From December 1913 to May 1914, Smyth stayed at a hotel in Helwan, Egypt, in order to compose "The Boatswain's Mate" free from distractions, although she kept up a continual correspondence with Emmeline Pankhurst. The hotel, formerly the palace of Tewfik Pasha, was suggested by her friend Ronald Storrs, who was an official under Lord Kitchener in Cairo. On returning to Europe, Smyth arranged for the opera's premiere to take place at Frankfurt in March 1915, as well as scheduling her earlier opera "The Wreckers" for February 1915 in Munich. However, these plans were overtaken by the outbreak of World War I.