Olave's diary for 1931 Index
Our grateful thanks to Jacqueline Rylatt-Connock for the transcription.
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January 1931
Thu 1 Jan 1931
Rosie Kerr came to stay the night. Children exercised their animals, and Robin and I did nice long road and field walk. Took mother and the children in to Farnham to shop and “inspection” by dentist. Our old car Jimmajor, gets away too & fetches £15 ! [£850 in 2023]
Fri 2 Jan 1931
Mr Chichester called to consult about our picking up a 2nd hand Rolls cheap for pulling caravan next summer.
Peter to Malvern to stay with Machie’s. Mr & Mrs Thompson, the local Bentley curate & their friend, Miss Vibart to lunch. Children hack their ponies over to Whitehill and house them in a grocers stable for the night. I JamRoll[1] with mother & R & fetch them back & collect Shaugm[2] back from the vet.
Sat 3 Jan 1931 London
Children go off with R to Blackmoor & hunt more or less all day. To London & stay at Rubens Hotel. Mrs & Miss Waley (who goes to New Zealand on our ship) to tea and Agnes B-P also. To dinner with the old comrades of the Q.M.A.A C (Womens Army) at Harrods, as Helen Gwynne-Vaughan’s guest. 640 of them there and I proposed the toast of their Old Comrades Assoc.
Sun 4 Jan 1931
Left London early and got home 10.30
Tidied up house and clothes and things. Mother awfully well & being so happy here. As the time slips by there seems such an endless amount to be done with all the children’s wardrobe – school ones, spring home ones, summer ones, holiday ones, all to be completed before I go !
Mon 5 Jan 1931
Go to Well with the children for the H.H meet, and find when we get there that it is cancelled owing to frost – though it didn’t seem very hard. R. and I walk home. We do manage to do a lot of miles on these walks – about 7 miles per day at least – and how we do enjoy just walking and talking – walking and talking –
Tue 6 Jan 1931
Take Mother in to shop in Farnham & Heather to dentist to fit for a plate. Robin to London for the day. The dear nice Thesigers to lunch. Jane Thornewill, Heather’s great friend at school, came to stay. Peter returned and Christian also, so the ‘Pax Hotel’ fills up again.
Mother is so jolly this time here, and is being fearfully useful stitching clothes for the children.
Wed 7 Jan 1931
Quite hard frost, and all hunting hopes are squashed, but the whole crowd of children ride out and Robin takes them all over to Aldershot to see the 5th D.G.[3] horses there.
The Eggars, Harraps. Pip Powens and Mrs Scott (from Rotherfield) to tea and are show our camp films and others hires for the day. The children love this new cinema toy & work it by the hour.
Thu 8 Jan 1931
Hard frost prevents the children hunting. Rather a relief as one cannot help being a bit anxious for all their safeties – though it is very good for them to learn pluck & have all the joy & experience of it. They all exercise all their animals, and are all very busy & happy amusing themselves. Peter very fond of all his new duties – at last a sign of growing up!
Fri 9 Jan 1931
Take Heather in to dentist to have her new plate fitted. Took Mother too for her to shop, & Peter & Heather & Jane stayed on and lunched there & in afternoon we all joined the Ainsworths at the Aldershot cinema and saw excellent film of Masons House of the Arrow” etc.
Packed Heathers clothes vigorously and this is a busy time ! Mother very happy and well.
Sat 10 Jan 1931
Robin to London early & Christian & I go up by 11.16. Lettice & Gwladys Houbury-Williams lunch with me to talk “awards”. Children all came up in Jam-Roll from Pax to Scout Pantomime at King George 6 Hall – Our Annual treat & most awfully well done as usual. Very amusing. Jerry Kinnard comes there & Aunt Ger[4]. Heather goes off to Cheshire to stay with Jane. Then in to tea with Aunt Ger & get home late. Christian and Peter to Tockington to dance
Sun 11 Jan 1931
Bobbie B-P[5] came from Wimbledon in time for lunch and stayed the night. He is just a hopeless, helpless, spineless creature and miserable to boot. Harry Flower[6], a splendid specimen came to lunch, tea & supper – a fine good boy in the Northumberland Fusiliers.
Mon12 Jan 1931
Bobbie left. Children all went hunting. Meet at Well and they get back very tired after a long hack from Herriard[7].
The manager of Abbotts, car body builders who made Jam Roll’s body came to see her about some repairs whilst we are away.
Tue 13 Jan 1931 Brighton
Christian and I hare over to Brighton in Jam Roll to see her father Bob Davidson, rather ill in bed with gastric flu. Thought I ought to see him about some machinations over Clare with Arthur etc. Found him looking awful but only a temporary matter of course. We also shopped & went to the aquarium, whilst Bear took Nursie & his two babies on to dump then on her people at Eastbourne for a few weeks. Home at tea time
Wed 14 Jan 1931
Peter and Betty ride Dandie & Gypsy Moth over to Chawton leading dear old Topsy & hand her over to the Surams who will have her, & love her and use her for their small children and give her a quiet happy home. She is a delicious old pony and how we have all enjoyed her but she is just a wee bit too old now and too small to carry these large people easily. Pack, put away house things, pay wages and generally busy as a beaver.
Thu 15 Jan 1931
Peter leaves by 8.15 for London & Mrs Wade acts as [?] handing him over to a master from Chillon College who takes him with his whole convoy across to Switzerland. This is a good step in Peter’s career. I am sure & trust it will bring him on a lot in 6 months.
Mother and Christian and Yvonne leave also for London. Walk to say good-bye to Mrs Eggar & then put away, clean up & work till after midnight
Fri 16 Jan 1931
Luggage goes with Mrs Wade by rail down to Southampton early. Finish easily all the puttings away and leave my dear good Annie & all the nice reliable household in charge of beloved Pax. Jam Roll to Southampton (With Betty &Twm[8] to see us off) Scouts and Guides small guard of honour and Mayor and Mayoress of Southampton to see us on board our Rangitata. Sail at 1.0 for New Zealand – at last
Sat 17 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
A beautiful quiet steady ship this, and we are spoilt by having the best cabin – two of ‘em – that I have ever had on any ship! So comfy & I just stayed in bed snug and slept practically all the day without pause. A bit tired & head-y and it was bliss to stay in a comatose condition!
Sun 18 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Stayed in bed all day again – more or less asleep. Robin of course gets up on deck for his early morning walk and starts writing his autobiography – having brought all the prepared notes and chapters ready
Mon 19 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Meant to get up but didn’t! Too comfy in bed and still too sleepy to wish to move. Read a bit and did some typing of R’s book, later in the day in my dressing gown – Thoroughly lazy !
Tue 20 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Got up at last – though reluctantly ! Lovely sunshine and already getting quite nice and warm with blue sea and sky, though not quite sit-out-able yet. Typed Robin’s book. He strolls about our roomy cabin dictating it and I type it roughly and re-do it if necessary.
Wed 21 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Typed the book all morning. Read and loafed.
Thu 22 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Read, typed the book, wrote letters to be posted home from Panama and played deck tennis with Col. Le Beaton (our Scout “A.D.C.”) and a young couple called Ward – Son of a former Premier of New Zealand
Fri 23 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Getting warmer, though not hot quite yet. Lovely sun and shining blue sea. Read, typed and played several sets of deck tennis with a Mr Lane, etc. “Treasure Hunt” organised in the evening. Drew a young Mr Rathbone and rushed feverishly about finding clues – quite funny.
Sat 24 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Got to know more or less all the fellow passengers that seem forth-coming – a young Mr Richards, a young sailor boy called Wardle, a Mr and Mrs Booth, who have no home and wander year after year about the world with their trunks!
Sun 25 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
To church – held out on the after deck by the worthy old Scotch Captain Hunter. Quite hot now and bask-able. Got on with Robin’s book. It is everything his having this free time in which to do the book & it is also everything having this absorbing task on this long voyage!
Mon 26 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
The same “common round and daily task”[9] ! All very delightful. Drawn in to play Deck quoits with Miss D Robinson – a nice girl from Norfolk - & her friend Mr Shaw who lives in Glos – near Westonbirt, and nice Mrs Fenwick, an oldish kind pleasant nice New Zealand woman.
Tue 27 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Same as yesterday. Saw land in the evening – one bit the North side of the American island Porto Rico and on the other side the tiny blob of an island called Mona.
Wed 28 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Same routine – and it is a delightful life - & yet makes one feel very brain–less I find! Play quoits a lot in the evening again with the same three - calling ourselves “The old firm” ! Also playing tennis with the Rathbones, Miss Hart, Miss Clayton, Miss Waley etc
Thu 29 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
More typing of the book – more sitting out on deck – more large meals – more deck quoits, and my darling Robin has begun to enjoy playing it and finds it quite pleasing – as a game and as exercise
Fri 30 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
Arrive in sight of the mountains of Panama early & get into the mouth of the canal off Cristobal at eight. So nice seeing it all again. Spend the whole day gliding slowly through the beautiful canal. Such fun going through the wonderful locks (taking 7 minutes each) & Gathun Lake is quite beautiful. Saw Crocodiles in the ? part of the Culebra Cut. Delayed a bit at the……
Sat 31 Jan 1931 S.S. Rangitata
. . . Miraflores lock so get to the wharf at Balboa late. The ship waters & oils & we land and we are taken to a huge meal at a comic “musical” restaurant by Mr Klemmuns[?], the American Boy Scout Com. (white) and Mr Bolt, Com. for the British (West Indian) Scouts (Black – very!) Mr Bryant Scouter from Cristobal (also black) & a Panamanian Scouter who could only speak Spanish etc., etc. It was sunny and very hot. Then they drove us out to . . .
MEMORANDA S.S. Rangitata
. . . old Panama and through the noisy garish restless town of Panama itself where nobody even gets to bed apparently, and so back to our ship and sail again about midnight.
February
Sun 1 Feb 1931
Saw the island of Chatham in the far distance, peopled & belonging to the Republic of Panama
[1] JamRoll was a Rolls Royce car that was presented to B-P at the JAMboree. Scouts had each contributed a penny towards purchase. At that time, you could buy a Jamroll in the shops for a penny.
[2] Shaugm was a black Labrador, a gift from, and named after the initials of, Shropshire, Herefordshire Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire. Vowels had to be added to make it pronounceable.
[3] 5th Dragoon Guards, a Cavalry Regiment, of which B-P was once Colonel.
[4] Aunt Gertrude St Clair Hill, Olave’s mother’s unmarried younger sister
[5] Son of B-P’s brother
[6] Henry Stanley Flower 1904-1980, grandson of B-P’s mother’s youngest sister.
[7] Ten miles North West from their home in Bentley.
[8] Twm was a small dog; but what sort and why he was called that is currently a mystery.
[9] A mis-quote from the hymn “New every morning is the love”; Verse 4 starts “The trivial round, the common task”
