THE NEW KING

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 141, 11 December 1936, Page 8

THE NEW KING

DUKE OF YORK'S CAREER

DEEP SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The Duke of York, second son of King George V, who succeeds his brother as King and Emperor, has endeared himself to the peoples of the Empire by his sturdy character, his humanity, his sportsmanship, his sense of the high responsibilities of his office, and his keen interest in the social and industrial welfare of his fellowmen. JS To member of the Royal Family has fitted himself more assiduously for his high responsibilities. He was prevented by ill health from following a career in the Navy, but during the war he served in the Battle of Jutland and later with the Air Force as squadron-leader, wing-commander, and group-captain. At Cambridge after the war, he took a course in history, economics, and civics, and thus equipped himself for a field of activity in which he has taKen deep interest, as a student of social problems. His marriage in April, 1923, to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon has been particularly felicitous, and she has won the abiding affection of ihc British public by her gracious personality.

Born .at York Cottage, Sandringhain, on December 14, 1895, the new King received his early education, like his brothers', from' Mr. H. P. Hansell, whose Royal pupil gave promise of developing the qualities of British manhood which has distinguished all the King's sons. He was also a pupil of Mme. Bricka, M.. Hua, and Mr. J. Walter Jones. Following the precedent of his father, King Edward's second son, and his great-uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh, the ; second son of Queen Victoria; he was destined for the Navy. .Therefore, after he had played football with the village boys at Sandringham, and had learnt to ride, and to do all' the things that a normal English boy does, he went to Osborne and Dartmouth to study. In January, 1913. when he was 18 years old, he went for the customary cruise in the Cumberland, and between that month and July had visited the West Indies, Canada, and Newfoundland. In August he was appointed midshipman in the Collingwood and was serving on board her when the war broke out. . THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND. He had previously contracted measles and influenza (the latter in Ottawa), but now there came a more serious breakdown in his health. In September, 1914, a hospital ship landed him at Aberdeen with ippendicitis. This malady troubled him for the next year or two, but he was able to serve on his ship as sub-lieutenant at the Battle of Jutland, and there won commenda tioh in Lord Jellicoe's dispatch. In 1917 he joined the battleship Malaya. His health remained troublesome, however, and he had to undergo more than one operation. At length he had a severe breakdown and was advised that he must give up the idea of a career at sea. • Meanwhile in November, 1917, he had been posted to Cranwell for executive duties with the Royal Air Force. In April, 1918, he was transferred to the R.A.F. training school near Boulogne. He took his new duties seriously—it is one of his characteristics to be keen on anything 'ie undertakes. In 1919 he became 'squadron-, leader, in 1920 wing-commander, and later group-captain. .-; The war being over, Prince Alberts energies were turned to the problems of peace. -In October, 1919, accompanied by Prince Henry, his brother, he went into residence at Cambridge as an undergraduate member of Trinity College, and entered enthusiastically, into the work and social ■ life of the University: - There was a time when undergraduate princes lived somewhat aloof and were hedged about by restrictions of etiquette. • But Prince Albert and Prince Henry were of a new age. They took their share in sports, and Used to ride their bicycles to lectures <n- the free and easy manner of their'fellows. . Just before he went down in June, 1920, the Duke of, York attended n dinner given at Emmanuel College m connection with the conferring of honorary degrees; on Mr. Bonar Law. Renlving to a ■ toast, ■he expressed his sorrow that it I was almost his last evening as an undergraduate. He had enjoyed himself immensely at. Cambridge, and.had benefited by the liberal education he had received there. On my own and my brother's behalf, he went on, "I wish to thank everyone with whom: we have come, m contact from the Vice-Chancellor and masters and tutors down to the Proctor's bulldog, who once took 6s 8d out of me. INTEREST IN INDUSTRY. As Cambridge the Prince took a special course in history, economics, and civics., The choice of subjects is significant, for it indicates the trend wnich his mind had been taking for some time before. In May, 1919, the month in which he flew over London, he became president of the Boys' Welfare Association. The same year found him paying a surprise visit to works at Deptford, speaking to the children of the Foundling Hospital about team spirit and the nations needs, going over a vast engineering factory at Barrow^ and everywhere keeping a sharp look-out for ex-ser-vicemen. . ~ He has always been keenly active in iridustriar and civic welfare. In every movement relating to social betterment he takes a leading part, and has proved himself on these questions to be a constructive thinker. He has paid many visits to the great .centres of industry, and, has examined, not only processes of manufacturing and engineering, but the conditions under which the workers live. Nor have these visits been mere ceremonial affairs. The/newspapers show him now at this factory, now at that, all over the United Kingdom, down a coal mine in Wales, driving an engine, opening a laboratory or an infirmary, speaking to so loolboys 'or to working men's clubs, hs a writer in "The Times" put it: "The firm wants to treat the Prince with ceremony and keep him to the show-side. The Prince slips into overalls and goes where the work is done; talks with the workers and gets them to talk with him; inquires into their conditions and their health; greet 6 old acquaintances, and never forgets the ex-servicemen and the disabled." He has always been a warm advocate of a freer intercourse between class and class. He believes that in the breaking down of artificial barriers lies tht key to the solution of many industrial and social questions. In this he has himself given a striking object lesson. In the summer of

1921 on his own initiative he organised a summer camp at the Littlestone Aerodrome, near New : Romney, to which he invited 400 boys, half from the great public schools and half from working-class: homes. Under the Duke's personal guidance the boys slept and played and ate together in the friend.•st spirit. The experiment proved so successful t~.it it has since .en repeated several times. One of the first things the new King thought of in connection with his wedding celebrations was to invite a number of these working-boy friends of his—for he always refers to them as his friends. PUBLIC CAREER BEGINS. Prince Albert's public career began in earnest when on June 3, 1920, he was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killarney. From that date onwards the list of his engagements becomes formidable and fatiguing indeed, rivalling that carried out by his elder brother. Even earlier in the year the list had been very full. For example, :he had been present at the boxing tournament of .he London Boy Scouts. He had spoken at Marylebone on . municipal life, and at the Connaught Rooms on the future of aeronautics. He had visited the Labour Exchange Centre at Cambridge in May, and at the Royal Academy banquet he had made a striking speech on village signs, which began a new movement to promote this form of popular art. Later in the year, at York, he took action in another artistic cause, and spoke on the preservation of the stained glass windows of the Minster. In April he had made his visit to Newcastle, and had begun to identify' himself prominently with welfare work in industry, a subject on which he spoke at the Grocers' Hall in London. ■In the work of the Industrial Welfare Society he takes the warmest practical interest—he is not content to be a mere figurehead. On June 24, 1920, the Duke of York took his seat in the House, of Lords. During the latter part of the year, he spoke, at Westminster on industrial welfare; at the London School of Tropical Medicine on research in tropical disease,' and at York on local patriotism, and he took an active part in the "Our Day" function of the Red Cross ' Society. He opened King George's. Home and Institute at Poplar and the jubilee fair of Dr. Barnardo.'s Homes. .In November he unveiled, the war memorial to London troops outside the Royal Exchange. This was a notable ceremony in view of the fact that the Duke had been so eagerly sought after to unveil war memorials that 11 he found himself unable to cope with the invitations. In February, 1921, the Duke of York visited Brussels, where, on behalf of the King, he presented decorations to Burgomaster Max and the Prince de Croy. During the same month he was admitted to the United Chapter of Rouge Croix of Freemasons, and exalted in United Chapter. In-: March he presided at a conference on industrial welfare. Another notable event of 1921 was his election to the Jockey Club, which took place on June 30. On the same day he was gazetted group-captain in the R.A.F. His visit to Sheffield in October, 1921, gave him another opportunity of studying industrial questions at first hand. But industry absorbs by no means all his interests. He is a Bencher of the Inner Temple, and president of the Royal Agricultural Society, to which he delivered his first presidential address in Julyi At the end of the year he attended a meeting at the Queen's Hall to hear a report on the Mount Everest expedition... \ WIDE SCOPE OF PURSUITS. The engagements of 1922 bear further witness to the scope of his pursuits. In February he spoke on Mr. Balfour's mission to the Washington Conference and on the work of the Metropolitan police forces. In March he opened the research laboratories of the British Cotton Industry Research Association at Didsbury. In April he undertook another important mission to a foreign court, going to Belgrade as sponsor at the wedding of King Alexander of Serbia and Princess Marie. In the same month he spoke in London on trade revival and international peace. Soon afterwards he became president of the International Congress on Aeronautics. In July Cambridge conferred the honorary degree of LL.D. upon him. In October he represented the King at the Coronation of King Ferdinand of Rumania. A week .or so before he went to Rumania the Duke of York paid a visit to Glamis Castle, in Scotland. The significance' of this event was not revealed at the time as it was afterwards, when the betrothal of- the Duke and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was announced. The first meeting of the Prince with Lady Elizabeth was at a children's party, when the latter was about five' or six years old, and the Prince a schoolboy. "They have been friendly ever since," said the bride's father just before the wedding, "and have met frequently in town and country." The two saw the more of each other because Lady Elizabeth was a companion of Princess Mary. The wedding took place in Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923. It brought together in that historic building people of all classes and kinds— "assembled to wish long life and happiness to a simple young man who has deserved well of his country and a modest young woman • who radiates charm." Uniforms of scarlet and gold, velveteen court dresses and fashionable West End gowns -were mingled with the respectable tweeds of working people—not forgetting the Sunday clothes of the Duke's "working boy friends." The greeting of the London crowds to the Duke and his bride as they drove through the streets to-

I gether as man and wife w-as a notably I earnest and deep-felt one.

The honeymoon was spent at Polesden Lacy, an ancient manor house near Dorking. Later the Duke took his bride to live at' White Lodge in Richmond Park, another place crowded with memories of historic events. It is generally .associated with Queen Mary's girlhood, and the wide social and philanthropic activities of which her Majesty's mother, Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, was the centre. The Lodge was first built by George I as a hunting box, but was afterwards enlarged. Sir Walter Scott made the garden of the Lodge the scene of the interview between Queen Caroline and Jeanie Jeans in "The Heart of Midlothian" when Jeanie pleaded for her sister's life. VISIT TO EAST AFRICA. At the end of 1924 the Duke and Duchess of York paid a visit to East Africa—one of the , most remarkable tours they have ever undertaken. It was crammed full of incident and often beset with danger. The Duke visited a native parliament and conferred a knighthood on a native ruler as part of his official programme. The visit undoubtedly accomplished much in drawing that colony closer to the heart of the Motherland. ,It extended into 1925. and the gracious personalities of both the Duke and the Duchess, endeared them to the strangely assorted population. The visit was a spectacular and romantic one. and the manner in which the Duke overcame the dangers of his hunting expeditions added hot only to his prestige, but to that of the European population also. •■ At Isiolo, a shooting camp, had been prepared, and the Duke and Duchess thoroughly enjoyed the sport in a district stocked with game to an alarming degree. The Duke, on his first day out, proved his mettle by "bagging" a rhinoceros. His first shot wounded the animal, and the beast, thoroughly infuriated, turned arid charged.' The Duke waited calmly until the rhinoceros was within. 30 paces, arid then he dropped to one knee and fired the final shot. The animal was coming with ■ such, speed that its .' impetus brought' it almost to the -feet of the Duke, who laughingly turned and accepted the congratulations of his sole companion. During the"weeks that followed the Duke, and also the Duchess, shot with great skill. The Duke and Duchess of York arrived home on April 19, 1925, and hours 'before their train" was due at Victoria Station a crowd began to collect. The warmth of their reception as they drove slowly through -the "denss' crowd was characteristically British. Immediately on their return home their Royal Highnesses took up theirmany duties again. Fittingly the Duke was mad£ president of Dr. Barnardo's Homes in May, and on June 28 was appointed a member of the Privy Council. He was ever active in his study and investigation of industry ■ and continued to show a deep interest in social welfare and the alleviation of suffering by the dissemination of medical and scientific knowledge. The boys' camp was again held at Romney, and the Duke paid a visit to the camp on August 9, when he was enthusiastically received. ENJOYMENT OF PEOPLE. At the inauguration of the National Playing Fields Association in Great Britain in July, 1925, the Duke, who had been the leading spirit, in the formation of the association, was elected president, and his Sympathies were well expressed in the following sentence from his speech:—"The shortage of playing fields with a purer and healthier atmosphere, where the youth of our country may enjoy that exercise which its physical development requires, and absorb that spirit of sportsmanship which must continue to remain one of our national characteristics if we are to maintain our proud position as a nation of the world tomorrow, amounts to little less than a tragedy." • In a review of his welfare work on March 23, 1926, "The Times" stated: "The Duke of York has just completed his seventh year as president of the Industrial Welfare Society. The position is one to which he.has given a good deal of time and attention, and has brought him in touch with employers and employees in many parts of the country. His Royal Highness has . not only attended regularly at ordinary business meetings of the society, but he has visited fifty mills, factories, and shipyards, partly to inform himself concerning industrial conditions and partly to see the benefits'which have resulted from the study and application of welfare work. The Duke also, soon after he became associated with the Industrial Welfare Society, inaugurated the summer camp which bears his name, and which will be held for the sixth time in succession this year. The camp brings together 200 public school boys and an equal number of lads drawn from the principal industries in England, under conditions in which they are able to develop a team spirit. ... It is the personal touch which the Duke has himself provided in his zeal for welfare work that has made his association with the society so productive of good results." VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND. An invitation to the Duke and Duchess of York to visit New Zealand was extended by Sir James Allen, then High Commissioner, at a luncheon of the New Zealand Society in London in June, 1926, and the Duke in a gracious reply, in which he showed an extensive knowledge of the Dominion, expressed the hope that the invitation would shortly be fulfilled. Eight months later, on February 21, 1927 H.M.S. Renown with the Duke and Duchess on board arrived in Auckland Harbour. Their tour through the Dominion was a complete triumph, marred only by the indisposition of the Duchess, who was unable to cover part of the South Island itinerary, but in the sympathetic concern for her health personal disappointments were forgotten. The Duke and Duchess made themselves one with those who had eagerly awaited their coming. The Royal visitors left New. Zealand on March 22, and arrived in Sydney four days later. During their stay in Australia, the Duke, as the representative of the King, performed the ceremony of Inauguration of the new Capital al Canberra on the anniversary of the opening of the first Federal Parliament by his father in 1901. In Australia as well as New Zealand the obvious sincerity of the visitors proved to all classes -hat the Duke's preoccupations were centred in the well-being of the people. In /both Dominions they left behind them not only lasting personal memories, but a stronger spirit of devotion to the Throne The Renown reached Eng land again in June, after circling the globe, and the Duke, who left the Mother Country as a representative of the King, arrived back as a trusted interpreter of the problems and aspirations of two Dominions.

AN OPTIMIST.

In reply to a welcome at the Guildhall by the city of London at the end. of their Imperial mission, the Duke said: "I return a thorough optim-

ist. When one has travelled over the vast extent of our Empire, when one has witnessed what our fathers have accomplished, when one lias seen how the grit and creative purpose of our kinsmen overseas have triumphed over Ihe most tremendous difficulties, it is impossible to despair of the future of the British race. ... If we hold together we will win through. . . .. During my tour, I endeavoured, as far as circumstances permitted, to acquaint myself with.. local industrial conditions and especially with housing I was keenly interested in all i saw and I hope that the knowledge I have acquired may be of assistance in promoting the course of industrial welfare which I have so keenly at "on June 28 the Duke received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford. In the following month he was sponsoring a big campaign for more ample facilities for cancer research, and he told an international conference that he could not conceive of a more worthy object in life than to do one's best to contribute a quota, however small, to aid suffering humanity throughout the world. The Duke and Duchess were now sponsoring one course after another and their personal prestige enabled them to succeed where others had failed. His Highness's advice to a large gathering of children brought together under the auspices of the Safety First Association might well be called the golden rules of the road. "Start early to cultivate a spirit of good fellowship on the road," he said. "We want more good will among the different types of road users; and more attention to setting a good example and appreciating the courtesies received than abusing the failings of a few. . . . Your success in life will depend on the quickness of your eyes, your ears, and your brains. Always keep the true unselfish meaning of 'Safety First before you, and live up to the true English motto of 'Play up and play the game."' A REAL LEADER. Referring to a tour of the North of England by the Duke and Duchess, "The Times" on April 30, 1928, stated: "As president of the Industrial Welfare Society the' Duke has played a leading part in an enterprise to which is due, without question, improvement in conditions of work in almost every part of the country. . . . The Duke went into the north country as a missionary of industrial welfare, and exerted himself, wherever he went, to press its claims on the community. His presence evoked, an unmistakable response" on the part of both employers and employees, and also on the part of the general public. There were demonstrations of welcome which leave /no doubt that those who took part in them were moved by real enthusiasm and by a sense of gratitude." Towards the end of the year there was deep concern for the health of King George V, and the members of the Royal Family, in addition to the burden of anxious days, had to accept additional burdens of State. A Council of State was formed, and the Duke of (York was a member. At this period the Queen and her sons endeared themselves to the peoples of the Empire by'their noble bearing under tremendous strain. The crisis in the King's life passed, and again the 'members of the Royal Family ..devoted themselves to their manifold duties. The Duke and Duchess of York represented the Royal Family at the marriage of the Crown Prince of Norway and Princess Martha, of Sweden, at Oslo, on March 21, 1929, the Duke acting as best man. In September of the same year he was appointed High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. A few days later he was elected to the captaincy of the Royal and Ancient Club for the season 1930-31. The Royal couple made another trip abroad at the beginning of 1930, when they represented the Royal Family at the wedding of Prince Piedmont and Princess Marie Josie of Belgium in Rome on January 8, 1930. SPORT IN NEW ZEALAND. On April 10, 1930, the Duke attended a dinner given by the New Zealand Association in London to the British Rugby football team which was leaving for New Zealand, and paid a high tribute to this Dominion. He said that New Zealand had left him with a lasting admiration of its achievements and potentialities and the most pleasant recollection of the friendliness and hospitality of its people. After referring to the many sporting activities of New Zealanders, he added: "But over and above all sports Rugby football remains the most popular with the New Zealanders, and, with them we must include the Maoris, for who does not remember the exploits of the individual Maoris who were members of the All Black teams which have devastated British sides in the past." The Napier earthquake in February, 1931, brought the following message of sympathy from their Royal Highnesses:—"The Duchess of York and I heard with great distress of the terrible earthquake. Please convey our deepest sympathy to all those who have suffered in the disaster." They also donated £100 to the earthquake relief fund—another example of their interest in the welfare of the people of the Empire overseas. A comprehensive tour of Lancashire was carried out in February, 1932, and the Duke maintained his characteristic as a minute and patient inquirer in all that he wants to understand. His kindly words of sympathy and encouragement put new hope into the people of this distressed area. In July the Duke fulfilled an important mission in France when he represented the Empire at the French Colonial Exhibition, and as an appreciation of the wonderful way in which he carried out his duties he was elected patron of the United Associations of Great Britain and France. There is no doubt that his visit did much to cement the friendship between the two countries. ; EXAMPLE OF SYMPATHY. Another example of the ,Royal couple's solicitude for those in distress occurred later in 1932 when the Lincoln Corporation was informed that the Duke and Duchess had declined an invitation to a civic luncheon when they visited Lincoln on November 3 for the Cathedral restoration thanksgiving service. The private secretary stated that the Duke and Duchess much regretted that they were unable to accept the invitation in view of the unemployment and consequent distress existing in England. They would, however, meet the Mayor and Corporation on the way to the Cathedral. The Duke ■ played his part in the Silver Jubilee celebrations in connection with the reign of his father, and was elected chairman of King George's Jubilee Trust. On September 3, 1935, he represented the Royal Family at the funeral of Queen Astrid of Belgium. On the death of King George V, the Duke became Heir Presumptive to the Throne, and his duties increased in arduousness and responsibility, but the "Industrial Prince" never flagged in his close attention to exacting duties. His training for kingship has been thorough and complete.