The Henson Journals

[141]

6th Sunday after Trinity, July 19th, 1925.

I celebrated the Holy Communion in the Chapel at 8 a.m. After breakfast Clayton and I motored to Darlington in order to take part in the function of unveiling & dedicating the "national memorial" to Brig: General Roland Bradford, who was educated in Darlington. It was an impressive service, & went through without hitch. Lord Daryngton gave a short address before unveiling the tablet, which I dedicated, and then preached a sermon which (there was a clock in the pulpit) took 22 minutes to deliver. After service I returned to Auckland.

In the afternoon I wrote to Robin in answer to his very interesting account of his holiday expedition to Dalmatia. Also I wrote to Lord Darling and Di thanking them for their books of verse.

I motored to Great Stainton, and preached at Evensong to a congregation of rusticks. The whole population of the parish is stated to be 156, and about half of them were in church. The Vicar, Rudd, is an elderly man inclined to asthma: but he is said to work well. His wife, a masterful female with a gimlet voice, which governed the singing, rather alarmed me. Great Stainton is an old parish with a modern church. It has an Elizabethan cup, and 16th century registers. It is in the gift of the Lord Chancellor & is worth £326 per annum.

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