DEAR GILES [it ran]. Thanks for yours of the 19th. I saw a Treasury official about your case yesterday, but he was not too hopeful. Permits can only be issued on health grounds if it can be shown that the condition of the patient’s health necessitates his going or staying abroad. The most obvious case is that of a man with tuberculosis needing to winter in Switzerland. But his view was that the condition of your eyes was something which would remain the same anywhere and therefore there were no grounds for a permit being issued. Of course we shan’t leave it there, but I don’t know if it will be possible to get the decision altered. My own suggestion is that you should come home and consult Halliday again; he might be able to pull strings that we can’t as you’re a war victim. If you are set on remaining, perhaps there is some possibility of your earning some money out there. I don’t know if Chapel could help you in this, but there must be occasional legal work to do with the consulate.
