I thought I'd finished with Vernon's story when he brought out photographs of his brothers. One was in the army with the Dukes at Tobruk. (Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh granted the CTVR the title "Duke of Edinburgh's Own", after it had formed a guard of honour for him during a visit to Cape Town. The nickname "the Dukes" appears to have come into use in the 1880s.) Another was with the RAF as an aircraft fitter and saw service in Somalia and Italy. Quite a contribution by one South African family to the war effort during WW2. People tend to regard South Africans as being tainted with racism but I never heard Vernon say anything that indicated anything other than concern for others. His comment about his medals - that he wouldn't wear awards he had been given for trying to kill young men from the Bismark that could have been his friends in different circumstances - was typical.

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After the Bismark's sinking, the crew of HMS Dorsetshire were invited to tea with King George V1, Queen Elizabeth and the two princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, at Windsor Castle. The King shook their hands, his grip feeling like velvet according to Vernon.
The tea was laid out on a patio on the edge of the great lawns of the castle and Vernon said he found the family  very down to earth, the Queen showing a motherly concern for her young guests, making the sailors feel at home. When the Queen asked Veron how he came to be in the Navy, Vernon told her he was from Cape Town and had lived beside the sea all his life.
The two princesses, in blue uniforms, were in gracious attendance - at least one of the princesses was. Margaret was a real terror and in the end, her father told her, 'Leave my ears alone and stop tormenting me.'
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www.sullatoberdalton.com/booksknows. Maybe Vernon may have made such a big impression on the Royal Family that they couldn't resist visiting his home country themselves.