| Administrative History | Twenty-six Dutch children were fostered for an eight-week period in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, June - July 1946, under the Young People from Occupied Countries programme. At least three earlier visits appear to have taken place.
Mary Esslemont appears to have chaired the programme's local reception committee and taken on the responsibility of coordinating local host families. She also played host to two Dutch leaders, who accompanied the children.
The purpose of the programme was to foster good international relations and to improve the health of the Dutch children. |
| Description | Correspondence to Mary Esslemont from the Reception Committee of the Young People from Occupied Countries and the Department of Health for Scotland, regarding arrangements for the Aberdeen reception, April - July 1946. A letter of 18 May encloses a 'distribution sheet' containing lists of children due to arrive from Ashern Camp in Doncaster (included).
Correspondence to Mary Esslemont from volunteers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire offering to take in children, April - June 1946 (also, ocassionally declining).
Letter from Mrs Tollenaar, of the Netherlands Government Children Committee, to Miss D. du Sart, c/o Mary Esslemont, Aberdeen, regarding difficulties she was encountering with one of the Dutch children, 9 July 1946. [CLOSED UNTIL 2030]
Draft letter from Mary Esslemont to John ?Swinie, regarding an allegation of rape by one of the Dutch leaders, July 1946. [CLOSED UNTIL 2030]
'Distribution sheets', containing details of children who participated in three earlier Aberdeen placements, c1945 - 1946.
Young People from Occupied Countries Newsletter No. 5, April 1946, containing accounts of the programme's achievements and future plans.
Typescript notes containing Dutch-English translations of common phrases, issued by the Netherlands Government Children Committee, c1946 (2 copies). |