19370427 Heather to Betty
27th April, 1937 Pax,
Dearest Duckie,
As usual again, Ive been meaning to write to you for years, and now at last I've actually begun - though how much I will be able to get done tonight I really don't know, as I;m beginning to feel pretty sleepy al=ready - having just written a letter to Peter, which I found a pretty boring thingto have to do ! He had sent home a Trunk full of Junk from Rusapi, so I unpacked it and sorted everything, and packed it all again (in about half the space) and made a list of it all, which I have now just sent him, to ask what he wants kept, and what - which I should think will be most - can go to the Jumble Sale.
Now, where hall I begin. I think I'd better do like you do - go on from where I left off - which was off the shores of India.
The trip home was quite pleasant, but not such fun asthe one out, and it was funny getting back on the same ship again, and not finind the same friends on board. It was not even funny, it was rather sad at first to go in the bar, and not find the usualcrown sitting in the corner, or to find the usual set of people playing deck tennis, etc.
Mum & Dad had their same Cabin as last time, but Rosalind and I had a less grand one, on a lower deck. We went to visit our old one, and to talk to our old steward, because he was so nice and used to lend us his gramaphone and cleaned our shoes so nicely - and we asked him who had got our cabin - and do you know who had? The Chauvels, who have come ho,me from Australia for Coronatio, as Sir Harry is commanding the Australian Troops over here. Wasn't that funny. It was so nice having them on board. I expect you can remember them can't you? He's not unlike Daddoie to look at, and shorter than his wife who is tall and graceful and of the Aunt Violet [Thesiger] kind.
(Dear Aunt VIolet, she telephoned to me this morning, and she really has got yhe sweetest voice in all the world. I'm going to lunch with her on Friday. I will tell you about it, if I have not go this letter away before then!)
Now let me think who else there was on board who you might know. Oh, now I come to look at the list, I don't know that there was anybody actually. Oh yes, Col. Jimmy Richardson (who used to run the Racehorses at Manton) came on board at Marseille, and sat with us at our table for meals. At Aden a fellow came on called Robinson, an American, who has written a lovely book called Deep Water and Shoal, which is about the South Sea Island. He has a house on Tahiti, and had been there when our ship called, and he knew all those film people. Also he knew Dick Hunter, do you remember that fellow who swam and dived so beautifully on board the Manganui, and was trying to attach himself to the film company, and had left his wife stranded in Tahiti while he ran off after that little Mexican film star who was on board with us. Dad made rather
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a super remark to him about the south sea islands. They were talking about Tahiti, and Dad said to him "You ought to read a very good book I know called "Deep Water and Shoal" And so Robinson humbly answered "I wrote that" ! Wasn't it sweet. Oh, but next day, he did not make quite such a good remark to a lady who was sitting next
to him at tea. They were talking about cricket, and Dad said how he liked to watch real genuine sporting cricket, played for the love of the game, and how he wouldn't even walk across the street to go and watch professionals playing for the sake of the amount of money they are going to get out of it. So the lady said "I'm afraid I can't agree with you about that, as I am Mrs Jack Hobbs."
Well, on our way home we called in at Aden again} and there was dear little Sir Bernard Reilly (whom Mum has a complete passion for) about to become Governor of Aden. Aden became a Colony the day after we were there. We went and saw the stands already erected, flags hung out, etc., ready for the Proclamation. As usual we only had a few hours there - and had another meal at the Residency. The A.D.C. was called Peter Davy (frightfully Uncle Tom Cobbley and all) and had been Very dull when we called in there on our way out, but this time he was much brighter, and came back on board with us and had drinks, and was full of amusing stories. When Sir Bernard was in India, Peter Davy considered himself the sole owner of Aden!
Going through the Suez Canal it was positively Cold. Altho' it was lovely sitting in the sun and watching the land go by, we had to have rugs and blankets, fleabags and coats to keep ourselves warm. A lot of people got off at Suez and dashed up to Cairo and saw the Pyramids, the Museum, the Kasbah, and had tea on a house-boat on the Nile, and got to Port Said by 8 o*clock that same evening to catch the ship again. They all arrived looking pretty dead, I must say!
We trotted in to Simon Arzt again as usual at Port Said, and Rosalind and I had to buy some more typing paper, because our respective employers had got so busy on board writing things for The Guide, the Scout, The Scouter, the Guider, the Guiding Scout, Scouting Guide, etc. Also Mum used tons of paper sending a simply colossal Report (with Memos, Suggestions, etc) back to India. A vast Report it was, and poor Rosalind got so tired of typing it! It was compiled similarly to the one you did for her on Africa - in fact she even went so far as to copy great hunks of paragraphs
of the African one - which she luckily had with her for the Indians.
About Simon Arzt. If you ever meet anybody who has been through Port Said you must ask them how to spell Simon Arzt. (I was caught out myself!) I have spelt it right here actually. But as it is Always called Simon Arts by everbody, they usually say it is spelt Artz. Ha, but that's where they're wrong!
Well, then our next Port of Call was Malta, and the day before we got there we sent a wire to the Governor, saying we were
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coming, and would like to see the Scouts and Guides if possible at such short notice. And as our ship slid into the Grand Harbour, loud cheers echoed across the harbour from millions of Scouts, all lined up along the Baracca, along the breakwater, up the lighthouse at the entrance, and everywhere# It really was absolutely marvellous, and everbody on board was Most Impressed. At the wharf was a Guard of Honour of smart Scouts and Guides, and Mrs Denaro was there, and Worrall's successor, Commander Price (very nice, and nice short shorts) And then, they had scraped up from somewhere an ancient carriage, which I believe is called a Landau but I'm not ouite sure, drawn by two very fiery steeds, and in this Dad and Mum, Commander Price and Mrs Denaro were driven up through the narrow streets of Valletta, with Scouts lining the way, up the Palace Square. This carriage was the sort of thing that everybody
used to use when Dad was here as Military Sec. 'way back in '93 or whenever it was. (I'm increaibly bad at knowing where Dad was in what year, aren't you. There's such a lot of years to remember, and such a lot of doings in each year!)
The Governor, Sir Chas. Bonham Carter (monocle, and most amusing) and Lady B-C met us at the top. There was a Rally and speeches, etc. then we had tea at Commander Price's horribly foreign sort of house at Sliema (his wife is Maltese) and several Denaros were there. I underwent a most terrifying moment there. Edith Denaro was most amusing, and we got on terrificly well together, and she said "Do come and stay with us." So I said, "What, now?" And she said "Yes. We will give you a grand time here." And I laughed to myself and thought what fun. But then Edith went to ^um and asked if I could do that, and she said Yes! But not to stay longer than a fortnight!
But when Edith actually went as far as going down to the ship to get my luggage, I took fright and said I couldn't possibly stay! It really was most terrifying, to think I should see my parentage going off in the Maloja, and me being left on the shore with a whole crowd of Maltese people! However, they were so emphatic about my staying that I said I might come next year. Which I think I might. And then just drop across to Cairo to stay with Jane and possibly with Bob Brittain at Heliopolis. And if I've still got any money after tha^.I would like to drift on down to Kenya again, because Eric keeps beseeching us (chiefly the parents, but I've got my little house there) to go back to the Outspan. Fine ideas aren't they. But I don't expet they will ever come off.
Well, anyway, to continue with our trip home. Rosalind and I were in a sort of set with a very amusing girl like Pamela Drew called "Tootie" (!) Gilmour, from Scotland. Isn't Tootie a terrible name. But do you know what her real names are. Flora MacDonald. Mustn't she have the stupidest mother to christen her with such names. I hope you won't do that sort of thing if Robin turns out to be the wrong sex! Besides Tootie there was Pam Fitz-Gerald who is large and fair and very plesant, and lives at Fleet, and I am going to play tennis with her today at the Aldershot Club (if it stops raining!)
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and the male part of the party consisted of Tony Wagstaff, tall and willowy, and in the 18th Cavalry and simply crazy about horses. (In fact he hasn't any proper clothes to wear except equine ones. He only had 2 shirts (1 purple, 1 white) and 2 Handkerchiefs, which Rosalind and I had to wash alternatively for him! He had a lovely Sporting and ancient Hat, and when he went ashore at the various places we called in at, he always carried his little riding cane!
He is home on leave, staying with his step-mother at Liss, and so I've seen him again quite often, in fact I went both to the H.H.and the Hambldeon Point-to-points with him.
Also George Gowers, the wavy black, rather pansy kind, but quite pleasant. In the Bombay Grenadiers (Isn't it a lovely name for a Regiment, it sounds so uilbert and Sullivan.) But apparently each of the Presidencies in India used to have a Regiment of Grenadiers, but Bombay is the only one which still has them.
Also little Walter Skrine, who is a Gunner, and had been one of the A.D.C.'s at Lahore when we were there. He was ill, and wasn't with us so often, but we had been told to look after him by Boy Stevenson Hamilton, the other A.D.C., and so Walter just sort of came along and joined us whenever he felt inclined. Rosalind and I are busy compiling a Report on his behaviour to send to Boy! Also Bill Lawrence, R.A.F., most amusing, and dark, and not very beautiful. He was in the same squadron as Bob Brittain, and has now been sent to the R.A.F. place at Hemswell in Lincolnshire. He must be a pretty good pilot, as he is in charge of one of those huge planes which carry 50 men (like that gigantic one which, do you remember, we looked at at Nairobi aerodrome when we called in there to refuel on our way down to Dar-es-Salaam).
At Malta a fellow called John Hawkes got on, and he joined us too. He is a mixture between Derek Adkins and George Carter, if you can imagine that! With lovely platinum blonde wavy hair! He looked quite pleasant, but when he first spoke! Oh AustrIlia! But we got fairly used to it, and he was quite amusing, and threw a jolly good reunion-of-the-ship party in London the other night, when 10 of us all went along to his flat for drinks and then on to the Gargoyle and Frisco's. John is on the Stock Exchange, and when he gave me his telephone number, which was London Wall 4445, I said that seems familiar. I thought to myself for a bit. And then I remembered that that is Bunny Sales's telephone number. And there they are, these two, both in the same firm. Ain't that a coincidence.
But it was a very nice crowd on board ship, because everyone was friends with everyone, and we weren't rigidly divided off into pairs as sometimes happens. At least Tony and Tootie were usually around together, as they were at the same table for meals, and their cabins were near together, One old lady called Mrs Salmon who came and sat at our table sometimes, said to Rosalind about Tootie, "Is she the wife of that nice-looking young Naval Officer?" As a result of which Tony and Tootie (the frightfully Cavalry Tony!) were always known as the Naval Officer and
his wife.
There was also on board Lady Barbara Bevan, who had been on the voyage going out with us, & is your relation - Lucan's daughter.
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I began this ;etter on April 27th and it's now May 11th and I haven;t had time to get on with it, so I think Id better send off this little lot, and will begin another installment when this Coronation whirl has died down a bit. Besides, I still want to answer your letter of information, warning and advice, for which I thank you muchly. The point it, I DID love him, otherwise I shouldn't have done all I did do ! Actually, I think I was pretty careful, because I hadn't forgotten to scare you gut from Stap. & also Peter's words of warning; & he was all under control too. Some day I must show you a letter he wrote me later, because it's really rather sweet & very sensible. He really is so sweet, & it's som,etimes rather depressing to think I shall never see him again or at any rate not for 5 years, as he's stuck in Calcutta for all that time.
I must pack up now, as I've got to start for Town at crack of dawn, in ???
Oh, but I must just tell you, I've got Another Chestnut Hunter ! My parentage really are spoiling me. You see, Sheila McClintoch lent me this horse to ride in a gymkhana, & she had 2 others already. She told me she wanted to sell it as she hadn't room for it, & wanted £60 for it. So I said, "I'll give you £35", so she said, "I'll take £40." I rode it over to Pax with Sheila, & while I was showing it to Jority round at the back, Daddoie quietly wrote out a cheque & gave it to Sheila - without my knowing ! Wasn't it too sweet ! So here I have those two - Jority & Nuts. Jority is of course Chief favourite. Nuts is still strange & unfriendly & restless. You may be wonddering what the heck I've done with dear little Gipsy. Well, she's very busy being married ! Her husband's name is King's Cross & I've left Gypsy Moth in Rachel's care as I think its easier.
I will write again later on in May & tell you all. Where do I write to ?
Miles of love
Heather
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