EARL JELLICOE HONOURED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20708, 4 May 1929, Page 16

EARL JELLICOE HONOURED.

GREAT WELCOME AT SOUTH- ' AMPTON. ' (Fbom Our Owk CoEHEspoNDiaj(r.) «T . LONDON March 27. F 1 that my father and mother aa3 40 868 day." said hp l w lra T ° f ‘ t^^ F i eet Earl Jellicoe. • when 55J" Presented with the honorary free“Weoe family has been intimately with Southampton for genera^ of honnn« JvTJ? as is the accumulation of honours that have come to Ilbrd Jellicoe, it was evident (writes the special eorrespondentofthe Daily jH Was particularly touched by the - ay ’ testifying as . they did to the affection in which he is . held locally. . ?oth the wafer and the land combined m the great welcome to the new freeman, in the early morning the Mayor, of Southampton, Mr M. H. Pugh, left in the miraje barge (the'Mayor of Southampton is admiral of the port) for Cowes, where L° r d Jelhcoe boarded it, and was brought to the .White Star liner Olympic, lying in the ocean dock. The White Btar line was co-operating with the corporation in the; day s programme, and had placed its - giant .vessel at the civic authority's disposal for the luncheon, which was attended by 'numerous guests, ■vr Mayor gave the toast of " Our‘ New Freeman” Earl. JelUcoe, in responding, recalled some of the . incidents in the very fine - war record of' the Olympic, Towards the end of 1914, for instance, the liner rendered great mssistance in the attempted salvage of HM.B. . Audacious, which: had been mined at the entrance tb Lough "Swilly. Another occasion on which the Olympic distinguished herself was jn May, 1918, under the command of Captain (now Commodore) Sir ■ Bertram Fpx Hayes, when she was hurrying to Europe with some thousands of American troops....When : in the English Channel the great liner, sighting an enemy, submarine, crashed into it at full speed and sank it, leaving to -a destroyer the humanitarian work of rescuing the submarine’s survivors. The .White Star Line was toasted..by the Mayor of Southampton. Mr P. E. ■Curry, locaj. manager of the company, responded. ■ . • • ' The warmth of the welcome accorded the admiral of the fleet on water Was equalled by the reception that awaited him op leaving the Olympic. A procession was formed at the Audit House, and, by ■way of High street. Above Bar street, and tbe Junction, proceeded to the war memorial. The open carriage occupied by Lord Jelliooe was drawn through thp , Streets, between dense lines of , townspeople, by men of the Merchant Navy, After the earl hod laid & wreath'on; the war memorial a move was made to the Empire Theatre, where the actual conferment of the freedom took place. The town clerk (Sir Richard Linthorne) read' the resolution of the council admitting the guest of honour to the honorary freedom; then the Mayor presented him with a gold casket containing an illuminated copy of the resolution. "We welcome, our new freeman,” said the Mayor. “as the navy’s greatest-representative and Southampton’s most illustrious son.” Lord Jellicoe was accompanied by Countess Jellicoe, Viscount Brocas and Lady Gwendoline .TeUicoe, son and daughter, the Misses Jellicoe,, sisters, and his flag lieutenant; Lieutenant-commander Alap Scott Moncrieff.