Page 675 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

673

1931

Sunday 20th December 1931

M and I went off in the morning at eight oclock with Captain Clayton and three of the officers from the ship for a hawking
expedition with the Shaikh. We went first to Sakhrir and found the Shaikh ready to start so got into the cars again and
followed his one down to the plain near Zellag. M stayed in her car and we others got out and walked with the Shaikh who
rode a donkey, we had about six hawks. We walked about five miles but without seeing anything though there were recent
tracks of them. Then we gave it up and got into the cars again and motored to the Shaikh's garden to Seddad, we looked over it
all and admired the bath house with its tiled floors and then started off to go back to Sakhrir, on the way a man stopped us to
say that two bustards had been seen near a garden on the side of the road. We then went across some open country and the
hawks were taken out but for a long time they saw nothing, then, suddenly, the hawk on the Shaikh's wrist began to stare and
show a lot of interest and we saw a bustard about half a mile off down on the shore, he released it and the hawk flew straight
down to the shore like an arrow from a bow and then began flying over the bustards which turned out to be two, every time it
passed them it dipped at them trying to separate them and eventually after about half a dozen attempts it caught one bird, the
other bird got up and flew towards some date gardens, another hawk was let off and made a line on it catching it just as it
reached the cover. It was very well down and a fine example of hawking. One of the bustards was a very big one the other a
smaller bird. The Shaikh was delighted and we motored back to lunch, before lunch he had the two birds brought in and told
his people in the Meglis all about it. The naval men were very interested indeed and much enjoyed it. Soon after lunch we
motored back and looked at Idari on the way home. Two men off the ship came to tennis and later on a number of them came
in to tea and two of the R.A.F. who came here today. Eventually we had about a dozen people to tea but fortunately Holmes
sent us a big dish of scones so we were able to provide for them.

Monday [21 December]

A most terrible thing happened this morning. The Captain of the Emerald invited all the local Arabs and a lot of school boys
out to the ship to see over it, while they were there they had a sort of exhibition of flying by the ship's aeroplane and during the
show the machine crashed and came down into the sea, the pilot, a young naval officer called Heinemann, was killed, with all
the people looking on. It happened at about 11 oclock, we had had the ship's chaplain ashore to hold a service in our house for
the English people and he stayed on to lunch and just as he was going a message came to me from the naval signaller on the
Agency roof saying that owing to a serious accident the party was off, later an officer was sent ashore with all the news. I
hurried round and notified all the people that the party was off and told them what had happened, then I went with the man
from the ship to the cemetery and to Parke and made all arrangements for the funeral which they decided to hold tomorrow.
The man who was killed was one of the three who came out hunting with us yesterday and we had seen quite a lot of him.
Really a dreadful thing. I had a very busy afternoon arranging all about it and writing to the people to tell them about the
funeral. When I had done all this the officer went back to the ship and M and I and Mrs de Grenier went to the Agency garden
and got as many flowers as we could and then came back to make a wreath and a cross,. The Parkes came in later on and
helped us with it. There seemed to be endless things to be arranged. It is curious that these things always seem to happen
when Prior is away as being an English officer it would really be an Agency affair to deal with and arrange the funeral. Really
tragic, it will affect the ship's whole cruise up the Gulf.

Tuesday 22nd December