“Memorandum of Constitution and Terms of Reference for the continuance of a British Community Council in the post-war period for the Purpose of Dealing with Community Interests.” Once the “all clear” sounded on VE Day, May 8th, 1945, there was a real sense of “now what?” Links of friendship, shared relief, and grief for those who would not return united the British community in Rio and in 1948 this unity was reflected in a statement which, while wordy, still sums up the core of the BCS today: “The post-war Council to be a representative Council of the Community, working for Community benefit and carrying behind it the weight of opinion and support for the entire Community, as also of all Community Institutions, so that it may voice the views of the Community as a whole and carry far greater influence than could be brought to bear on Community matters by individual effort or sectional representation.” A Society is born.
