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Chap. V.] Royal Visitors. 57
Cavendish, Mr. R. Cavendish, Mrs. Cavendish, Mrs. G. F. Chambers, Dr. Greame, Lady Gooch, Miss Brodie, Rev. H. R. Whelpton, Miss Pitman, Miss Emily Pitman, Lady Louisa Egerton and 2 ladies whom I cannot identify or remember. There were some half-a-dozen others present who are not included in the photograph, amongst them Lord Hartington and myself. I was engaged in talking over with him a difficulty which it was not easy to deal with, owing to shortness of the time available. The Prince and Princess were to be driven back to the station to catch the 5.30 train by the shortest route, which would have been by Grove Road, but this would have deprived the Old Town people of a sight of our future King and Queen, and would have wasted the triumphal arch erected in High Street. The matter was settled by the tea part of the business being curtailed by 10 minutes. It was supposed at the time that the gentleman who was looking forward to become the first Mayor of East-Bourne desired to utilise this first Royal Visit for election purposes, and a local satirist published a rather amusing pictorial skit entitled " What will they do with him ? " and the sequel was published under the title of " What they did with him." The former is too long to quote here, and without the pictures, the points of it would be lost. The latter document was not illustrated. I never heard who wrote these squibs, but I believe the authorship was ascribed to a certain Solicitor's Clerk.
On July 19, 1889, the Duchess of Albany came to East-Bourne to lay the foundation stone of the All Saints' Children's Hospital at Meads. It was (locally) a children's affair, the presentations being of flowers cast at her feet, and not the customary purses.
On Saturday, June 20, 1891, the Prince and Princess of Wales and 2 daughters came to open the Children's Hospital just mentioned. They stayed at Compton Place till the following Monday. The visit was more or less a private one, and had no public features except the presentation at the Railway Station of an address from the Town Council. The Princesses attended service on |
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