant’s flat as I would feel in New York City in our own little apartment. We spent the morning getting tidied up and catching up on mail and packages which had arrived during our absence.

At noon an old friend of my school days came to see me and then my aunt, Mrs. David Gray and her husband had luncheon with us. It is wonderful to have them in London for a few days and this part of my stay is taking on a much more leisurely and personal complexion, since the really planned schedules are nearly all accomplished. There still remain certain phases of development, particularly on labor questions which are of deep interest to me and which I do not feel as yet, I know very much about.

Friday afternoon I went to report on all I had seen to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and had the pleasure of having tea again with the whole Royal family. His Majesty the King had returned from seeing not only his own aviation groups, but also some of ours. I envied him the opportunity of talking to those boys and hearing about some of the work they have been doing of late.

276

November 17, 1942

London, England –
Friday evening a few of our old friends dined with us and on Saturday I went over to do a recording in the early morning. On my return to the apartment, I had a very interesting talk with Mr. Ernest Bevin and Mr. Ince. After that the High Commissioners of the four Dominions came to call, and General Smuts also dropped in. I feel sorry that I have not been able to see much of the work done here for and with the Dominion groups, but in many ways, it seems to be similar work to that done by the British and the Americans.

I stopped at the English-Speaking Union a little later and met a number of their board members and other distinguished guests. I saw the distributing depot from which gifts English-Speaking Unions in America are issued. They say they have been sent a tremendous number of very useful things and they are most grateful. The second-hand garments can be given out without coupons just as is being done in other depots, and that means a great deal to people who have been bombed out and have nothing left. Then we went to another room where guides are furnished to Americans over here and any information which they desire is obtained. I think this is perhaps the most valuable thing which could be done because it is if anything, more confusing to land in London and be friendless than to find oneself alone in New York City. If you lose your way in a square in a fog, you are apt to be a long while getting right again and people have been known to take four hours to reach a place which in ordinary times, they could have walked to in fifteen minutes.

I think one of the most difficult things for our American men is the fact that there are really so few ways of getting about. After a comparatively early hour, buses and trains become fewer as the hours go by, and the blackout is so gloomy that it is far pleasanter to stay in a well-lighted, cheerful house, even though every curtain must be carefully drawn and not one light must shine out through a chink. You have to get accustomed to getting in and out around brick walls which are erected to keep light from shining from the doorways, and light has to be turned out before the door is opened, or there is a heavy black curtain inside the door.

This is one of the reasons why I feel it is so important that plenty of entertainment should be provided during the winter at our American Red Cross centers and in the camps themselves.

At one-fifteen I lunched with a large group of very old Allenswood school friends. Mrs. C. C. L. Fitzwilliams arranged this luncheon and it was so pleasant and interesting to see these companions of my girlhood days in England. We have all changed a great deal, but some of us have kept characteristics which make us recognizable in spite of the intervening years.

A short movie was shown of Mrs. Fitzwilliams’ country house, Greatford Hall, where her husband has developed the growing of watercress and I was much interested to see how this is done on a large scale. As a food, watercress has many valuable vitamins.

I spent the afternoon seeing a succession of visitors, with a group coming in at tea time which included my cousin, Stewart Alsop, who is here in the British Army. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. David Gray dined with us and we had a delightful evening talking of home people and happenings.

277

November 18, 1942

London, England –
Sunday morning the church bells all over Great Britain pealed to celebrate the victory in Africa and also to remind all God-fearing people of their duty to give thanks to Him whose power is greater than that of mere human beings.

I had some guests for early breakfast and one or two callers before and after the church hour.

I want to thank again the many people whose thought and planning made it possible for me to see so much in such a short time. Our own people in the Embassy, in the Army, in the Navy and in the Air Force have given me every possible cooperation. Without their thoughtfulness and careful arranging, many trips would have been impossible and much that I wanted to do could never have been accomplished. I was particularly glad to receive a letter from young Col. Raff of the Paratroops which must have been written just after our visit and just before they took off to play their exciting part in the African campaign.

Adm. Stark, Gen. Eisenhower and Gen. Hartle and their fellow officers must have sometimes wished that a lady with a code name did not need so much attention, but no one from top to bottom ever gave me this feeling. Kindness, consideration and goodwill seemed to be everywhere present.

I must try to thank also the British friends who gave so much time and thought to what I should see and where I should go, from the Queen and the Prime Minister to Mrs. Elsa Dunbar whom Lady Reading assigned from the WVS to help us out with information whenever we needed it. Every organization, every factory head, every military group, not only allowed me to see, but took infinite pains so that I might see, anything that was of interest or that might be useful to us in our war effort. They realize, as, of course, I do also, that there are many things which will have to be done differently or which may not be done at all in the United States. On the other hand, there may be things which we will need to do which have not been necessary in Great Britain, but I have seen many things which I hope may be of value now and which I feel sure will give us some inspiration for the future.

If it were only the spirit of the people of this country which one feels everywhere here, I should feel grateful for having experienced it. There is something contagious about an enthusiasm which makes you work ten hours a day uncomplainingly, which carries you through three winters of blackout, which makes light of the losses brought about through bombing and which still has enthusiasm left to welcome new Allies. In every American Red Cross canteen, in England, Scotland and Ireland, there is never any lack of local volunteers to help behind the counter in the cafeterias, at the reception desk, in the library, anywhere where they can be useful. I found a group in a Red Cross center the other day mending soldiers’ socks, sewing their chevrons on their coats and doing other little odd jobs which one would get done at home. This interest carries over to merchant marine men as well. There were volunteers at their club ready to help the boy whose ankle was broken when he was blown from a skylight and landed on the deck of a ship. I think that my faith in the goodness and the strength of human beings has been greatly enhanced and that is something for which I am deeply grateful in these days.

278

November 19, 1942

Washington – (Wednesday)
Nearing Washington, yesterday, was just like any other flight from some point in our country. The plane we were in looked a little different and our companions were not the usual ones who fill a plane on an everyday trip. Outside of the crew, every boy on board was a returning member of a crew which had delivered a war plane to a country overseas. Talking with them was both interesting and entertaining.

We had flown over the water and the journey had covered a good many hours, so Miss Thompson and I meant what we said when we thanked our pilot and the crew for an exceptionally comfortable trip. I was surprised to see the Secret Service standing around the cars, which I knew meant the President was there to meet us. In a way I feel as though I had not been gone at all, and in another way, it seems as though I had been gone for ages.

Work here starts just where it left off, and so far as I can tell, we shall be busy in much the same way as if we had not gone at all. There is one little addition, however, namely a number of people think it would be nice if I could just manage to attend a meeting for a few minutes to tell them all about Great Britain.

I wish I could, for I would like to tell every person in the entire country, but I am afraid I shall have to trust to doing some radio broadcasts and keeping such engagements as I have already made. For the coming week, I have had to cancel certain engagements because of various visitors and obligations which have come up in the White House while I was gone. After that, I hope not to have to disappoint any people to whom I have already promised appointments.

A number of people came to see me yesterday and there is still a great thrill in sharing recent impressions with really interested friends. I lunched with my husband in his office, which is something I only do on particular occasions. I called my daughter in Seattle, Washington, last night, which is another pleasure I very rarely allow myself. Tonight, I hope to speak to Elliott’s wife, Ruth, who must be most anxious to get news of her husband.

The President and I dined alone, and I went to listen to him make his broadcast for the Herald-Tribune Forum. I was sorry not to be able this year to be on the program, but it seemed impossible to know beforehand when I would be back in this country. As it turned out, it was fortunate I made no plans, for I could not possibly have reached New York City in time.

This morning I had a very large press conference. I am gradually getting through the mail and the business which must be done before I am ready to start with a clean slate again.

279

November 20, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
While I was gone, I received from the Chinese Embassy one of the most interesting gifts which has ever been sent to the President, a little box of tea which is over 200 years old! I didn’t suppose tea could be any good which was kept for such a long time, but the Chinese Ambassador and Madame Wei tell me that this is exceptionally good, and my husband and I are looking forward to trying it with real excitement.

I wonder if every woman who returns from a long trip feels as I do, that until she has had her hair and nails done, she isn’t completely normal. I spent an hour-and-a-half getting myself fixed up yesterday afternoon.

An old friend lunched with me and late in the afternoon I visited Mr. Norman Davis at the American Red Cross Headquarters to tell him what I could of the numerous Red Cross centers, which I had seen in Great Britain. I think that every American worker for the Red Cross in this country must have a great sense of pride when they realize what their contributions have meant to the people who have been blitzed in Great Britain, not only in warmth and practical assistance, but in the lifting of morale that something really attractive to wear will give when a woman’s spirits are rather low. This, I think, goes for man and child as well.

With mobile canteens, ambulances, medical supplies, the Red Cross has greatly helped, as have all the other agencies and even individuals in this country. But the Red Cross contribution is the result of the work of so many people in the United States, that I think it truly represents to the people of Great Britain the heart of our people.

Of the work that the Red Cross is doing for the men, nurses and officers, wherever they may be in the world, I can, of course, only speak of what I saw in Great Britain. If having places filled with boys is any indication that you are providing them with something they need, then the Red Cross can be very well satisfied with the work which it has done. There are things which I am sure they hope to improve, but they and we can be proud of their accomplishments.

In the Red Cross Clubs, of course, the Army quite rightly insists that the men pay for their beds and food. However, the charge is very nominal, “two and six,” which is about 43¢ for bed and breakfast, and twenty cents for a meal consisting of three courses and either tea or coffee. In addition, there is always a snack bar where a man can get special food at special times.

I am still working on leftover mail and catching up on reading, and I still say hopefully that by next week, I’ll be caught up!

280

November 21, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
Yesterday morning I slipped over to New York City for a few brief hours. I did not do anything special, but had a look at my apartment and saw one or two friends. We had some good talks and one came back on the train with me, so I had a very pleasant day. It is wonderful what a lift to one’s spirit it is to spend a few hours with people with whom one is happy to be. I felt enormously repaid for the hours spent on the train, because I was able to read so many things which otherwise might have stayed for a long time unread on my desk.

I want to speak particularly of a little booklet called War Jobs for Women, which the Office of War Information is getting out. I read it through yesterday and found the information very well put together.

The pictures of Puerto Rico, which accompany Martha Gellhorn’s magazine article, which I have just read, took me back to my own visit to that rather overpopulated island, which is at present the subject of some controversy. She told me she felt that Governor Tugwell was doing a remarkably good piece of work for the island, but perhaps his plans were not so acceptable to certain people with vested interests of different kinds there.

I hope Governor Tugwell will be able to give Puerto Rico a program which will last over a long enough period, so that we shall be able to tell what its effects are before something new is tried.

This morning I made a round of visits, calling on Secretary Stimson and Gen. Arnold. They sent an officer to show me my way around in the new Pentagon Building, which was certainly an interesting place to visit for the first time. It is much more convenient since all the offices are under one roof, but I think until one gets really to know it well, one might walk several miles before finding the right office. Secretary Knox came to see me at noon and I was happy to tell him of our visit to Londonderry.

A few friends came to lunch and I have been working on tonight’s broadcast the whole afternoon, which I hope will give some information to the women of the country who want to hear about their boys in Great Britain. Of course, many of those boys have moved on and will move on to new scenes, but their spirit will be the same no matter where they go. I have a feeling that even if the natives in Africa can’t understand their words, they will understand their deeds, and those deeds will be kindly.

281

November 23, 1942

Washington – (Sunday)
Yesterday was a quiet day devoted mostly to reading all the things which had accumulated, from reports to magazine articles. This morning I am going to Philadelphia for a bond rally for “Women at War Week.”

Since my return I have had a number of letters asking me if I would give our women some idea of what type of war work women are doing in Great Britain. That would require almost a book and I hope eventually to do it on the radio in detailed form, but I think I can divide the work the women are doing over there roughly into five categories.

  1. Work within the military forces. This is highly varied and takes in a great many fields.

  2. Factory work, work in offices, work in essential industries where men have been used, but where women are replacing them during this war period, since the industry is necessary although not actually connected with the war effort.

  3. In civilian defense protective services, such as firefighting, air raid wardens, emergency canteen workers, ambulance drivers, police women.

  4. In what is known in Great Britain as the Women’s Voluntary Services, and here as civilian mobilization. In this category every other type of service in a community is done by volunteer workers. It is the equivalent of our community services.

  5. But far from being the least important, is the work of women in the agricultural field. In Great Britain there are hardly any men left on the farms except fairly old ones. Women and girls, who formerly had been typists, beauty parlor operators, shop assistants, domestic servants, are now doing farm work and loving it.

There is a great appeal to the young people who are still kept in schools and colleges, to use their holidays also in work in the rural areas. If these vacations can be made to coincide with piecework on the farms, they can be trained during the university year to do really useful work. Universities and colleges are being realistic in their courses and are falling in with the needs of the government in as many fields as possible.

In addition, in Great Britain, courses for all types of government work, as well as industrial work, are set up throughout the country. Candidates must take these courses before they are eligible to take a position. The government prescribes the pay and working conditions, which means in many cases a great improvement on what might have been in the old days.

282

November 24, 1942

Washington –
I happened to read an article the other day in which it was stated that if women were going to work they could not take care of their homes and rear their families.

It would never occur to me that it would not be clear to any thinking person that even in a country where the manpower situation is as critical as it is in Great Britain, no woman with young children is even asked to go to work. Everything possible is being done to keep her in her own home and I agree 100 percent that a child is better off with its own mother, even though. I know that some of them are not perfection.

Most of the little children in resident nurseries in Great Britain are there because it is better for them to be out of the big cities, which are more frequent targets for bombings. The other little children whom you find in day nurseries usually belong to women who, for one reason or another, must go to work. They very likely would leave their child or children with relatives, if they could.

The government thinks that better care is obtainable through a system of day nurseries and nursery schools and is, therefore, trying to encourage the mothers to leave them in such places. You may wonder why anyone should really be forced to ask care for little children outside the home. Yet if you stop to think, you will realize that there are a good many women in Great Britain whose husbands are already on the casualty lists and that means the mother is the breadwinner of the family. That may happen in other countries as well.

There is one thing I found most interesting in all the arrangements made for women who work in Great Britain. If you are in one of the military services, and your husband is coming home on leave, you may at once apply for leave yourself and it will be granted without any red tape, by your immediate superior. This is also true, I understand, in many of the factories. If a man is coming home on leave, his wife may get leave from her work in the factory at the same time.

I asked woman after woman how she managed her day, especially those who have children. The obvious answer was that in many ways the children who are older are expected to help out by having supper ready when mother comes home and by doing some of the cleaning and washing. This seems to be entirely successful, and I don’t think does these older children any harm.