Hi all: My maternal grandfather, Norris Drury Slater (born 1894), emigrated from Halifax, Yks to the U.S. as a child in 1905. In early 1915 (I think) he was seized with the bright idea of returning to the U.K. for a visit. He was not then naturalized as a U.S. citizen, which meant--and he was told this when he entered England--that he was fair game to be put into a British Army uniform and sent off to France.
One of my mother's sisters told me that he stayed only ten days or two weeks before discovering, like Falstaff, that discretion is the better part of valor and returning to the U.S. I found the passenger manifest for his return voyage, leaving Liverpool on July 16, 1915 on the S.S. Etonian and arriving Boston, Massachusetts on July 27, 1915. My aunt's recollection was that he went in 1914, but I can't imagine that he would stay six months or a year with World War I heating up.
I'm wondering if some kind soul could find his voyage inbound to the U.K. I searched the indexes for the UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 and found an N D Slater arriving at London. But then the situation got complicated. Since I don't have a U.K subscription to the website holding these lists, one of the kindest people in Lancashire
had a go at finding my grandfather. For some reason or other N D Slater did not come up at all in her searches of the incoming passenger lists.
I mention N D Slater as the likeliest candidate because he was Norris Drury Slater as often as possible. There are other possibilities, of course.
Regards,
John
