ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13967, 28 September 1918, Page 4 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

The father of the Chief Scout, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, was born in 1796. Sir Robert's daughter was born in 1917— a. span of 121 years linked by one life.

Miss Muriel Thompson has now been awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for rescuing French wounded. Recently, she, with 15 other British motor ambulance drivers, received the Military Medal, fcome time ago she was awarded the Order of Leopold 11. by the King of the Belgians for rescuing Belgian wounded.

Fow European Royalties know London as well as do the King and Queen of the Belgians. Beforo his accession to the throne- King Albert and his consort made frequent visits to London incognito. Thoy went shopping, visited all the principal exhibitions and theatres, and generally dined once or twice at Buckingham Palace, without the fact of their presenoe getting into the newspapers.

Like his sister and his elder brother, Prince Albert has an engaging air of modesty, and he made a very pleasant impression in his debut as a public speaker at the Mansion House recently. No doubt his natural shyness accentuated the impediment which came as a surprise to most of his hearers; but oven orators of renown— Winston Churchill, for one —have overcome difficulties of this kind with persistence and practice.

Considerable interest has been aroused by the announcement of the engagement o\ Lady Rosamond Foljambe and Lord St. Leven and Melville. Lady Rosamond is, of course, the youngest daughter of the first Earl of Liverpool. The young bride-groom-to-be is a captain in a famous cavalry regiment, which he had just joined when war broke out, and was severely wounded in the retreat from Mons. He is the twelfth Earl of Melville and the thirteenth of St. Leven.

An admirable example to landowners has been set by Lord Craven, who charges for fishing on his Warwickshire property, near Coventry, and has just handed to the local hospital £500 received from numerous anglers. Many landowners possess splendid waters, but they never fish themselves, nor allow others to do so, though there are thousands of fishermen who would gladly pay a small fee for a day's sport—and an opportunity to add to the food supply.

A short time ago the name of Mrs. Malcolm, the beautiful wife of Croydon's handsome M.P., appeared as the recipient of a British Empire Medal, for nursing work. She is the daughter of the " Jersey Lily," one of the most beautiful women of her time, Mrs. Langtry, now Lady de Bathe, whose features were declared by artists to be a reincarnation of the perfect Greek type. Her daughter, Jeanne —Mrs. Lan Malcolm—is a tall, handsome woman, with much of the personal charm of her lovely actress-mother.

Miss Edith Picton-Turbervill, one of the leading officials of the T.W.C.A. and the W.A.A.C., is the kind of woman who typifies woman's wonderful contribution to the national effort in this era of world-chaos. She is a descendant of Sir Richard de Turbervill, one of William the Conqueror's twelve knights. Before the war, Miss Picton-Turbervill was engaged in valuable social work; to-day, in addition to her other important activities, she partly manages the largest munitionworkers' hostel in Britain. It is known as the Joan of Arc, contains two miles of corridors, and houses 750.

The wealth from which Sir William and Lady Cain, of Wargrave Manor, Berkshire, have given £20,000' to the Red Cross, comes from beer. Sir William, a knight of last year, is the eldest son of the late Robert Cain, founder of the Mersey Brewery, Liverpool, who died eleven years ago, leaving a fortune of over £400,000. Robert Cain started life as a ship's rigger, took a small public-house, and commenced brewing in Limekiln-lane, Liverpool, about 1850. When he died the firm m Robert Cain and Sons, Limited, with its colossol brewery in Toxteth Park owned about 200 licensed houses.

1 The special commendation bestowed on Lieutenaint-General' Sir . Richard Haking directs attention to a commander who has risen steadily in the estimation of military experts during the war. As a leader he has had no set-back to his reputation. He has been warmly mentioned on several previous occisions, especially after his tioops'Bo gallantly re-crossed the Aisne on the broken girders of a bridge at Ponta roy. Haking had a fine servico record before the present war. Ho hag been 37 years in the army, which he entered when he was 19. His mentions in despatches cover the Burmese Expedition of 1885-87 and the earlier stages of the South African War, when he was on the staff.

When everyone is paying well-merited compliments to the new Food Controller, Mrs. Clynes, though she has more than her modest husband's dislike for the limelight, ought not to be forgotten. In recent years, since Mr. Clynes has been so constantly involved • in < Parliamentary affairs, the very necessary duty of " nursing" the constituency has' fallen practically in its, entirety upon Mrs. Clynes and her daughter, a slightly-built young woman, who brars a remarkable resemblance to her father. Mrs. Clynes is an Irishwoman, homely and shrewd as an Irishwoman would be who had spent so many years in intimate association with the Lancashire working classes; and if she is not thoroughly confident when making speeches, she has the natural gift of her race for saying happy things upon occa. sion.

There are only two Irish dukedoms. The senior, that of Leinster, is held uy a young unmarried man, who is a great invalid. His parents both died comparatively young. The late duchess will long be remembered as one of the most beautiful women of her day. The duke's brother. Lord Desmond FitzGerald, was major in the Irish Guards, and won the M.C. He was killed on activo service in France in 1916. Lord Edward, his grace's only other brother, has been wounded He married, and has one son, who is second heir to the dukedom. lie is now in his fifth year. Lord Charles Fitzgerald, uncle of the duke, who lives in Australia, has three sons, and Lord Henry, another uncle, has also three sons. Those of them old enough to do so are serving King and country. The duke has three aunts unmarried, who live at Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildaro. His grace's health has of late given fresh cause for anxiety.

A coming-of-age of interest will be that of Lord and Lady Craven's only child, Lord Uffington. The huir to the Craven wealth, and also to much of that of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Bradley Martin, made a romantic marriage two years ago to a young Scots girl whom he met on his military training. Lord Craven has some fine peats—Coombe Abbey, near Coventry; Ashdown Park in Berkshire (where his mother lives and hunts her hounds), and Hampstead Marshall in Berkshire, near the Kennet, where was the mansion of Elizabeth of Bohemia's husband, first and last Earl of Craven of a former croation, The fortunes of the Lords Craven were founded by Sir William Craven, once a poor Yorkshire boy, who became a rich clothier and Lord Mayor of London. He purchased Coombe Abbey from Lord Harrington 300 years ago. His son, who is supposed to have married James I.'s daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, distinguished himself very early as a soldier, and was created Lord Craven at 18.