Continuing John Mathews' travel diary..........
THE DIARY - London to Cardiff
Wednesday, May 11th 1955
London, Churchill Gardens, Lords, Tower
We had our breakfast rather early, and when Alan True arrived we left and caught a 24 bus to Victoria Station. Catching the Tube to Regent's Park we walked down Marylebone Street to Madame Tussauds. However it was 3/- to go in, and they did not open till 10.00 a.m. and as that was an hour ahead we decided to wander off to the Zoo.
Through Regent's Park we went, and there were some very beautiful lawns and flowers there. At one of the Zoo entrances we asked the admission, and it was 2/6 for Bill so we did not go in. Around the other side of the Zoo we saw an old decorated Gothic church which had been hit by an incendiary bomb. There was a box at the gate for the restoration fund. We walked around and looked at it and then went back across the road to one of the Zoo gates and Bill and I got in for 1/3 but Alan paid 2/6. He bought a bag of monkey nuts for Bill and myself to share.
We saw the beautiful pheasants, fowls, and other birds. Then the mammals - huskies, leopards, jackals, wolves, and many others. We were in a hurry so off we went to the giraffes and hippopotami, and then to the reptile house. In it there was a tiny cobra who struck at us through the glass. Ugh! After a glimpse at the chimps and a huge gorilla, who put his hand through the bars for peanuts, we hurried off in the general direction of Lord's.
Before we reached Prince Albert Road we walked past a well-equipped athletic field which may have belonged to some school or other. We hurried along Prince Albert Road, and broke into a run for the last quarter-mile to the Grace Gates at Lord's. As we were a bit late we were shown into the Long Room to join the rest of the Contingent there. There was no mail for me. In the Long Room were old paintings and trophies of the history of cricket.
Then we were taken up to the roof of the pavilion by a stairway with old photos and drawings or newspaper cuttings on the walls about. There was a portrait of Sir Donald Bradman. On the roof we could see the ground stretched out in front of us, and it looked like a square with rounded corners. There was a large pastel green sightboard at one end, but none in front of the pavilion.
Then we went to the Museum. Here are the most famous relics of cricket history. The Ashes - in a tiny urn, with a small bag to carry it - are in a small glass case. Round the walls are original paintings. All the famous cricket clubs have presented oils of their grounds in the past few years. A large portrait of W.G. Grace occupied a large section of the wall, along with other old paintings. A large case holds a display of the evolution of the cricket bat from curved bats like hockey sticks to the bat used by A.E. Trott to hit a six over the Lord's pavilion. In a tiny glass case lies a stuffed sparrow and the ball which hit him and killed him.
Many of the county caps and badges were displayed, as well as those of England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa. All the recent teams touring England had autographed bone china plates in gold and they were on display. Downstairs were two cases commemorating the bicentenary of Thomas Lord, founder of Lord's. A simple stone states that the Museum is in memory of the cricketers of all countries who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
Then we went to our seats and were issued with our lunches. The match between Essex and Middlesex began quietly. Middlesex lost an opener after 50 minutes, and Edrich came in. He was very dull, but just before lunch he livened up a bit.
Bill Moore, Kerry Rogers, Ern Tuck and myself set off for St. John's Wood Station. We decided to have a race by different Underground routes to Tower Hill. I set off to go via Baker Street but I got lost there, so I went via Charing Cross. I got out at Tower Hill and found Bill there, and the other two arrived a few minutes after.
We went through the Tower gates with the Scots Guards on, and saw the Bloody Tower, where the Princes were murdered, Traitor's Gate, the Execution place. One of the guides gave us the clue to the fates of the wives of Henry VIII:
"Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived."
We saw the Hospital Block, which housed wounded from the Crimean War, and later Nazi POWs. The Chapel is very old, and many of the famous people beheaded on Tower Hill are buried there. We managed to get into the White Tower (or Keep) for sixpence. Inside are all the famous weapons of olden times. Bills, rapiers, swords, claymores, crossbows, flint lock muskets, pistols, cannon, and the more modern rifles, are all there. As well as famous uniforms there are hundreds of suits of armour, from a suit made for a dwarf three feet high to one for a man six feet ten and a half inches tall. We saw one suit of Henry VIII's which he used for tournaments.
The Chapel in the Tower was finished about 1080 and has not been touched since, and the stonework is superbly new looking. Down in the dungeons are all the old cannons, and most are with examples of the shot used in them. In the Bloody Tower we saw the room where Sir Walter Raleigh wrote his History of the World and where one man was poisoned after the poisoners had used their 24th different poison on him.
Another sixpence took us in to see the Crown Jewels. The shimmering of jewels and the gleaming of the gold cannot adequately be described. Many of the fabulous jewels of history are in the Crown Jewels - the Kohinoor and Cullinan Diamonds, The Star of Africa, and the Black Prince's Ruby are but a few of many. We had a very interesting talk with one of the Beefeaters who said that the Jewel House was as strong as ever it was.
Then Bill and I walked up and across Tower Bridge and looked down into the Pool of London. On our way back to Tower Hill Station we talked to another Beefeater about - cricket! On the platform at Tower Hill I jumped on the wrong train and went right around the Circle Line to Victoria, but Bill only beat me home by about five or ten minutes.
After a bit of tea Mr. Harris took us off to the Tower once more, to see the Keys Ceremony, which has been going on for 700 years. There were tickets for only 17 boys and we were lucky. The watchman yeoman was our guide, and he had a dry wit - he described Henry VIII as "a family man".
The Keys Ceremony consists of the Chief Warder with his escort locking up the Tower Gates and being challenged by the sentries. It is all so simple, yet so full of history and pageantry. After locking the gates the warder and escort are lighted along by a lamp with a penny candle in it.
The guard: Who comes there?
Warder: The keys!
The guard: Queen Elizabeth II's keys? Pass keys. All is well.
Then the Warder says, "God preserve Queen Elizabeth", with all the guards shouting "amen". With the playing of the Last Post the ceremony was over.
Mr. Harris took us round the back of the Tower and we saw where the bomb damage had been repaired. After a walk we caught a bus which took us through most of London - Fleet Street, Strand, Trafalgar Square - to Victoria Station. Here we alighted and walked home, only too glad to go to bed.
John reported on the Tower for the Young Sun:
Famous and infamous - the Tower of London is both.
On the bank of the Thames, in the very heart of London, it has watched 900 years of history go by. The oldest part is the White Tower, or Keep, built in the reign of William I.
Sun boys saw rooms in which many of the characters from England's chequered history have lived.
Henry VIII, the great "family" man of history, added King's House.
From the windows Lady Jane Grey saw her husband's headless body dragged away in a cart. Soon afterwards she, too, was led out and beheaded on Tower Green.
The Tower has certainly been cruel.
The Bloody Tower is said to have earned its name from the murder of the boy King Edward and his brother, the Duke of York.
Sir Walter Raleigh wrote his history of the world while boarded in the Bloody Tower and, from it, he and other famous figures walked to execution on Tower Hill.
"Boarded in the Tower" is literally true, because "guests" had to pay rent while being kept there. The charge for earls and dukes wes twenty pounds a year, but knights paid only about five pounds.
The Tower has many historic treasures, the most famous of which are the Crown Jewels.
There is also a museum showing uniforms, weapons, and armour from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century. This includes Henry VIII's suit of armour, as well as a gigantic suit to fit a man six feet ten and a half inches tall.
Thursday, May 12th 1955
London
We woke up feeling very tired but we had to get up to go to our assembly point at Charing Cross. After breakfast we collected Alan True and went off for a 24 bus. We saw one standing outside the George IV and had to run to catch it. Alighting at Victoria Station we caught the Underground to Charing Cross where we walked across the road to join the other boys already there. To our surprise Mr. Harris was sitting on his bicycle waiting for us.
After a few minutes we moved down from the Embankment into a motor launch which was to take us down river to Shell Haven. We found our seats, and as the boat started we went past Cleopatra's Needle, a black column decorated with incised carving, standing on the Embankment. On the port side we passed the Royal Festival Hall, which was left from the 1951 Festival of Britain.
All the way down the river there was always something interesting to see. Many power stations - Dagenham, Deptford, Greenwich, and many others. Two of the four chimney stacks are cut short at Greenwich so as not to block the view of the astronomers at Greenwich Observatory, which is near the Royal Naval College.
We passed over the spot where the Blackwall Tunnel goes underneath the Thames. At Beckton were the largest gasworks in Britain, and it smelt like it too. Docks and warehouses spread right along the river, and we passed Victoria and Albert Docks with their hundreds of large cranes pointing skywards. At Dagenham there are the Ford Works. There were quite a few jet aircraft in the sky, and their vapour trails stretched for miles. We had a lunch on board in two sittings, and we passed the entrance to Tilbury Docks while I was still eating. Coal and oil ships are specially built, and some of them can go right up the river under all the bridges to feed the power stations.
Soon after lunch we arrived at Shell Haven and after a quarter hour mucking about we were able to get ashore. We boarded three luxurious buses and went to the site of a bad fire and explosion six weeks previous to our visit. Three large tanks were a total loss and many others were out of use. The explosion was caused by static electricity generated by the friction between globules of salt water and oil when the tank was being washed out. It was only by the bravery of the chief engineer, who went into the fire in an asbestos suit to turn off a tap which was letting oil out all over the place, that the fire did not spread over the whole refinery. Two other men displayed great bravery by spraying him with water to keep him cool.
Back in the buses we did not stop on the west side of the refinery but went over to the more modern east side. First our section went to the pumping plant which obtains water from the Thames for cooling. Often fish are obtained on the wire filters, and the crew on the plant have shrimps for tea quite a lot.
Next we went to see the crude distillation plant, and it was very hot, noisy, and dusty. In the control room it was better, and we were very interested to see the automatic graphing by instruments of every section of every phase of the refining. The May target for the refinery was 270,000 tons of oil. One storage tank holds 8000 gallons of crude oil. We also saw the naphtha cracking plant, where the naphtha is turned into more useful products by the use of great heat and pressure.
Our guide took us to the staff place to clean up, and here we saw examples of their products in tiny glass bowls. Then we went to the cafe where we had a lovely tea. Mr. Jones, the manager of the refinery, welcomed us, and Mr. Johnstone and Kerry Rogers replied on our behalf. We were each paid one pound. Leaving the refinery, a last photo was taken of us under the refinery sign board.
Our trip back to London was through the country for part of the way, but we soon were in closely settled areas. Much of the journey was over the same ground as our trip in from Tilbury on the previous Monday. Back in the Mission I waited for Bill to arrive in the other bus, and I raced him in the bus back to the flats and just beat him.
Mr. Harris told us that he had booked seats for the Victoria Palace that night with the Crazy Gang, Nervo and Knox, Bud Flanagan, Naughton, and Gold. At 8.30 we were perched in the gallery eagerly awaiting the start of the show. It was beaut - slapstick, quick-fire jokes, satires - and during the chorus-girl acts there was a premium on my binoculars. We enjoyed ourselves very much and talked about it all the way home.
We were very tired and went straight off to sleep.
Friday, May 13th 1955
London
Mr. Harris did not wake us up until 9.00 a.m. and we ate our breakfast alone as the Harrises went off to work. Alan True came up and showed us the films he had had developed, and we did not get dressed until 11.30. I was busy writing most of the morning, but at 12.00 we had to go off to Berkeley Street, to assemble for our trip to Hampton Court Palace.
We arrived there at 12.30 p.m. and caught two buses. We had a very interesting drive - past Hyde Park Corner, with its statue of Wellington; and Apsley House, the home of Wellington and now a Museum. The bus sped us past Chelsea, Fulham and Kingston. We saw Fulham Palace, the home of the Bishop of London, as we went over Putney Bridge.
The long wall we passed for a mile or so hid the Richmond Park - an area of 5,000 acres. Through Bushy Park we saw several herds of deer. We went past Hampton Court and then went to a hotel to have dinner. Someone in that particular hotel was obviously an ardent collector of crockery, for the saucers bore brands from many parts. Some were from Queensland and some were branded A.I.F. The dinner was nice although there was not very much of it.
After our meal we went to the Palace, and through the main gates. The buildings made a nice sight with their red brick relieved by cream. We passed over the bridge with the lawned-in moat, and into the Base Court. Ahead of us was Anne Boleyn's gateway with the famous clock on the back of it. We went into Cardinal Wolsey's rooms and saw the beautiful panelling. Then through a succession of large rooms full of paintings, and with the cherubs on the ceiling, which formed the King's Suite.
On the inside was the enclosed Fountain Court. We came on to the Queen's Chambers, full of beautiful paintings and furniture. The Chapel Royal was vaulted in Tudor style but had been added to much later in history. We saw the fine Great Hall with all the coats of arms on the stained glass windows.
Eventually we arrived in the gardens, and only colour film could have done justice to the lovely garden. Most of us paid tuppence to see the grape vine, which is several hundred years old and kept in a large glasshouse. Threepence took us into the Maze and we had quite a bit of fun, although it was not really difficult to find a way out of it.
Then we caught our buses back to Wyndham Ashley Mission, and I tried to race Bill on a 24 bus home, but he just beat me.
That night I wrote furiously and did a report on "Daily Pageantry in London" for the Young Sun.
Saturday, May 14th 1955
London
In the morning I decided I would go to the Tate Gallery. Bill said he wouldn't come, but when I persuaded Alan True to come Bill said he would come. I walked and was there by 10.00 a.m., well before Bill and Alan arrived after catching a bus.
In the first gallery we went into I saw a few paintings of French 19th Century. Before I knew what was happening I had spent 40 minutes in there, and I decided to go in search of the only other example of Daumier's work there. The one I had seen in the first gallery was Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Down in gallery 34 I found Portrait of an Old Man. These works offered a great contrast in type. Both Bill and Alan had seen enough so we left to get back to the flat in time for an early lunch with Mr. Harris.
We almost took Alan off with us on our tour of the city, but his hosts arrived just as we were leaving. We walked via Victoria to Buckingham Palace where I photographed the memorial to Queen Victoria. Mr. Harris was going to take a photo of me standing next to one of the sentries, but the bobby chased me away.
We went down The Mall a little way and passed Clarence House, the home of the Queen Mother, and went to St. James's Palace. Here there were no sentries, so Mr. Harris was able to do his stuff. Up Pall Mall a little way and we turned up a little street with statues of Scott and Franklin; and Duke of York steps with a large column surmounted by that soldier of "10,000 men" fame.
Across The Mall again, and we photographed it looking towards the Palace. Near the Horse Guards parade ground we saw the memorial to the guards regiments for World War I. It consists of a simple wall with statues of five guardsmen from the different regiments. The Coldstream motto is "Second to None", so they always go first or last. On the monument the Coldstream was last. The parade ground was being prepared for the Trooping of the Colour on the Queen's birthday by the erection of stands. Mr. Harris explained the procedure to us. We saw the backs of the War Office and the Admiralty as we crossed the square.
Mr. Harris and I took photos of the Horse Guards who were on, and then we went on down Whitehall past the Cenotaph. We walked up Downing Street, and joined the crowd gaping outside Number 10. As we were in a hurry we went across the street to Westminster Palace with Big Ben towering above us. Past the statue of Coeur de Lion and into the Houses of Parliament. We saw the Queen's robing room and the House of Lords, which is a very imposing place with much gilt and red plush seats.
Between the Lords and Commons are large paintings dealing with the Civil War. The House of Commons was bombed out during the War and it was rebuilt with woods etc. from all over the Empire. In one of the foyers were statues of all the famous statesmen - Hampden, Pitt, Burke, Fox and others.
Down into Westminster Hall where the body of King George lay in state. In the crypt is a simple but very beautiful non-denominational chapel. When we left the Hall it was raining, but we went across to Westminster Abbey.
Through the main door we stopped to see the throne, which houses the Stone of Scone with a mighty two-handed sword nearby. Close by, with people standing reverently about it, was the grave of the Unknown Warrior, upon which no foot has ever trodden. It is a simple slab of black marble let into the floor with a touching inscription on it, and surrounded by red poppies.
We wandered around the Abbey, still beautiful and dignified in its coat of dirt and with its slight damage. A fund for one million pounds is out to clean and restore the building. Tombs and plaques are on all the walls and set into the floor. Such famous people as Newton and other scientists are commemorated.
We paid sixpence to get into the Royal Chapel with its tombs of many kings and queens. The Chapel of Henry VII was really lovely. It had an RAF Chapel in the end of it to the memory of the boys from the Battle of Britain.
Leaving the Abbey at last we walked over the road and caught a bus to St. Paul's Cathedral. This lovely example of English Baroque architecture was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Just through the front door we saw some regimental colours of the Coldstream Guards. Bill wanted to go up to the Whispering Gallery up inside the dome but as they were cleaning the Cathedral for a service he could not.
We could not go down into the crypt either. We saw the reconstruction work going on in the east end where the bomb hit during the War. There was a scale model in one of the aisles showing what the completed work will eventually look like. After seeing other Guards' colours which had gone through the Crimean War we passed the tomb of the Duke of Wellington, and then came to the one of Lord Kitchener.
When we left the Cathedral we walked through Cheapside, looking for all the bombed sites, until we came to Bow Church. This famous building is now closed because of bomb damage.
Eventually we came to the Guildhall, which through the Great Fire of 1666 and the blitz of 1940 still has the same walls and porch as when it was first built in 1411 to 1440. We went into part of the Art Gallery and saw the fire signs which used to be nailed on buildings. Further on was a model of the Lord Mayor's State Barge and a Stagecoach.
Through much of the seventeen hundreds and into the eighteen hundreds there were no government fire brigades, and insurance companies had their own brigades - with the mission to extinguish fires in company-insured properties only. Client buildings were identifiable by the metal plaques ("fire insurance marks") affixed to their facades. This unworkable system lapsed with the emergence of municipal fire brigades; and the insurance marks became collectors' items.
Several large paintings were displayed. One was of the presentation to the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, of the Freedom of the City. The other was a really beautifully done painting, The Ninth of November, showing one of the Lord Mayor's Processions, by William Logsdail 1888. It was so meticulously done that the figures in the front almost walked right out of the frame!!
We turned back when we came to the Museum (which was closed) and the Library. We went into the main hall, with the shields of all the Livery Companies around the wall up near the roof. A very kind guide talked to us and told us about the Guildhall, and he ended up by giving each of us a guide book to London. We thanked the man very much and then walked around the Hall, seeing one of the original 15th Century windows still intact, and the raised platform where the Court of Common Council sits and where the Hustings Court used to sit.
When we left the Guildhall we eventually caught a bus back to Victoria and walked a new way back home. After tea Mr. and Mrs. Harris took us to the fun-fair in the Battersea Park. There was a jet plane machine, dodgem cars, speed boats, slides, knock the lady out of bed, and many shooting galleries and other cartoons. Bill and I were shouted on quite a few things but I was feeling lousy and only spent one-and-sixpence of my own money.
Bill and I stayed behind and then we raced home to the flat. We went down to Mrs. Mackie's flat to watch television for about half an hour and were quite ready for sleep when we got to bed.
Sunday, May 15th 1955
London
My birthday.
Bill and I were very late getting up. At breakfast there was a card to wish me a happy birthday from the Harrises.
By about 10.00 a.m. Bill, myself, Janet, and Mr. Harris left to go to Buckingham Place. When we arrived there the Changing of the Guard was in progress and a large crowd was gathered. I managed to get a photo over the top of the crowd. When the old guard marched out I was standing on the wall of the Queen Victoria Monument and took a few pretty good photos
Walking up to St. James's Park Station we caught the Underground to Tower Hill. Outside the station we met two young ladies and one elderly lady from Australia. One of them, Ethel Ham, knew Stuart Melville, and she and the other girl, Beverley, lived in Brighton and Gardenvale.
I wanted to buy a souvenir of the Tower but it was not open to the public. So we walked along the side of the river and Mr.Harris took our photos standing next to a beefeater.
Mr. Harris offered to take the ladies with us to Petticoat Lane, and after a walk on the Tower Bridge we started to walk to it. As we walked along we had a very interesting conversation with the girls. Soon we were at Petticoat Lane. Stalls stood along with people surging all about them selling things from preserved eels to used clothing.
Loud-voiced men stood on boxes offering "genuine china plaques" for sale. Spivs stood by boxes, with tiny statues of Winston Churchill smoking a cigar. Tables of gaudy ties for 2/6, cast off clothing, costermongers' barrows, and 101 other odds and ends of stalls with people behind occupied all the gutters.
We pushed our way through the crowds. I had my blazer buttoned up and clutched my camera tightly. Beverley and Ethel shouted us all an ice-cream. Bill thought he saw grapes at ninepence a pound but when he went to buy some he saw the "half" written under the label. One of the ladies bought Janet a large Zeppelin balloon.
We caught a bus at last back to Victoria where we said good-bye to our new friends. As it was almost 1.30 we caught a 24 bus back to the flat, where Mrs. Harris had a delicious roast dinner ready for us. Bill did not do the meal justice and Mrs. Harris teased him quite a lot about his poor appetite.
After dinner I stayed home and finished my letter to Mum, wrote up my diary. and did a report on the City of London for the Young Sun.
Bill and Alan returned from the Science Museum just in time for a birthday tea Mrs. Harris had for me. After tea we walked to Victoria. Caught a bus to Albert Hall, saw the Albert Memorial, and walked through Kensington Gardens (saw Peter Pan's statue) to Orators' Corner in Hyde Park. We heard Socialists, Mormons, black men, and many others.
Monday, May 16th 1955
London
We could not sleep in because we had to be at the Mission by 8.45 a.m., so Mr. Harris woke us up about 7.00 a.m. Arriving at the Mission on time, we caught two buses which were to take us to Ferryfield Airport as guests of P. & O. S. N. C. After a few anxious moments I got three letters, and I missed the first part of the bus journey while reading them.
Our buses took us in a south-east direction and we passed through many suburbs and towns. By about Framingham the driver speeded up and we were soon whizzing along beside green fields, crops, and meadows, with sheep and lambs frisking about. On one green hillside a huge cross had been dug into the white soil and it drew attention from far off.
After a trip up near the control tower, where we took some photographs, we went into the airport restaurant for our lunch. When lunch was finished a few photos were taken of us, and then we re-embarked on our buses to go to Greenwich Maritime Museum.
We went by almost the same route as we had come out from London but we did not arrive at the Museum until about 4.30. A guide took us round, but he wasted a lot of time telling us facts which although they were interesting stopped us from seeing quite a few of the exhibits.
We saw the famous Chatham Chest, and the guide told us about the road which used to run right through the middle of Queen's House.
Over the other side of the lawns and a road was the Royal Naval College. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and the ceiling of the chapel is painted beautifully. The colonnade we walked down was where the old road used to run, and we passed the spot where Sir Walter Raleigh laid down his cloak for Queen Elizabeth.
In the Caird Galleries we saw the relics of Nelson, his uniforms, and his souvenirs. We looked in awe at the uniform which Nelson wore when he was shot at Trafalgar.
A man called Harrison tried very hard during the 17th or 18th Century to make a chronometer to keep accurate time for navigation at sea. His first three attempts were large affairs, but on his fourth try he made a small one, and won a 20,000 pounds prize. But the Admiralty tried to diddle him by paying him in instalments.
The remarkable story of John Harrison, inventor of the ship's chronometer - thus facilitating the calculation of longitude while at sea - and his double-crossing by the British Admiralty, is entertainingly told by Dava Sobel in her 1995 book "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time". And recounted in 2000 in the four-part British television series "Longitude", starring Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons.
We were all very interested in a gallery which held a portrait of Lady Hamilton. I tried to take a time exposure of it. After that we just had time to dash around Neptune's Hall. There were all sorts of ships and trophies there - from ship's bells to a model of the Battle of Trafalgar showing all the ships just after the fight became a free for all. There was the shining Miss Britain racing boat - the first all metal craft of its type in the world. A model of Hitler's yacht was only a few feet from the state barge of George III.
We left the Museum each with a copy of Business in Great Waters, courtesy P. & O. S. N. C. We arrived home for tea and watched USA vs. Scotland boxing on television.
"Business in Great Waters: the War History of the P. & O. 1939-1945" by George F. Kerr. "The story of the world's greatest merchant fleet caught up in the swirl of war."
Tuesday, May 17th 1955
London
Because we had to be at the Mission by 8.45 we were very tired when we rose after a late night. However, we managed to be there at the required time and we boarded two buses. These buses set off by a very circuitous route to take us to the Royal Mint. They took us over the other side of the River and back again.
When we arrived at the Mint we were split up into groups of six and told not to touch anything while we were being shown around by Mint employees. We went first to the part where coins were put in boxes ready for dispatch all over the world - as the Royal Mint makes coins for many countries. There were also boxes of old coins to be melted down.
Our guide told us that modern coins contain no silver because of its exorbitant price, and that "silver" coins are made of cuprum nickel. He also said that quite a few Australian coins are made at the Royal Mint. In the first room we went into we saw the bars of cuprum nickel and brass which would soon be turned into coins. After several rollings in presses the bars are turned into long strips of the required thickness for the different coins.
Special machines stamp out the "blanks", as they are called, from these strips. The waste and rejects, which fall through a small sieve, are of course sent back to be re-melted. The blanks, as they are now, are of course very brittle, and they are fed into a drum at one end of an annealing machine and they spew forth from the other end, red hot, into a bucket of water.
Next they are bathed in acid to clean them, and sprayed with water to remove the acid. Special drying drums are used to completely dry the coins before they are sent to the machines for stamping on the rim. Of course after all this the blanks have to be checked carefully for rejects. They have to be a standard weight, and from the time they are stamped from the strips - which are accurate in their thickness to within .001" - to when they are completed, they must not gain or lose any weight.
The blanks are fed into a machine which reduces their diameter by a minute fraction of an inch, and adds a rim to the edge. The machine which finally completes the coin stamps on the faces and gives it the milled edge all in the same operation. The presses making sixpences crash their dies down at 60 tons weight, and the 2/6 coins at about 100 tons. These machines turn out coins at a tremendous rate.
We were very interested in all the various processes, of course. Some of the boys managed to souvenir some blanks as their guides said it was "all right if they didn't see them taken".
We waited in the passage for quite a while. When we eventually left there we walked to where our buses were parked near the Tower, and they took us to nearby Williamson's Bow Bells Tavern, tucked away up a tiny street. We had our lunch there and it was a really delicious meal. The organiser of our tour, from the National Bank, made a speech, and Mr. Hutchinson responded.
Our buses took us to the Bank of England. The Bank originally was only a small building but has expanded gradually, and now occupies the whole block between Lothbury, Bartholomew Lane, Threadneedle Street, and Princes Street. It is surrounded by a windowless wall which originally was part of the first bank buildings prior to the new construction 1928-1939.
When we went in we were shown around in groups. We saw the ante-chamber to the Court Room, which houses large mural paintings. The Court Room [where meetings of the Court of Directors are held] is in exactly the same detail. The columns are only for show and are therefore hollow. There are cameos of heads of sovereigns of England from William and Mary until Victoria. There is also a weather vane clock, and a clock 200 years old.
We went down in the lift to the sub-vault, or lowest floor. Here we saw the engine room where the power, heat and water for the whole of the Bank is supplied. Pumps bring water from artesian wells and an elaborate ventilation system has its intake up on the roof - where we went next. We looked round the famous London skyline and down into the inner garden, where we later went before leaving to go back to the Mission.
Here we were all paid for the next five days and I claimed an extra 10/- from my trust account. I was quite ready for bed after writing my diary up.
The pre-departure instructions to the parents of the Travellers included a limitation on spending money. That limit, the sum of thirty Australian pounds, was held by Tour management in trust, and distributed to the lads from time to time. Any cash held on person at the time of embarkation was collected, and treated likewise.....so that no lad would have unequal spending capacity on board ship.
Wednesday, May 18th 1955
London
Mrs. Harris let us sleep in and she did not call us until she was leaving for work about 9.00. I got up, and Alan True arrived while I was eating my breakfast. We all decided to go off and see Madame Tussaud's because the money position was going pretty well.
We arrived there about 10.30 after picking up John Read on the way. It was 3/- to go in and a further 1/- to buy a book to know who we were looking at. But it was very good and we enjoyed it very much. We saw three Australians there: Mr. R.G. Menzies, an Australian V.C., and Sir Donald Bradman. Those of Mr. Menzies and Don Bradman were not good likenesses.
After we had seen all the rest we paid another ninepence to see the Chamber of Horrors. All the murderers of history seemed to be assembled there. Grisly relics from the French Revolution, and death masks of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Madame Tussaud must have been a very morbid person.
After a quick browse through a penny arcade we left and caught a train at Regents Park Station back to Victoria. Bill was due to meet Val Noone at 1.30 so we hurried back to the flat, bought some fish and chips on the way, and had a hurried lunch. Bill hurried off, and after a few minutes I went out too.
I caught a bus to Victoria Station and walked to Scout Headquarters, and I went to see Peter Cook about tickets for Boy Scout. When I had finished there I went back to Victoria and caught the train to Charing Cross. I walked to Trafalgar Square and said "hello" to the pigeons and Nelson's Column.
Then I went into the National Gallery and tried to hunt up some of El Greco's work. I found two very interesting ones in Gallery XXXIV. When I left the Gallery I walked to Leicester Square and then up Regent Street to Oxford Street. At last I found a suitable shop and I bought an Indian Weather Prophet for the Harrises.
I arrived back at the flat by 5.00 p.m. and after a bit of a snack Bill and I went off with Mr. Harris to the New Victory Cinema. We arrived about 6.15 and saw most of the feature film, The Ship That Died of Shame; after a short interval we saw I Cover the Underground. Then we waited and saw the first part of The Ship. Both films were very good and we enjoyed them.
When we walked home we bathed and started to pack. We took several hours to pack and were very tired when we finished.
Thursday, May 19th 1955
London to Cardiff
Mrs. Harris woke us up at about 7.00 a.m., and after a nice breakfast we finally fixed our cases, and after saying goodbye and giving Mrs. Harris my little gift I left with Bill and Mr. Harris for the Mission. I had managed to fit all the stuff I needed into one case but it was pretty heavy [the Youth Travellers were kitted with two cases each, plus a large shoulder bag].
We arrived at the Mission on time and hopped into the second bus. We waved to Mr. Harris through the window and soon after our buses moved off.
After a very roundabout run we went through Chelsea and eventually came into less densely populated areas. The River Thames had narrowed down considerably and by the time we were almost in Windsor it was only a fraction of its former self. Windsor Castle was seen in the distance and we passed right through the town and almost under the shadow of its walls. The Royal Standard flying told us that the Queen was in residence.
Soon afterwards we passed through Eton and there was a lot of laughter among us at the boys from the famous school strolling about the streets in their tails and with their hands thrust deep in their pockets.
Just before twelve noon we reached the famous university city of Oxford with all its beautiful old buildings. The buses were parked in a bus park and we walked in our groups to the Cadena Cafe where we had our dinner. Afterwards we were able to stroll around for a few minutes. Many of the people seemed to be professors or something because they wore robes or collars and mortar boards.
The buses moved off before 2.00 p.m. and we were soon speeding along roads between hedges or stone walls with beautiful green fields inside them. At Cheltenham we stopped near a sports ground and got out to have a bit of exercise.
Gloucester - and we passed over the River Severn, a small brown torrent. On our bus journey Max Robinson let off a "stink bomb" and, although it was only mild, Mr. Miller told him off properly. We sang a fair bit, and Mr. Miller got up and said something about "empty vessels make the most noise".
Quaint little villages of stone houses whizzed by and we were soon passing through Newport. A few more moments saw us in Cardiff. It seemed a very prosperous community as we passed down the main street. Later observation told me that the houses seem better, with more and larger gardens, than in London.
At Overseas House we were introduced to our hosts. Trevor Mathers and I were with Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd. We went home in their car and were immediately taken in to watch the television with 7-year old Jonathan. After a fine supper and more viewing we wrote some diary and went to bed.
Illustrations:
# Tower of London postcard
# On the Thames, leaving Victoria Embankment
# Tower of London from the Thames
# Tower Bridge from the Pool of London
# Hampton Court Palace sunken garden
# Hampton Court Palace sunken garden
# Hampton Court Palace sunken garden
# The Tate Gallery "A Brief History and Guide" booklet, 1955
# View from the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral
# Rest stop on way to Ferryfield Airport
# Youth Travel firefighters at Ferryfield Airport
# Car ferry aircraft ready for loading, Ferryfield Airport
# B.O.A.C. Stratocruiser Speedbird postcard
# B.O.A.C. card: "May We Suggest Another Journey?"
# B.O.A.C. Timetable, Western Hemisphere edition 1955
# "Drive thro' Britain" car hire brochure 1955
# "A Concise Guide to The National Maritime Museum Greenwich" booklet 1955
# "The Royal Mint, An Outline History" booklet 1953
# "Madame Tussaud's, Guide and Biographies" booklet 1955
# Trafalgar Square postcard
# "The National Gallery, Plan of the Gallery & Guide Catalogue of the Exhibited Pictures" booklet 1955
# John Mathews' drawing "My Travels in London"
# John Mathews' drawing of the travel route through Great Britain
# "Oxford in Pictures" booklet 1954
To be continued.............
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