3000 Miles Alone

The Sunday Post – Sunday 20 April 1947

All the way across three thousand miles of the Atlantic from New York a four-year-old Scots boy, Clarence McDonald, flew alone to live with his grandparents in Blantyre.

Clarence played happily with his toys on the flight over on a Pan-American Airways liner. When the plane arrived at London airport, it was expected he’d be met his granny and grandad. But nobody met him. Loud speakers called for his friends or relatives. Officials hurried round looking for them. All the time, Clarence stood alone waiting and wondering what all the fuss was about. Nobody came. Eventually a telephone message came from his aunt at Croydon that she would meet him in London, as his grandparents, Mr and Mrs Barrett, of Hardie Street, Blantyre, had not turned up. Kindly officials took Clarence to London.

“I love flying. I played all the way over,” was Clarence’s comment on his journey. Clarence had been expected to arrive 24 hours earlier but the machine was delayed on the other side. His aunt Mona travelled to London from Blantyre on Thursday.

Clarence came from Rossland, British Columbia, where his parents are living. His father is an ex-Canadian airman. The couple met while Mary Barrett was nursing in England. They were married about five years ago in Blantyre. Clarence was born in Britain, and lived with his grandparents at Blantyre until last year, when he and his mother sailed for Canada to rejoin his father. A few weeks ago it was arranged that he should return by air to start his schooling in Scotland. He arrives here this morning with his aunt on the night train from London.

Source: http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

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