 She explained to the French Consulate in London that 'the gift was the repayment of a debt she owed to France for the happiest years of her life'.In the First World War, this well-connected American from Philadelphia had been one of the first to start a Red Cross hospital for the treatment of wounded and sick servicemen.This hospital at Wimereux, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, was run entirely at her own expense.