1944: Year of Retrenchment — A Second Start
William and Philinda had a very rocky start in 1944.
Philinda had her first serious bout of what was later diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder.
Understandably, Philinda's symptoms do not appear in contemporary letters,
and family conversations in later years seldom touched on the events
or mentioned details of treatment.
From what can be pieced together based on letters and sketchy later explanations,
problems began to emerge in late 1943, apparently associated with fevers,
which of course were common and expected in Lagos.
It was general practice in Nigeria to hospitalize patients with fevers,
so nobody was surprised when Philinda was found in the hospital a couple of times.
But apparently there were unusual symptoms which caused William enough concern
that he requested emergency medical leave to return to the United States.
This was granted and the two were given passage on a British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) seaplane
in late February, 1944, from Lagos via Freetown, Lisbon, and Bermuda, to Baltimore.
In Baltimore, they were met by Philinda's father and step-mother who accompanied them to New York.
In New York, Philinda consulted a well-respected specialist
who prescribed a course of
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
This treatment had only been
introduced in the United States in 1940 by its Italian developers,
and was considered state-of-the-art. While it subsequently became controversial,
ECT's effects were very positive for Philinda.
She experienced almost fifteen years of relief from bipolar symptoms,
as can be seen from the buoyancy of her very prolific letters
from Venezuela (1944-1948) and Guatemala (1951-1954).
During a period of treatment and recovery involving two series of ECT administrations,
William and Philinda spent most of March through June in Washington, D.C.
William received his assignment to Caracas, Venezuela, in March,
but was unable to leave the United States until he received
official draft deferment status from his local Draft Board in Newark, Ohio.
Once that was received in mid-June, arrangements were made for the trip to Venezuela.
That trip began in Washington on July 6, by train to Miami.
There, after a few days wait, William and Philinda boarded a Pan American Airways seaplane
flight from the same airport at which Philinda had worked in 1942.
They arrived in the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 10, 1944, to begin the next chapter
of their life together.
1944 Chronology
- At the New Year William and Philinda are in Lagos after enjoying what seems
from their letters to be a happy holiday season.
(Letter 1944-01-14)
- January 7, however, Philinda enters the hospital for "flu"
(Letter 1944-01-14)
- January 14 Philinda returns home.
(Letter 1944-01-31)
- January 20 Philinda enters the hospital again.
(Letter 1944-02-06)
- about February 24 William and Philinda leave Lagos on a BOAC seaplane en route to Baltimore via
Freeport, Sierra Leone; Lisbon, Portugal; and Bermuda
(Telegram 1944-02-21
and Note 1944-02-24)
- about February 27 William and Philinda arrive in Baltimore, go to New York
with Philinda's father and mother-in-law.
About this time Philinda begins ECT treatment
- by March 20 Philinda has completed her first course of ECT treatments.
She and William are in Washington, staying at the Raleigh Hotel,
which coincidentally is managed by
Curt Schiffeler,
husband of William's mother-in-law's sister.
William receives his next assignment: American Consulate General, Caracas, Venezuela
(Letter 1944-03-27)
- March 27 Philinda has suffered a relapse and returns to New York for further treatment
(Letter 1944-03-27)
- May 19. By the time she writes
letter 1944-05-19
Philinda is clearly regaining her physical and mental strength
- June 19 Newark, Ohio, Draft Board grants William official draft deferment
(Letter 1944-06-20)
- July 7 William and Philinda leave Washington by train heading to Miami
(Letter 1944-07-12
is William's account of the trip to Caracas)
- July 8 arrive Miami
- July 10 William and Philinda fly by Pan American seaplane to Venezuela via
Cienfuegos, Cuba;
Port-au-Prince, Haiti;
Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic;
CuraƧao, Dutch West Indies;
La Guaira, Venezuela, and Caracas.
(Letter 1944-07-15 gives Philinda's perspective of the journey,
together with her initial experiences in Caracas)
Lagos, Nigeria : 1944 Documents
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Lagos, Nigeria Documents of 1944-January |
Date | ID | From | To | Where From | Notes |
1944-01-02 |
L-277
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Lillian F. "Ninnie" Rhoads
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to
William Laurence Krieg
| 1944
Miami, Florida
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Dark blue ink on medium-thin paper.
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1944-01-11 |
L-316
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W. Madufor
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to
William Laurence Krieg
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c/o No., 20, Roman Catholic Street,
Lagos
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From W. Madufor.
Neat slanted handwriting, blue ink on notepaper with fine gray ruling.
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1944-01-14 |
L-319
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William Laurence Krieg
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to
Krieg-Campbell family
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American Consular Service, Lagos,
Nigeria
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Sequence No. 1 (Last No. For 1943: 16)
P.1 American Consular Service letterhead
Pica type dark carbon on airmail paper
P.2 initialed in black ink
Carbon copy on file
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1944-01-20 |
L-322
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Laurence Montgomery Krieg
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to
William Laurence Krieg
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Newark, Ohio
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Pica type light ribbon on thin paper.
P.1 US letter size
P.2 US legal size, signed in black ink
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1944-01-31 |
L-324
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William Laurence Krieg
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to
Krieg-Campbell family
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Lagos, Nigeria
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WLK hand blue-black ink on 3x5-inch note slip. Torn in handling along lower
edge.
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Lagos, Nigeria Documents of 1944-February |
Date | ID | From | To | Where From | Notes |
1944-02-06 |
L-325
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William Laurence Krieg
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to
Krieg-Campbell family
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American Consular Service, Lagos,
Nigeria
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Sequence No. 2
P.1 American Consular Service letterhead
Pica type dark ribbon on airmail paper
P.3 initialed in black ink followed by 5-line PS in black ink dated Feb. 8 '44.
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1944-02-08 |
L-326
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Laura Philinda Campbell Krieg
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to
Family of Laurence M. Krieg
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Lagos, Nigeria
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02-22
Black ink fine nib on standard weight Foreign Service note paper. One
sheet folded to make small booklet. Writing on first and third faces.
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1944-02-17 |
L-327
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William Laurence Krieg
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to
Laurence Montgomery Krieg
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4 Broad Street, Lagos, Nigeria
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P.1 Copy of Form for Reduced Rate Plain Language Telegram, Cable and
Wireless Limited. Pica type dark carbon on green-printed form.
P.2 Teleprinted paper tape purple ribbon glued to Western Union telegram
form. Dated "1944 FEB 18 PM 5 14"
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1944-02-21 |
L-328
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William Laurence Krieg
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to
John Wood Campbell, Sr.
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4 Broad Street, Lagos Nigeria
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Copy of Form for Reduced Rate Plain Language Telegram, Cable and
Wireless Limited. Pica type medium carbon on green-printed form.
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1944-02-22 |
L-329
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General Bruce and "Hammy" Hamilton
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to
William Laurence Krieg family
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H.Q. 82. (W.A.) Division, W.A. Forces
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From Gen. Bruce, CO, 82 Division (British Army)
and "Hammy" Hamilton, Gen. Bruce's Aide de Camp
Black ink on cream note paper
Apparently delivered by nmessenger
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1944-02-24 |
L-330
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A. E. Grantham, Acting Governor of Nigeria
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to
William Laurence Krieg
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Lagos, Nigeria
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Black ink on green deckle-edge note paper.
From A. E. Grantham, Acting Governor of Nigeria
P. 1 letterhead in blue printing (struck out) Vale Royal, Half Way Tree,
Jamaica. Year added to date WLK printing (in parenthesis).
P.2 in WLK printing under signature "A. E. GRANTHAM, ACTING GOVERNOR"
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