Scope and arrangement
The British Apprentice Club records are arranged in nine series:
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The Administrative Records reflect the activities of the organization through by-laws; Board of Directors annual reports (1941-1960); files on the dissolution of the British Apprentice Club (1960-1961); the annual reports of the Resident Secretary (1940-1952), the Manager (1952-1959) and the Social Director (1952-1954); and the reports of the Treasurer (1941-1943) Proposals for the Officers Club, attendance records and wartime ration accounts (1942-1947) complete this section.
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The General Correspondence is arranged alphabetically. The bulk of the letters are addressed to Spaulding and to a lesser extent her colleagues Newell and Mayo There are copies of some replies The correspondence reflects the general interests of the BAC, inquiries regarding navel cadets, wartime activities and invitations Correspondents include George Wakeford (see: School of Navigation).
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The series is arranged alphabetically The bulk of the letters were written to Spaulding There are a few replies The sailors who wrote to the BAC expressed their appreciation for the hospitality extended to them by the British Apprentice Club while they were on shore leave in New York City
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The series is arranged alphabetically The letters were written by the parents of the sailors (a few from siblings) who expressed gratitude to Spaulding for the kindness extended to their sons while they were on shore leave in New York City Other subjects included the sailors' current status and requests for assistance in forwarding information to their sons The reminder of this section contains letters to the BAC from the parents of deceased sailors.
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The Miscellaneous Papers are arranged by subject This section contains sympathy letters on the deaths of Katherine Mayo and Lucile Brisbane Spaulding; obituaries; BAC solicitations 1940-1961; BAC participation in sports; special events of the BAC and miscellaneous addresses and notes.
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The Printed Material consists of an assortment of printed material by and about the BAC including articles, the BAC Newsletter, the BAC Review and leaflets.
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The Logbooks are a daily record of the cadets who visited the BAC These logbooks contain short reminiscences of the experiences of the cadets while on shore leave in New York City A few photographs are attached to the cadets' statements.
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The Registers contain the signatures of over 12,100 cadets who visited the BAC.
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The photographs and the photograph albums are pictures of the sailors who visited the BAC The pictures were mainly taken aboard ships; however, there are also pictures of some of the sailors' families and their hometowns There are also a few photographs of dances and tea parties held at the BAC and of the unveiling of the plaque honoring the late Mrs Lucile Spaulding The reminder of the section consists of graphic material (sketches and a World War II poster).