Hague and has the honour to transmit herewith, for such
action as may be considered appropriate, an application
form for a British passport duly signed by Robert le
Rossignol.
In this connection the Netherlands Legation has the
honour to refer to the Memorandum from the British
Foreign Office … dated April 13
th 1917, and previous
correspondence regarding Mr. le Rossignol.
Berlin, September 27
th 1917.
A hand written entry in the FO records (FO 383-312.) dated 16 October
1917 outlined an initial response to Robert’s application;
Mr. le Rossignol has not lived regularly in HM Dominions since
1907 and he has a German wife. He is now working in a glow lamp
factory and has offered to throw up this work and return to Ruhleben if
we object. He is only 33 and only requires the passport for identification. Ask Registrar General if he can confirm statement as to birth …
our correspondence to HO and say we presume no objection.
T of War?… Dept.
In a subsequent letter dated 16 October 1917, the Prisoners of War
Department contacted the Registrar General at Somerset House with their
request for confirmation of Robert’s date and place of birth, and in a letter
dated 22 October 1917 referred the request to the Superintendant Registrar,
5 Library Place, Jersey, as records of births in the Channel Island records were
not in his custody. In a letter to the Prisoners of War Department dated 29
October 1917, the Registrar was finally able to confirm Robert’s statement
and forwarded a copy of his birth certificate to the Prisoners of War
Department. This certificate remains in FO 383-312.
With Robert’s nationality now established, the question of the passport
rested on the opinion of HMG regarding his standing in Jersey (where ‘his
family were well known’) and his work with Haber in Germany. A typed note
in FO 383-312, subsequently forwarded to the Home Office, the War Office
and the Ministry of Munitions between 08-10 November 1917, relates the
general feelings regarding Robert’s application;
I think we ought to be careful not to be prejudiced in
dealing with Le Rossignol’s application by the letter
14 Robert’s War 1914–1918
301
action as may be considered appropriate, an application
form for a British passport duly signed by Robert le
Rossignol.
In this connection the Netherlands Legation has the
honour to refer to the Memorandum from the British
Foreign Office … dated April 13
th 1917, and previous
correspondence regarding Mr. le Rossignol.
Berlin, September 27
th 1917.
A hand written entry in the FO records (FO 383-312.) dated 16 October
1917 outlined an initial response to Robert’s application;
Mr. le Rossignol has not lived regularly in HM Dominions since
1907 and he has a German wife. He is now working in a glow lamp
factory and has offered to throw up this work and return to Ruhleben if
we object. He is only 33 and only requires the passport for identification. Ask Registrar General if he can confirm statement as to birth …
our correspondence to HO and say we presume no objection.
T of War?… Dept.
In a subsequent letter dated 16 October 1917, the Prisoners of War
Department contacted the Registrar General at Somerset House with their
request for confirmation of Robert’s date and place of birth, and in a letter
dated 22 October 1917 referred the request to the Superintendant Registrar,
5 Library Place, Jersey, as records of births in the Channel Island records were
not in his custody. In a letter to the Prisoners of War Department dated 29
October 1917, the Registrar was finally able to confirm Robert’s statement
and forwarded a copy of his birth certificate to the Prisoners of War
Department. This certificate remains in FO 383-312.
With Robert’s nationality now established, the question of the passport
rested on the opinion of HMG regarding his standing in Jersey (where ‘his
family were well known’) and his work with Haber in Germany. A typed note
in FO 383-312, subsequently forwarded to the Home Office, the War Office
and the Ministry of Munitions between 08-10 November 1917, relates the
general feelings regarding Robert’s application;
I think we ought to be careful not to be prejudiced in
dealing with Le Rossignol’s application by the letter
14 Robert’s War 1914–1918
301