THE KING AT OXFORD

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 52, Issue 3756, 15 May 1936, Page 5

THE KING AT OXFORD

SURPRISE VISIT PAID. WEEK-END AT HIMLEV HALL. London, April 8. Accompanied by three friends, the King paid a completely unexpected and unofficial visit to Oxford on Saturday afternoon. The porter at Magdalen College was astonished to see the King and his friends walk down the steps into the lodge. They stayed there for a time looking round the sunlit quad, and the King called for his camera, which was brought to him. The party then set off to walk round the college, with his Majesty acting as guide and pointing out the main centres of interest. He showed his companions the rooms he occupied as an undergraduate, but he did not go into them. During his walk he took a number of photographs, and, with his friends, left after about 20 minutes. “He simply strolled in and took us by surprise,’’ said the porter at the lodge. Chat With Hotel Porter. Entering their cars, the King and his friends drove along the High Street, making a stop at the Mitre Hotel. The King chatted with the hall porter, Mr. Ernest Davis, nodded to other members of the staff, and glanced admiringly at the ancient rooms. His attention was attracted by the hotel’s football cup, which was won by the staff, and which is kept in the lounge. Word had gone round that the King was in the hotel, and when he left he was cheered by a large crowd. This was the King’s first visit to Oxford since his accession. With the Earl of Dudley. His Majesty spent the week-end at Himley Hall, Dudley, Worcestershire, as the guest of the Earl of Dudley. Other members of the party included Lady Cunard, Lady Diana Duff Cooper, and Viscount Ednam. On Sunday his Majesty planted a cedar tree in the grounds of Himley Hall, near the trees planted by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who spent their honeymoon there. In the afternoon the King inspected the home farm. To reach it he had to cross the main road, and several people were waiting in the hope of seeing him. They raised a cheer, which his Majesty, who was bareheaded, acknowledged with a wave of the hand. He afterwards visited the Garden of Memory, where members of the Earl of Dudley’s family are buried. They include Viscountess Ednam, Lord Dudley’s wife, who was killed in the Meopham air disaster, of 1930, and her seven-year-old son, who was killed in a street accident on Chelsea Embankment in 1929. On Monday, King Edward motored back to London, a distance of 125 miles. Gift to Golf Caddie. A former golf caddie at the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, J. H. Whitethread, received £2 from the King to buy shoes for his family. Mr. Whitethread, who has four children, has been out of work for a year. “Last week," he said, “even my wife’s wedding ring had to be.pawned. Then I remembered the kindness of the King, as Prince of Wales, when I knew him at the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. I wrote and told him of our troubles and how we needed new shoes for the children to go to school. He sent me £2 to buy shoes for the family." All the family were able to have new shoes, except Mrs. Whitethread, who desired that all the money should be spent on the others.