The British Apprentice Club (BAC) was founded in 1921 by two American women, M. Moyca Newell and Katherine Mayo. The purpose of the club was to provide hospitality for cadets from the British merchant navy while their ships were berthed in the...
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The British Apprentice Club (BAC) was founded in 1921 by two American women, M. Moyca Newell and Katherine Mayo. The purpose of the club was to provide hospitality for cadets from the British merchant navy while their ships were berthed in the ports of New York City. While in service with the YMCA in Great Britain during World War I, Newell and Mayo were impressed by the hospitality extended towards American servicemen. Upon their return to the United States, Newell and Mayo founded the British Apprentice Club at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. Lucile Brisbane Spaulding acted as the BAC manager and social director for thirty years. In 1923, the BAC was incorporated as a memorial to Walter H. Page who served as a ambassador of the United States to the court of St. James in London from 1913 to 1918. Attendance fell during the 1950s and the Club ceased operations in 1961. Records contain administrative files, letters, logbooks, registers, and photographs of sailors documenting the Club's hospitality to British merchant sailors on shore leave in New York City.
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