This reminiscence was penned by a British woman who worked as a stenographer at the American embassy in London. She recalled much of what she saw from her chair in the typing pool on that hectic August day in 1914 when the First World War began:
“As I opened the front door to let myself out, a Foreign Office special messenger handed me a note, marked ‘Immediate’, addressed to the Ambassador….It was the official declaration:
“The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the American Ambassador, and begs to inform his Excellency that a state of war exists between His Majesty’s Government and that of Germany.“
Click here to read about the African-American soldiers who served in France.
