The Cruise of the Calgaric | 03 ROTTERDAM AND THE HAGUE

03 ROTTERDAM AND THE HAGUE

documents/03-rotterdam-and-the-hague.pdf

III
ROTTERDAM AND THE HAGUE
ON SUNDAY MORNING (August 13th) there was a celebration of Holy Communion at an altar set up in the drawing-room, by the Rev. J. C. Banham (Assistant County Commissioner and County Chaplain for Surrey), assisted by the Rev. H. F. Shepherd (A.D.C. for Sea Scouts, Kent). The drawing-room was filled to overflowing, and two celebrations had to be arranged for the following Sundays.
Before breakfast was over, the cheers of the Dutch Scouts and Guides assembled on the quay at Rotterdam could be heard: cheer after cheer, and then Scout yells and songs, renewed again and again when they caught sight of the Chief Scout and Chief Guide on the boat deck.
The British were rather silent, not knowing how to express their feelings. The Chief Guide said in an agonized voice: "Cheer, can't you? Cheer!" But the resulting sound was very feeble, from lack of concerted action. It was obvious that this defect in organization must be remedied before our next port of call, so during the two days at sea after we left Holland, Mr. Arthur Short (Assistant County Commissioner for Cardiff), who has a genius for this sort of thing, taught us a number of songs and yells and cheers which we let off on every possible occasion and (we hope) disposed for ever of the idea that Britons are shy and tongue-tied.
As soon as the ship was tied up to the wharf, a deputation of leaders from the Scout and Guide organizations of the Netherlands came on board, and was received by the Chiefs in the drawing-room. The Guide leaders were: the President, Mrs. Van den Bosch; the International Commissioner, Miss Piepers; the Commissioner for Rotterdam, Miss E. Redeke; and the President of the local Association, Dr. Luise de Buy Wenniger; Mrs. Wynandts Franck en; Mrs. van den Berghe, and Miss de Haas, who had made all the arrangements for our visit. The Scout delegation was headed by Baron van Pallandt van Eerde, who has given part of his estate at Ommen for the national camps of the Scouts and Guides.
The Calgaric passengers then landed and stood in the background while the Chief Scout and Chief Guide inspected the five hundred Scouts and Guides on the quay. The Dutch Guides are, of all the nations, the ones who most resemble the

Photo] [M. Crowdy

AN OLD DUTCH BARN

Photo] [Walshams, Ltd.
A CANAL, ROTTERDAM

Photo] [M.Crowdy
THE CHIEF SCOUT SPEAKING AT THE WASSENAAR RALLY

Photo] [M. Crowdy
SIR PERCY EVERETT AND THE DUTCH SCOUTS

Photo] [E. Stone
THE SALUTE TO THE FLAG, WASSENAAR

Photo] [M. Crowdy
DUTCH BROWNIES

Photo] [M. Crowdy
DISCUSSING THE PROGRAMME!
(SIR PERCY EVERETT AND MISS DE HAAS)

Photo] [J. Wheatcroft
ICE CREAM IN HOLLAND

Photo] [M.W. Brampton
GOOD-BYE TO ROTTERDAM

British, their uniform being almost exactly the same and many of the girls being of the same type as the English.
The arrangements made by Miss de Haas were most efficient. A fleet of twenty-two fine chars-a-bancs was in waiting, each of them numbered and in charge of a Dutch Guide, who wore in her hat a large card with the number written on it (this gave her rather the appearance of the Hatter in Alice in Wonderland). All the passengers had had issued to them beforehand tickets bearing their respective numbers, so each one had only to find the way to his or her special char-a-bancs. When all the buses had got their complement, they drove off—a long caterpillar-like procession—on the road leading through Delft, with its shady streets and numerous canals, to the seaside resort of Scheveningen. Here the visitors saw many fisher-women in their picturesque costumes.
The British guests were impressed with the spick-and-span appearance of everything in Holland: not a scrap of litter was to be seen anywhere; the sparkling windows, the gaily-striped awnings and sun-blinds, the very flowers in the gardens, looked as if they had been scoured and polished till they shone; the modern architecture, with its plain surfaces and large expanses of glass, looks as if it had been made for Holland, it suits the country so well. The passengers were also interested in the magnificent roads, with their separate tracks for cyclists. It is said that there are 300,000 bicycles in Rotterdam alone, and it is not difficult to believe it!
After Scheveningen the buses drove along the beautiful chestnut and beech avenue which leads to the Hague, and into the park of Wassenaar, which belongs to the Queen of Holland—she had graciously lent it to the Guides and Scouts for this occasion. Here, under the fine trees, the visitors ate the packed luncheons they had brought from the ship, and were waited upon by Dutch Guides and Scouts, who handed round lemonade and other refreshing drinks.
The Chiefs then arrived and were led to some chairs at the edge of a clearing, where we grouped ourselves around them. Three Dutch patrol leaders came forward, saluted the Chiefs, and then took them by the hand to lead them into the centre. The Brownies ran in, clapping their hands above their heads, and made a ring round them; then came all the Guides and Scouts, making a huge circle. The Dutch flag and the World flag were then hoisted during the singing of the Dutch and British National Anthems; the Guide International Song was also sung.
Both the Chiefs spoke to the assembled boys and girls, and then came a march past, led by an excellent Scout bugle band. Later, while the Chiefs were having luncheon in the shade of a big tree, the Guides entertained them with folk-songs and dances.
Back we then got into our buses; as we were starting a smiling Guide boarded each bus, with a huge clothes-basket carried by the Scouts; from this she drew out

for each passenger a charming little box, adorned with the Dutch flag, and containing a pair of chocolate clogs filled with sweets. These were the gift of the firm of chocolate manufacturers, Messrs. Jamin, whose heads are always very kind to the Guides.
We drove back along the same road to Rotterdam, where all those who had booked for the longer excursion embarked on a river steamer, the Wilhelmina; she plies between Rotterdam and Cologne, but had been lent to us for the afternoon. On the whole of the upper deck tables were laid, and here we were served with a really magnificent tea, cakes, fruit, chocolates, etc., also produced by the firm of Jamin. While enjoying this banquet we steamed up the river, seeing on either side of us endless expanses of green pasture, with black and white cows grazing peacefully, and windmills galore; at one point we could see sixteen of them at once, and here and there a lofty church spire pierced the sky. We had no lack of music, for two accordion players played the Dutch and British National Anthems, three verses of each, four times over, and during the passage we had time to make friends with our Dutch guides. After about an hour we turned back and came down the river till we reached the harbour, where we landed and walked back to the Calgaric.
One of our passengers, who was not well, landed here and was handed over to the care of Dr. Luise Wenniger till she was able to return to England. This was the only case of illness during the whole cruise.
We sailed from Rotterdam at 8 p.m., followed by the eyes of many Guides and Scouts from the quay. As we drew away the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" floated from ship to shore, and later came the sound of a single cornet playing our national anthem.
The peaceful evening faded into a calm night. We had had our first perfect day, the precursor of many others.