SIR,—In your issue of July 19th you refer to a
letter in The Times dealing with the cases of my son and husband. The writer of that letter is not known to me personally, and I was not shown the letter before it was printed. While I am greatly obliged to you (and all other Englishmen) for taking an interest in my family's case, I feel it my duty to state that a few details in that letter, and consequently In your paper's reference to it, were not quite correct.
(I) Father and son were not interned together. My son was interned on May t2th from Cambridge, in common with all male aliens (Austrian and German). My husband was interned from London on June 25th. Both are C cases.
(2) Parents of boys deported to Canada were not informed by telegram afterwards. The facts were that I had asked the headmaster of my son's school, the Leys, who had made the application for his release, to inquire for particulars. The Home Office had already addressed various inquiries to him and to me which made us feel rather certain that the boy's release was well on the way. On July loth the headmaster sent a wire with pre-paid return answer to the commandant of the camp where my son was ; the answer read : "Sent to Canada July 4th." This is the only information received so far.
(3) As far as I know, my husband is still in a camp near Liverpool. He did not ask to be sent after his son, nor was he told that he might be sent to Australia as far as is known to me. But as Canada was not to take any married men, he would probably have to go to Australia if he were sent out of the country.
It may be of interest to you and to the British public that last Thursday, July 18th, I got a letter from the Home 0&e that instruc- tions had been given to the War Office for the release of my son—on the condition that he proceeds direct home. Unfortunately this is out of the question, as he was sent to Canada two weeks ago ; we have no information about his whereabouts. The question seems now to arise who is to pay for his fare back from Canada?—Yours Dismorrn LuErstms. 47 Albany Street, London, N.W. z.
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