Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 28]
-27-
I accepted an invitation the next evening to a drawing room meeting, convened by the National Imperial Association, at Earl's Court, and at the conclusion of the speeches, in answer to a request from the Chairwoman I gave a short account of the effect of the womans vote in Australia. The Hostess expressed her pleasure at meeting for the first time an Australian woman, though she has, she said, some two years before met a young officer, who had been wounded at Lone Pine, and whose name was Lieutenant Cecil H. James. She was naturally more than surprised when I claimed him as my son, and her daughter added further that at Folkestone, lunching with a British Officer, he remembered that he had only met one Australian, proceeded to describe his wound and circumstances and found that their mutual 'one' was the same - truly a very small world.
On August 4th in the Queen's Hall there was a huge meeting in recognition of the War's Anniversary, and Mr. Lloyd George was the principal speaker. By courtesy of Mrs. Lloyd George I had the privilege of an excellent seat, and it was a memorable day. I had expected to hear a more declamatory nature and was quite unprepared for the quiet yet forceful and telling way that the Prime Minister spoke. In accentuating a point instead of raising his voice he lowered it, and when he referred to the aims of the Enemies, and what would happen in the future if they were undefeated he said "But there must be no next time." And in that vast audience you could have heard a pin drop. At the conclusion of his speech there was the greatest enthusiasm, the whole audience rose and cheered, and I wondered whether the time would come when that popularity would wane.
On the Sunday following I had a reserved seat at Westminister Abbey for the War Anniversary, and was quite close to where sat King George and Princess Mary.
In the afternoon I met a number of officers at Lady Harrowby's. She was always at home on Sunday afternoons, and one could always be sure of meeting friends there. Having heard that a nurse I had previously met was ill, I went to see her at the Australian Nurse's Hospital in Southwell Gardens. It had only recently been opened by Mrs. T.S. Hall of Mount Morgan fame, and proved the greatest boon, for until