EARL AS CATTLE HAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22368, 15 September 1934, Page 16

EARL AS CATTLE HAND

WORKING PASSAGE ON SHIP SCION OF FAMOUS ADMIRAL. A British rancher-Earl, with a civil list pension from the British Government and owner of a 1000-aere farm in Canada, recently arrived in Britain —in a cattle boat. Working and sleeping with the crew, the man was plain George Rodney—and no one knew he was an earl except the captain. He is Lord George Rodney, direct descendant of the famous Admiral Rodney, who was granted a pension of £2OOO a year in 1782. This has since been slightly reduced. “I worked my passage over because it w r as the cheapest method, and I am thoroughly used to hard manual work,” Lord Rodney said in an interview. “ I have two boys at school in Britain, and I have not seen them for six years. That was the main reason for my visit. If you work your passage over you are entitled to a free passage back on the same line of ships.” Lord Rodney’s day on the cattle boat started at 4 in the morning with washing down and feeding the cattle. This meant about five hours’ hard work, which bad to be repeated in the afternoon. “On top of all that.” the rancherpeer said, “ I was violently seasick for several days . . . but the work had to be done just the same. On this trip we encountered unusually heavy weather, and most of the cattle were ill, too. “The boat T came o>er on was the Manchester Producer, but when I take my more leisurely passage hack to Canada it will probably be in another boat of the same line. “As for that Rodney pension—well, ! it’s nearly all swallowed up in various taxes these days! ”