23rd November 1918 HMB
My dearest Mother
You will be amused to hear that I have again been hob nobbing with Royalty. You have I expect seen in the paper that HRH Princess Mary is making a tour in France to see the work of the VADs especially and other women’s work too. She came to us yesterday afternoon and saw round the hospital. We received her at the gate at 3 and then she went to our Mess and was presented with a bouquet and we meanwhile fled back to our huts and in our electricity arranged the afternoon patients and had just got them fixed up when she came in. I was presented to her in the X ray room and she asked if I’d been there a long time and if we’d been very busy and so forth. Then we went to see some of the wards, then we were photographed with her on the veranda outside the theatre. Then some of us were invited to come down to our new club ( which has only been open about a week ) to have tea there as she was to be present.
We tore into our outdoor uniforms and were so quick that we were given a lift down by the base commandant in his car. He is an awfully decent sort, Brigadier General Phillips is his name. We went such a pace that, although we started nearly five minutes after her car, we were drawn up at the club door just behind her car just before she had got out! Her car was driven by a girl VAD driver and another on the box. She is accompanied by Lady Ampthill in her tour and of course by Principal Commandant Crowdy and, for this area, by area Commandant Campion. We all had tea at the club in the same room and she had tea at a little table with about six or seven VADs and ate a hearty tea and was very merry and chatted a lot.
Then all the people who hadn’t been presented to her went up and made their bob. Then she went away and we cheered her lustily. No more news now
Best love
Your loving Dorothy
Did M make and send me the cake? It has never arrived.
About Alford 