Archives

22nd April 1918
Messrs James Burness & Sons - London

Dear Sirs,
We are obliged by your favour of Saturday, and as our Assistant Accountant has already had to join the Forces, we shall at the present ask you to be good enough to limit the protection you now are seeking to establish for us to one member of the staff only, our Assistant Manager, Mr. S. J. Arthur, who was born in 1882, and is classed B1. He is the only one left of our original staff under the new Age Limit of say 51. Of such staff ten have voluntarily joined the Army and a further eight successively engaged to replace the foregoing are now likewise either in the French, Belgian or British Armies. To most of these allowances are being paid month by month. Mr. Arthur having been with us since 1899 thoroughly knows our business and his retention therein is essential under existing: circumstances; moreover, the Office must have some such responsible Head available should the Writer be, as is sometimes the case, forced to absent himself for business purposes, which, as you know, has arisen several times recently "nolens volens". Besides, whilst the Writer's health is excellent, it cannot be guaranteed; particularly as he has had no holidays since hostilities commenced. People speaking French, like he does, even in ordinary times, are rarely found to possess with same a knowledge of such a business as ours, which to-day is practically almost entirely litmited to serving the interests directly or indirectly of the French State, and as so much of it, as you know, is the management of tonnage for their benefit, we feel certain that if the French Commission were to make the desired representations to the British Authorities and prove our status matters could be arranged.
Meanwhile Britishers speaking French are specially attractive to latter, and thus the local Military Representative, as already indicated to you, is specially desirous of securing him for the Army.
We trust the foregoing particulars may be useful and prove sufficient, ?s well as demonstrating the patriotic attitude we have maintained without a break. Really some people can do more national Service in a civilian sphere than they would or could in the Army, and if we were not fully persuaded of this we should not be asking the French Authorities to afford us their assistance. We might enlarge, but we think the above should suffice.
Yours very truly,

G. .W. M.