More Royalty At Milford

A Memory of Milford.

Further to Mr. Mike Taylor's story about being taken to see HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother passing through Milford on her way to King Edward's School at Witley. I was a pupil at King Edward's during the time of her visit, and whereas Mr. Taylor's story implies there may have been a number of visits by Her Majesty, I only recall the one, which I believe to have been in 1956. Mr. Gordon Humphries MA was the Headmaster at the time, and it was the only occasion upon which we pupils had seen him at all flustered. HM had lunch with us in the dining hall, and the two things that stick in my mind about the day was meeting this tiny, smiling lady, and that we had something called 'vol au vents' for lunch. These latter were considered by us to be a complete denial of the human child's right to a square meal! To this day I find it difficult to picture royalty eating without envisioning their plates being full of little crusty puddles of French goo. (Stop Press! Mike's story refers to the year 1962, and as I had left school by then, I suppose it means my memory does in fact refer to an earlier Royal Visit.)