Manuel francisco allende
It was on the occasion of my first visit to San Francisco that I got to know Manuel Frank Allende. He was born in Uruguay in 1918 but spent time in Paris where he worked as a hospital registrar shortly before the war. In 1940, he saw the occupation of France by the Germans. He passed over the Spanish border, was briefly interned and then set off back to the United States. He had a brief "stay" at Ellis Island opposite Manhattan, before obtaining a resident's permit enabling him to continue his speciality, dermatology. He then left for California, his wife, Katharine's home state. Manuel Frank was very open-minded, benefiting from the Spanish, French and American cultures, a "man of the world" before the term had been invented. We soon got on well, he liked skiing, which he had practised in Alpe d'Huez before the war. I visited him in San Francisco where he lived in a house dominating the Bay near the Golden Gate. He drew and painted the wonderful view he had from his windows. He died suddenly on the slopes in the Rocky Mountains. Katharine still lives in San Francisco where she has long been a member of the governing body of the French hospital. Manuel Frank left a marvellous collection of drawings which illustrate well the kind of man he was.