大象传媒

At the beginning of 1940 i was evacuated to a very grand house near Winchester.It was a private arrangement and our wartime guardian had been at one time a Financial Secretary to the treasury in Lloyd George's government.I was thirteen years old.

Our mother remained in london and had taken in a lodger Dorothy Blackadder as a wartime expediency.Miss Blackadder as I knew her,was the secretary to the speaker of the House of Commons,Edward Fitzroy.She had promised me a trip to both Houses of Parliament as a treat for my birthday on May 10th.As it was to be such a special occasion,the beginning of teenage,and there had not been air raids on the capital I was allowed to come up to London on the day before.

i was looking forward to the trip very much,not particulary as an educational outing,but to get home again to see my mother,and to have just that little extra attention lavished on me on that special day.my mother had made me a new outfit of a pink dress and navy blue coat with a pink lining to celebrate the occasion and I felt proud and grown-up.

the morning was warm,a glowing mistiness suggested it would get hotter as the day wore on.There was peculiar poignancy in the summer starting early since I knew that overnight the war had taken a turn for the worse.I could tell by my mother's face and the way she kept clicking her tonge against the roof of her mouth..

I was to meet Miss Blackadder outside Sloane Square station.I was happy to be in London again.Overhead the sun rose through the haze shortening the shadows and drying up the last of the moisture left by the shopkeepers in their early efforts to freshen up their fronts.The barrage balloons glinted with silver in the smoky blue of the sky.Then all at once,propped beside the flower seller with her perennial display of violets,primroses,rosebuds and asparagus fern wers the newspaper placards alerting us-BELGIUM,HOLLAND AND LUXEMBURG INVADED- in huge bold letters.The newspaper boy was doing a brisk trade -'Allies answer call for aid- Leopold at head of army',someone read aloud.The battle was beginning.

When i met Miss Blackadder she said the timing of my visit was fortuitous as it was expected to be a very active day in the commons.She took me first to the Speaker's house set along side The Houses Of Parliament.Here she went to her office to pick up her mail and orders for the day.Mr Fitzroy came in briefly and I was introduced as her young friend.I think she must have asked his permission beforehand to bring me along as he did not seem surprised to see me.He was too serious,however to dally and said something to the effect that their would be 'fun and games' this day and that Winston churchill was expected later that morning.The most impressive thing I can remember about the Speaker's house was an enormous stuffed black bear standing on its hind legs in the hall- a fearsome creature about fifteen feet tall.There was also a big Cabinet Room,opening out of the hall,inside which I saw briefly a big round table furnished with blotters and carafes of water surrounded by chairs.

it was still relatively early and miss blackadder said it would give us time to have a look around.From her office we went to Westminster hall which was the oldest building in the complex.It was very large and Medieval in appearance and more or less empty save for a few people walking about.It was cold and darkish.She did relate to me some of it's history which unfortunately I have forgotten.We then moved to The House Of Lords which I found very exciting.Two or three attendants were on hand who I think must have also been briefed about my coming as they seemed ready to take me over.Of course I saw the Woolsack and even sat on it.It was much bigger than I imagined.I was then shown the Robing room lined with big cupboards in which the lord Chancellor,Bishops and peers kept their ceremonial dress.Inside there was ermine and lace,dainty looking pumps on low shelves and wigs hanging on stands.They put a wig on me for fun.Then they brought out the long silver-topped Black rod from its fixture and showed me the patch on the huge wooden door on which it struck three times to gain attention of the Commons.The official who does this is called Black Rod and the door seperates the House of Lords from the Commons.He acts as a messenger to summon the MP's into the chamber of the Lords to hear the Sovereign's speech on the stste opening of parliament.For a few seconds I was allowed to hold the rod myself which is made of ebony.

We then went though this door ourselves, passed panelledand over tiled floors to the vast chamber of the Commons where the elected MP's from all over Britain sit in government.Few had already taken their seats as it was still early.We walked quickly to the other end,past the enormous table on which the dispatch boxes and the Mace are placed,in front of the speakers chair.The speaker was not there,neither was the Mace,signifying that Parliament was not yet in session.Government and opposition sit on differnt sides of the table and the Front Benchers must stand when they are speaking,otherwise their speeches are void.

Again we went behind the scenes.The Mace was being dusted over and the attendant doing this instructed me to put out my arms and he lowered the Mace on to them,never letting go as he knew it was heavy And I might be in danger of dropping it.All my life I have been proud that I once held the great mace of the Commons in my own two arms.We then went upstairs where the press sit and into the Stranger's Gallery from which we had a good view of the Chamber.Here we lingered.More MP's had arrived and Miss Blackadder began to point out some notables.Lloyd George was sitting on the opposition benches aawqay from us.(she told me he had been a famous Prime Minister during the 1st World War),and Lord Halifax the Foreign Secretary.Neville Chamberain the present Prime minister had not yet arrived.There was an air of deep thought and seriousness,everyone in dark suits.
It was getting busy and Miss Blackadder told meshe would have to leave me as she had business to attend to.She took me to the Ladies gallery which was on the same side as the Speaker's chair, high up and where she said I would have a good view of the day's proceedings.There were no other ladies present and she positioned me in a corner and said I would be hardly noticed.The ladies gallery was only for very important ladies and she said Queen Mary sometimes sat here to watch parliament in session and no one knew she was there.I was a bit shy of sitting there all by myself and tried not to be seen.I remember there was a sort of grill over the aperture like a window and a long plush cushion along the bench .The Ladies Gallery isn't there any more because the House O Commons was bombed later in the war and it was not rebuilt as it was originally.

If there was a little ceremony when the Mace is carried in and the Speaker takes up his position on the big chair facing both sides of government,we must have missed it during our excursions as everything was now in position.Mr Fitzroy was in his seatand the day's work had begun.

They started with a discussion of the events of that morning.The tone was serious and veered towards anger.Mr Winston Churchill made his appearance at the far end of the chamber and a small cheer went up.He stood a minute and waved before going to his seat.They spoke about norway and then attention began to be focused on one man - Chamberlain.There were shouts of anger telling him to go.Miss Blackadder told me afterwards that the government and opposition wanted him to resign because they didn't he was a strong enough war leader.It surprised me how MP's could be so offensive to one another and then walk out of the chamber,their arms around each others shoulders apparently the best of friends.

Miss blackadder eventually came to fetch me and stressed that i had witnessed an important chapter in history.Chamberlain would resign and Winston Churchill was most likely to become Prime Minister that evening whent he King would send for him. It was to be him or Lord halifax.

As we came into the daylight to join the crowds beginning to assemble in Parliament Square.There was a green limousine standing on the forecourt with a policeman alongside and a sailor as a chauffer.'That's Winston Churchills car',said Miss Blackadder.'He is First Lord Of The Admiralty,that's why he has a sailor to drive him'.

I have often wondered if any of the press in The Commons that auspicious day had taken any photographs and,by chance,there might be one revealing a smallish girl sitting in the corner of The Ladies Gallery trying not to be seen.

The next day I went back to school in Winchester.The war had really begun.The Battle of Britain started not long after and my mother had a new and rather mysterious lodger.As a result she found herself involved with the Secret Service,and later on I had a passionate love affair with an espionage agent - but all that is another story!.

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