June 9th, 1947.

Dear Norman Douglas,

Thank you for your letter.

I will do all that I can to help
you in this matter, and will at once question the
Foreign Office about it.

I am only sorry that we did not
meet again while you were in England. I should
have been honoured to entertain you at the House.

Yours sincerely,

Norman Douglas, Esq.,
7, Unghia Marina,
Capri, Naples, Italy.

June 18th, 1947.

Dear Norman Douglas,

We got on to the Foreign Office by
telephone about your difficulty, and I have also
put down the enclosed question, which should come
up for answer next week.

* 19. Mr. Driberg,—To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, if he is aware that a flat at 24 Lungarno delle Grazie, Florence, Italy, the property of Mr. Norman Douglas, has been occupied at a nominal rent since 1941 by Italian Fascists; that repeated notices to quit have been unavailing, despite an assurance given to Mr. Douglas on behalf of the property adviser to the British Embassy, Rome, that the flat would probably be restored to him last March; that considerable inconvenience and hardship are thus caused to a distinguished author who is, moreover, debarred from access to his own library; and if he will take steps to secure the return of this property at once.

BRITISH AUTHOR'S FLAT,
FLORENCE (RESTORATION)

41. Mr. Driberg asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that a flat at 24, Lungarno delle Grazie, Florence, Italy, the property of Mr. Norman Douglas, has been occupied at a nominal rent since 1941 by Italian Fascists; that repeated notices to quit have been unavailing, despite an assurance given to Mr. Douglas on behalf of the property adviser to the British Embassy, Rome, that the flat would probably be restored to him last March; that considerable inconvenience and hardship are thus caused to a distinguished author who is, moreover, debarred from

July 2nd, 1947.

I will see from the enclosed that the Under-Secretary of State have me a sympathetic answer to your flat.

941

Oral Answers

30 JUN

Mr. Mayhew: Yes, Sir. It is the responsibility of the local authorities to evict tenants. Under the existing law, the legal process to effect this cannot be commenced until reconsignment of the property has been completed. In Mr. Douglas's case a request for reconsignment was made to the Italian authorities last January, but the formalities were not completed by the Italian authorities till 5th May. His Majesty's Ambassador at Rome has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Italian authorities to the difficulties and delays which British subjects are experiencing in recovering their properties, and in Mr. Douglas's case has pressed for his flat to be restored to him.

Mr. Driberg: While thanking my hon. Friend very warmly for his reply, may I ask if he will bear in mind that this most distinguished writer will be 80 years old next birthday, and that this flat and its contents are the only modest piece of property which he has to leave to his sons, who are in various parts of the world, and will he, therefore, intensify his representations?

Mr. Mayhew: I agree with the spirit of the supplementary question. I will do all I can.

I sincerely hope that this will lead to a reasonable time, say three or four months, to press them again.

August 19th, 1947.

28

Dear Norman Douglas,

Many thanks for your further letter.

I am sorry to learn that nothing more has been done about your flat, and I will press the Foreign Office again about it.

There is one chance in a hundred
that I might be coming to Italy during the recess; it
is, however, unlikely that I shall get so far south
as Naples; but, if I do, I will endeavour to come to
Capri and call on you.

All good wishes,

Tom Driberg.

Norman Douglas, Esq.,
Isola, Capri, Naples.