[4] In October 1921, Emma Thomas founded a school in Gland, Switzerland with the support of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in the United Kingdom.
McCormack (died 1932) was a Somerset House official and Fabian Society member who retired early, for health reasons, and went into local politics, becoming Mayor of St Pancras in 1921.
[13][14] In autumn 1927 Thomas was in the USA, visiting Friendship House in Washington, D.C..[15] The Italian writer and translator Gioconda Salvadori (Joyce Lussu; 1912–1998) attended the school, in its "multicultural and multilingual environment", between periods of homeschooling.
[18] Karen Horney's daughter Marianne was sent away "to a Quaker school on Lake Geneva, where the meals were vegetarian, the teachers were called by Indian names of respect, and part of each day was spent in meditation.
[2] Encountering Aldo Capitini at non-violence meetings, Thomas became interested in his Religious Orientation Centre set up in Perugia.
She purchased an apartment there, ran regular meetings, and helped set up the Società vegetariana italiana (Italian Vegetarian Society).
[1] Capitani wrote that she was a self-described "practical idealist", and was notable for the way she valued individuality, as well as understanding his Religious Orientation Centre and other concepts.