WOMAN'S CLAIM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22351, 27 August 1934, Page 11

WOMAN'S CLAIM

RELATIVE OF THE KING MOTHER MARRIED DUKE'S SON Miss Pansy Caroline, Fitz George, who works in a gown shop in Sydney, declares that she is a niece of King George. She arrived in Sydney some time ago from New Zealand to work at a modest salary. Miss Fitz George, who uses her mother's surname and is known as " Pat" Reid, declares that her father, Frank Augustus Fitz George, was the son of Frederick Fitz George, the second Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until he retired in 1895.

She possesses her own birth certificate and the marriage certificate of her parents. It shows that the marriage took place at St. George's Church, Thames, New Zealand, on April 25, 1908, when Frank Augustus Fitz George, gentleman, aged 39, married Lilian Esther Whitehead, spinster, aged 24. Giving particulars of his parents, the bridegroom .stated that his father was " Frederick George, Field Marshal, British Army," Frederick and* George were actually two of the names of the second Duke of Cambridge, and he was a field marshal in the British Army. Her father is dead. Her mother, who has married again, is living in New Zealand. She secured the certificates of marriage and birth from the Registrargeneral's Office in. New Zealand. She believes that her grandfather was the Duke of Cambridge, who outraged tradition by marrying Miss Fairbrother, an actress, against the wishes of Queen Victoria, who never recognised the marriage. Although Miss Fitz George may be making her claim in good faith (says a Sydney newspaper), it is not corroborated by official records.

chines. We are using five different breeds of silkworms at present. If we get sufficient support from the manufacturers we hope to establish a flourishing industry at Lullingstone. "We keep the silkworms in tiers of trays in the larger rooms of the castle. I have two girl assistants, and the silkworms eat 3251 b of mulberry leaves a day. These have mostly been provided by personal friends or by the generosity of strangers who have become interested in our experiment. The silkworms ' rise' to spin their cocoons and I have six or seven huge hurdles of twigs for them to climb for this purpose. Otherwise they do not wander." l HEATH AND FOREST FIRES. • One of the biggest fires of the year has destroyed the famous Hum rhododendron forest on the Earl of Malmcsbury's estate near Christchurch, and laid waste over 800 acres of thickly wooded land. Five hundred soldiers fought for many hours to check serious fires near Aldershot. and there were further outbreaks at Crooksbury Hill, near Farnham, Tadworth, Ashstead, Caterham, Wimbledon, and other places. The Earl of Malmcsbury's Hum rhododendron forest was one of the show places of the district and was known to visitors from many parts of the world. Firemen, troops, and other helpers fought throughout the night. > The fire started near the Christchurch-Rir.gwood railway line, and within half an hour had spread widely devouring pine trees, rhododendron bushes,, and thick undergrowth with astonishing rapidity. Great pine trees 100 feet high burst into flame with a roar like an explosion, and were devoured in a few minutes, blazing and crackling like giant torches. When the flames readied the thick woods on the side of the road from Christchurch to Hum they shot 200 feet high and leapt the road. Lady Malmesbury sent out gallons of lemonade and other refreshments for the fire fighters. Lord Malmesbury described the fire as the most destructive he had ever seen in the district. "All my beautiful rhododendrons have gone," he added, " and 1 am afraid that many of my golden pheasants, the first of which my greatgrandfather put into the rhododendron forest, to run wild, have been burned." He attributed the fire to careless cigarette smokers. "I do not believe in the glass bottle theory at all. It is undoubtedly a careless cigarette smoker who started this terrible fire —and most likely a woman."

Hundreds of acres of Surrey common land have been destroyed in heath fires. The worst was on Banstead Common, near Tadworth village, where a strong wind swept the flames so rapidly over the common that keepers, assisted by the police and public, were powerless to cope with them. Police stopped members of the public from trying to beat out the flames, owing to the clanger of the explosion of ammunition dropped by members of the O.T.C. and cadet corps who have been holding field days in the area. A number of cartridges were picked up.