N.Z. Airmen Have Tea With Royal Family
LONDON, April 24.
Eleven New Zealand pilot officers, together with Australian and Canadian airmen, were invited to Windsor Castle to meet the King and Queen and the Princesses shortly after their arrival in England this week.
The New Zealanders travelled across Canada and continued on to England with one of the largest contingents of airmen to arrive from the Dominions. It numbered several hundreds, and every man had been trained under the Empire Training Scheme. The gatherings at Windsor Castle are held at regular intervals for new arrivals, and they are quite informal. The airmen are first shown over the castle and later they are invited to tea, which has been arranged by Princess Elizabeth. She attends to all the preliminaries herself and secures extra rations for the occasion. Sometimes, if the King and Queen are at Windsor, they are able to attend. “There were about 60 of us altogether,” said Pilot Officer R. McCracken (Rangiora), “and the King and Queen spent about an hour and a half with us. They asked us what sort of a trip we had, and where we came from. They were charming. The Princesses talked to us about their dogs, two of which they brought with them, and about riding. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”
The other New Zealanders invited were: Pilot Officers A. F. McGruer (Waihi), T. W. M. Leckie (Wellington), D. Miller (Auckland), S. R. O. Richmond (Gisborne), S. W. S. Beedie (Dannevirke), S. Brook, J. F. Craig (Petone), D. S. M. Constance (Dargaville), E. L. Houghton (Napier), and J. M. Waddell (Christchurch).
All the New Zealanders in the draft, numbering more than 50, enjoyed their journey to England. At one city in Canada they were entertained by the Rotary Club. The voyage over the Atlantic, they declared, was uneventful and dull.
“We never even saw a German submarine!” said Sergeant W. L. Knowles (New Plymouth). During g short leave the majority visited London, and the New Zealand Forces Club Was a general rendezvous. t
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Bibliographic details
Northern Advocate, 28 May 1941, Page 2
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340N.Z. Airmen Have Tea With Royal Family Northern Advocate, 28 May 1941, Page 2
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