Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 10, 2022 22:47:31 GMT 12
I happened upon this article on another Kiwi girl in Britain, studying, who joined the UK WAAF very early in the war. From the Evening Post dated the 15th of January 1940.
A STUDENT ABROAD
IN AUXILIARY AIR FORCE
DESCRIPTION OF THE HAGUE
Miss Isobel Wright, L.L.B., of Christchurch, who has been continuing her legal studies at Oxford, recently attended the Mid-summer Session of the School of International Law, held at The Hague. She had obtained one of five studentship grants made to England, three of which went to Oxford, states the New Zealand Law Journal.
Since Miss Wright entered at Lady Margaret Hail, Oxford, last year, she has had a very interesting and successful year both scholastically and otherwise. Amongst other things she was fortunate in winning the Winter Williams Women's Law Scholarship open to women law students, who had been at Oxford for not more than eleven terms. She secured this Scholarship during her first term. Later she was elected President of the Geldart Society, a society composed of women law students at Oxford. She was also asked to take the place of an absentee upon the Oxford Law Committee, of which Sir. William Holdsworth is the president and Professor C. K. Allen and Professor Brierly vice-presidents.
In addition, Miss Wright secured her Blue for tennis, playing against Cambridge in May last. She secured a further Blue for cricket. She is also on the committee of the recently formed New Zealand Oxford Club. The war has however interfered with her continuing at Oxford this year, as she is now serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Cosmopolitan Gathering
In a letter home, Miss Wright tells of her experiences at The Hague, while attending the School of International Law at the Peace Palace.
"There is a wonderful collection of people here, about four or five, English people (three from Oxford), several Americans, Germans, a Pole or two, Italians, Spaniards, Rumanians, Luxemburgers, Bulgarians, French, Dutch; Swedes, and Danes, and probably a few others—amazingly interesting as you may imagine. Some are students, some professors and lawyers, some in the diplomatic service. I have been dubbed universally by the men as 'Mlle. Nouvelle Zealande.'
"We started off with lectures in the morning, and then the first afternoon we had a tea to meet: everyone. I took a friend and she was very amused. She said everyone was very interested in her till she spoke Dutch, and then they decided she wasn't. There are so few girls that we were simply taken round and introduced to everyone. You'd get as far as shaking hands — everyone does this here on the slightest provocation. I always forget, and they probably think I'm very rude. You said Bon jour and you were whisked off again, immediately.
ANTI-GERMAN FEELING
"Then the next afternoon we went all over the Parliament Buildings in The Hague; and, as we went into the Binnolot, or Square where, all the Government Buildings are we had a wonderful view of Prince Bernhard leaving in his car. I could have touched him, and so I took a photo. He had been seeing the Prime Minister... There is a Cabinet on at present which seems to be giving the people fits and makes them very jumpy. There is an intense anti-German feeling here. As a matter of fact they are still half mobilised, and all along the sea-front, where we go and drink coffee, at an open-air cafe, are sandbagged trenches still manned by soldiers. It gave me a queer feeling when I saw them, despite the fact that nowadays you see soldiers everywhere, as many in England as on the Continent.
"On Saturday we had a terrific day. To begin with, the birth of a princess was heralded by a salute of fifty-one guns at 7 a.m; By 7.45: when l left for, the station, flag's were put on all the houses and buildings and there were already signs of festivities. We went to the Chateau Loewestein on the Meuse, where Hugo Grotius was imprisoned for a time, and from where he escaped in a chest. He was the father of International Law, and so I thought I ought to go and do homage to him, especially as we had lunch in his room.
PACIFIED A POLICEMAN.
"We were met at the Chateau by the caretaker —a kindly old man with white hair and a gentle musical voice—once inside we were not allowed to take photos, I think it is- some sort of military fort though they swear it is only an ancient monument. Going over a drawbridge and under, an arch-way we were in a tiny village with a street of about 50 yards long. On one side was a row of semi-detached cottages and on the other the garrison's quarters, the guardroom, and the commandant's house. The Chateau itself, surrounded by a moat and approached by a drawbridge, is just an empty brick shed with high walls slit by tiny windows. Grotius's room had a bronze plaque and a few pictures and one or two very decayed-looking wreaths. I nearly got myself arrested by trying to take photos—but pacified the military policeman by taking his photo instead. He couldn't speak French or English, and I can only say 'Good morning' and 'Thank you' in Dutch! Even then he wasn't too sure about me and followed me about for the rest of the time there.
"We paid a visit to one more village where we had tea and then got back about 7 p.m. By this time I was beginning to wonder whether Grotius had lived there, but it was very interesting all the same and well worth it."
A STUDENT ABROAD
IN AUXILIARY AIR FORCE
DESCRIPTION OF THE HAGUE
Miss Isobel Wright, L.L.B., of Christchurch, who has been continuing her legal studies at Oxford, recently attended the Mid-summer Session of the School of International Law, held at The Hague. She had obtained one of five studentship grants made to England, three of which went to Oxford, states the New Zealand Law Journal.
Since Miss Wright entered at Lady Margaret Hail, Oxford, last year, she has had a very interesting and successful year both scholastically and otherwise. Amongst other things she was fortunate in winning the Winter Williams Women's Law Scholarship open to women law students, who had been at Oxford for not more than eleven terms. She secured this Scholarship during her first term. Later she was elected President of the Geldart Society, a society composed of women law students at Oxford. She was also asked to take the place of an absentee upon the Oxford Law Committee, of which Sir. William Holdsworth is the president and Professor C. K. Allen and Professor Brierly vice-presidents.
In addition, Miss Wright secured her Blue for tennis, playing against Cambridge in May last. She secured a further Blue for cricket. She is also on the committee of the recently formed New Zealand Oxford Club. The war has however interfered with her continuing at Oxford this year, as she is now serving in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Cosmopolitan Gathering
In a letter home, Miss Wright tells of her experiences at The Hague, while attending the School of International Law at the Peace Palace.
"There is a wonderful collection of people here, about four or five, English people (three from Oxford), several Americans, Germans, a Pole or two, Italians, Spaniards, Rumanians, Luxemburgers, Bulgarians, French, Dutch; Swedes, and Danes, and probably a few others—amazingly interesting as you may imagine. Some are students, some professors and lawyers, some in the diplomatic service. I have been dubbed universally by the men as 'Mlle. Nouvelle Zealande.'
"We started off with lectures in the morning, and then the first afternoon we had a tea to meet: everyone. I took a friend and she was very amused. She said everyone was very interested in her till she spoke Dutch, and then they decided she wasn't. There are so few girls that we were simply taken round and introduced to everyone. You'd get as far as shaking hands — everyone does this here on the slightest provocation. I always forget, and they probably think I'm very rude. You said Bon jour and you were whisked off again, immediately.
ANTI-GERMAN FEELING
"Then the next afternoon we went all over the Parliament Buildings in The Hague; and, as we went into the Binnolot, or Square where, all the Government Buildings are we had a wonderful view of Prince Bernhard leaving in his car. I could have touched him, and so I took a photo. He had been seeing the Prime Minister... There is a Cabinet on at present which seems to be giving the people fits and makes them very jumpy. There is an intense anti-German feeling here. As a matter of fact they are still half mobilised, and all along the sea-front, where we go and drink coffee, at an open-air cafe, are sandbagged trenches still manned by soldiers. It gave me a queer feeling when I saw them, despite the fact that nowadays you see soldiers everywhere, as many in England as on the Continent.
"On Saturday we had a terrific day. To begin with, the birth of a princess was heralded by a salute of fifty-one guns at 7 a.m; By 7.45: when l left for, the station, flag's were put on all the houses and buildings and there were already signs of festivities. We went to the Chateau Loewestein on the Meuse, where Hugo Grotius was imprisoned for a time, and from where he escaped in a chest. He was the father of International Law, and so I thought I ought to go and do homage to him, especially as we had lunch in his room.
PACIFIED A POLICEMAN.
"We were met at the Chateau by the caretaker —a kindly old man with white hair and a gentle musical voice—once inside we were not allowed to take photos, I think it is- some sort of military fort though they swear it is only an ancient monument. Going over a drawbridge and under, an arch-way we were in a tiny village with a street of about 50 yards long. On one side was a row of semi-detached cottages and on the other the garrison's quarters, the guardroom, and the commandant's house. The Chateau itself, surrounded by a moat and approached by a drawbridge, is just an empty brick shed with high walls slit by tiny windows. Grotius's room had a bronze plaque and a few pictures and one or two very decayed-looking wreaths. I nearly got myself arrested by trying to take photos—but pacified the military policeman by taking his photo instead. He couldn't speak French or English, and I can only say 'Good morning' and 'Thank you' in Dutch! Even then he wasn't too sure about me and followed me about for the rest of the time there.
"We paid a visit to one more village where we had tea and then got back about 7 p.m. By this time I was beginning to wonder whether Grotius had lived there, but it was very interesting all the same and well worth it."
