from a search at a aa history site
several replies,some of which are not affiliated with AA
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A few years ago, the local R.C.M.P. entered
the Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo, British
Columbia with a search warrant. In a report,
the police told of finding a sign bearing that
slogan in one of the rooms. It is obvious that
we have no corner on the concept.
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the Al-Anon anonymity statement (as
used also by many AA groups, reads:
"Whom you see here, what you hear here, when
you leave here, let it stay here. Anonymity
is the spiritual foundation of our program."
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I've seen in documentaries about the Manhattan
Project the slogan "Whom you see here. What
you see here. When you leave here let it stay
here" posted in the factories.
The Manhattan Project (1941-1946) was the top
secret World War II project in which the United
States, Canada, and the United Kingdom worked
together to produce the first atomic bomb.
Research took place at over thirty sites in
the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.
If this was a Manhattan Project slogan, it
seems likely that it was they who invented it,
and our Al-Anon sisters and brothers who then
later on "went nuclear" (lol) by adapting the slogan
for their use.
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The words "Who you see here, what you hear
here, when you leave here, let it stay here"
are printed on a yellow card issued by the UK
General Service office in York. The card
appears on tables at AA groups all over the
UK, and when winding up meetings secretaries
often say, "Please remember the Yellow Card
(reciting the words). Let's make this a safe
place to share."
Travers C., ******* AA old-timer, thought the
message was somewhat sanctimonious. I recall
him saying, "If we mean, 'Don't gossip,' why
not say so."