[Transcriber's note: This book is an account by a British journalist ofthe cross-Canada tour, by train, in 1919, of Edward VIII, BritishPrince of Wales. In 1936, Edward abdicated from the British throne tomarry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.]
H. R. H. THE PRINCE OF WALES
WESTWARD WITH
THE PRINCE OF WALES
BY
W. DOUGLAS NEWTON
AUTHORIZED CORRESPONDENT IN AMERICA WITH
H. R. H. THE PRINCE OF WALES
AUTHOR OF "GREEN LADIES," "THE WAR CACHE," ETC.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK LONDON
1920
COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
TO
"A. B."
AND THE CARGO OF "CARNARVON."
PREFACE
It was on Friday, August 1, 1919, that "the damned reporters" and theTimes correspondent's hatbox went on board the light cruiserDauntless at Devonport.
The Dauntless had just arrived from the Baltic to load upcigarettes—at least, that was the first impression. In the Baltic therate of exchange had risen from roubles to packets of Players, and ahandful of cigarettes would buy things that money could not obtain.Into the midst of a ship's company, feverishly accumulating tobacco inthe hope of cornering at least the amber market of the world, wedescended.
Actually, I suppose, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had beenthe first interrupter of the Dauntless' schemes. Lying alongsideDevonport quay to refit—in that way were the cigarettes coveredup—word was sent that the Dauntless with her sister ship, Dragon,was to act as escort to the battle-cruiser Renown when she carriedthe Prince to Canada.
Though he came first we could not expect to be as popular as thePrince, and when, therefore, those on board also learnt that the honourof acting as escort was to be considerably mitigated by a cargo fromFleet Street, they were no doubt justified in naming us "damned."
We did litter them up so. The Dauntless is not merely one of thelatest and fastest of the light cruisers, she is also first among thesmartest. To accommodate us they had to give way to a rash of rivetersfrom the dock-yard who built cabins all over the graceful silhouette.When our telegrams, and ourselves, and our baggage (including theTimes' hatbox) arrived piece by piece, each was merely an addition tothe awful mess on deck our coming had meant.
Actually we could not help ourselves. Dock strikes, ship shortage andthe holiday season had all conspired to make any attempt to get toCanada in a legitimate way a hopeless task. Only the Admiralty's ideato pre-date the carrying of commercial travellers on Britishbattleships could get us to the W