History of the San Francisco Branch

We are fortunate to have copies of our minutes extending back to the start of 1932 and have found their perusal to be of great interest. Total membership of the California Branch on January 1, 1932, was 1,868, including active members of about 200 in Santa Barbara and over 400 in Los Angeles. Cash Receipts for the Year Ended 1931 totaled $12,809 and disbursements totaled $10,680, quite respectable sums for a country mired in the depths of the Great Depression. National's share of dues amounted to $2,897, and the Branch donated $170 for a Page Scholarship and $100 to Dartmouth House in London. The National membership was approximately 20,000, distributed, at that time, over 40 branches stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Much of what the California Branch did in those early years strongly mirrors the activities that we do today: support of scholarships and other educational activities, Shakespeare programs, lectures and dinners. One lecture in June of 1938 featured a talk on "American-British Interests in China," and another in 1939 featured a lecture/recital on "The Poetry of William Butler Yeats." There were, however, the disappointments. After repeated attempts throughout 1938, the Branch reported that it was unable to secure Miss Helen Hayes for a tea or luncheon in San Francisco.

Prior to the entry of the United States into the Allied war effort, the California Branch was actively raising money to support war relief work in the United Kingdom. One of the highlights of this period was a sold-out performance by Miss Gracie Fields in "A Night in an English Music Hall" at the San Francisco Opera House on January 14, 1941, which netted $5,000 for the "Bombed Children of Britain" relief fund. The American entrance into the Second World War was actively supported by the California Branch and numerous fundraisers were held to provide continued relief not only to the United Kingdom but to the many American servicemen who transited through California to the European and Pacific Theaters.

The conclusion of World War II saw the California Branch positioned as an important part of the social fabric of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego whose mission was "to draw together in the bond of comradeship the English-Speaking people of the world." Despite its global mission, the Branch continued its Packages for Britain program until 1951 when that effort was drastically scaled back to reflect Britain's post-war recovery. 1951 also saw the United Kingdom celebrate its Festival of Britain year, and the Branch decided to commemorate that event by donating thousands of California wild flower poppy seeds to England and Scotland to add color to the Festival of Britain. That year additionally saw the establishment of an independent Los Angeles Branch. Eventually, the San Diego and Santa Barbara Chapters became independent branches and the California Branch was re-named the San Francisco Branch.

From the 1960s to the present day, the San Francisco Branch continues to support the educational mission of The English-Speaking Union with a post-graduate scholarship program for Bay Area graduate students co-sponsored with the Anglo-California Foundation. Scholarships allow three students to study for one year at a college or university of their choice in the United Kingdom. What a pleasure it was to discover recently a reference to a 1961 letter from one of our scholars, Mr. Alfred Dossa, who was the recipient of a two-year scholarship to Oxford University. To this very day Mr. Dossa continues to support our scholarship programs with a yearly grant. We are also proud that Dr. Richard C. Levin, president of Yale University, was one of our scholars as was his son many years later. Our files also reveal the large role the San Francisco Branch played in the welcoming of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret to San Francisco in 1965 and again in 1995. Both events were important fundraisers for the Branch and its educational programs.

Although much has changed in San Francisco and the wider State of California since the halcyon days following World War II, our 85-year commitment to the educational mission embraced by The English-Speaking Union remains firm.

David Zisser
Amateur Archivist and Historian