Post by Diarist on Aug 3, 2016 6:15:47 GMT 1
At around 8:30 pm we arrived at the Army and Navy Club and joined Edward. Shortly later Lord Gort arrived. "You armour types thought you could evade me by having COL van Voorhis give me the report. We are having a working lunch tomorrow either at the HQ or my place. The choice is yours. Not you, Edward. You can have the weekend off."
We decided on Lord Gort's house. Lady Gort is an excellent cook and Lord Gort has excellent Irish whiskey.
"If you don't mind I'd like to join you," Edward offered.
"Why not and bring your ladies."
"Hawker is planning the maiden flight of the Hurricane fighter next week. They are using a Merlin C prototype engine. It just depends on the weather," Edward added.
"That's much earlier than planned. The beginning of a new era for the RAF. Finally a monoplane," I replied.
Lord Gort reminded me that it hasn't been accepted yet.
"Just a formality, Sir. The wind tunnel tests were very satisfactory. They didn't mention a word about it on Tuesday."
"They told me this afternoon when I delivered documents from the Air Ministry. The Board of Directors has decided to build a production line for 1,000 aircraft partially funded with government money, mainly for hiring a larger workforce and training. They've already started building a second prototype with a light alloy monocoque fuselage. Supermarine has sent a couple of engineers to assist."
"Hopefully they will use the new de Havilland variable-pitch propeller on that aircraft," I added.
"Good news but that's enough about work," Lord Gort said. "How are the wedding party arrangements progressing?"
"Very well," Edward and I said in unison. "You'll be receiving the formal invitation during the week. You are all invited to stay at Windsor overnight," Edward continued.
"And it's Dress uniform, gentlemen. I received a letter from Admiral Canaris yesterday. He and Heinz Guderian will be arriving on the Thursday before the party. Apparently Rommel and family died in a car crash while on vacation in Spain. Terrible news. I liked him. I wrote back telling them to bring their Ausgehanzug. Rommel would have looked fantastic with his Pour le Mérite. Can Irvine wear it on his British Army uniform?"
"I'm not sure," Lord Gort replied. "He shouldn't wear it at Windsor though. Too many people would ask too many questions."
"Too true."
Edward mentioned that his father, King George V, is ailing. "He fell from his horse in France on Monday. He's also a heavy smoker and that doesn't help at all."
"I'm sure we all hope that he'll recover fully," I said.
We also talked about next year's Olympic Games in Berlin. Where would the event move to if it were taken away from Germany? The upcoming elections were also a topic. We are hoping for a landslide victory for the Conservatives. Unless something dramatic happened it will probably be the last election before the next war.
Time flew fast because I received a note that Sally had arrived. "Sally's outside. Who wants a lift to Saffron Walden?" George accepted and we said our farewells.
We decided on Lord Gort's house. Lady Gort is an excellent cook and Lord Gort has excellent Irish whiskey.
"If you don't mind I'd like to join you," Edward offered.
"Why not and bring your ladies."
"Hawker is planning the maiden flight of the Hurricane fighter next week. They are using a Merlin C prototype engine. It just depends on the weather," Edward added.
"That's much earlier than planned. The beginning of a new era for the RAF. Finally a monoplane," I replied.
Lord Gort reminded me that it hasn't been accepted yet.
"Just a formality, Sir. The wind tunnel tests were very satisfactory. They didn't mention a word about it on Tuesday."
"They told me this afternoon when I delivered documents from the Air Ministry. The Board of Directors has decided to build a production line for 1,000 aircraft partially funded with government money, mainly for hiring a larger workforce and training. They've already started building a second prototype with a light alloy monocoque fuselage. Supermarine has sent a couple of engineers to assist."
"Hopefully they will use the new de Havilland variable-pitch propeller on that aircraft," I added.
"Good news but that's enough about work," Lord Gort said. "How are the wedding party arrangements progressing?"
"Very well," Edward and I said in unison. "You'll be receiving the formal invitation during the week. You are all invited to stay at Windsor overnight," Edward continued.
"And it's Dress uniform, gentlemen. I received a letter from Admiral Canaris yesterday. He and Heinz Guderian will be arriving on the Thursday before the party. Apparently Rommel and family died in a car crash while on vacation in Spain. Terrible news. I liked him. I wrote back telling them to bring their Ausgehanzug. Rommel would have looked fantastic with his Pour le Mérite. Can Irvine wear it on his British Army uniform?"
"I'm not sure," Lord Gort replied. "He shouldn't wear it at Windsor though. Too many people would ask too many questions."
"Too true."
Edward mentioned that his father, King George V, is ailing. "He fell from his horse in France on Monday. He's also a heavy smoker and that doesn't help at all."
"I'm sure we all hope that he'll recover fully," I said.
We also talked about next year's Olympic Games in Berlin. Where would the event move to if it were taken away from Germany? The upcoming elections were also a topic. We are hoping for a landslide victory for the Conservatives. Unless something dramatic happened it will probably be the last election before the next war.
Time flew fast because I received a note that Sally had arrived. "Sally's outside. Who wants a lift to Saffron Walden?" George accepted and we said our farewells.