January 30th 2018

Sir Neville 'Kim' Hall's Childhood Memoirs Chapter 2

In November last year I posted the first chapter of my Great Uncle Kim's childhood memoirs; the second is now up online (click here to read it).  It relates his first visit in 1904 when aged four to Queniborough Hall, the Leicestershire home of his mother's much older brother, Uncle Herbert and his wife, Aunt Kitty.  The house still exists and the photograph accompanying the chapter is a relatively recent one showing it in a refurbished state having been converted into several apartments.  The 'big lawn' and 'great cedar' that Kim remembers are still there and I can see why he described it as a house of great charm.

It is interesting how little Kim saw of his parents during his early years although he clearly loved them both, particularly his father whom he describes as having a 'genius for becoming one with the children he played with'.  Days, including mealtimes, were entirely spent in the company of nannies and it appears that the only regular time that children saw their parents was when they were 'dressed up for the usual inspection after tea'.  Kim describes his parents' finances as being 'at low water' but, despite this, they retained the services of their live-in nanny, 'Nurny' although it sounds as if they would have found it impossible to exist without her.

The photograph opposite is of Kim when a little older and I am indebted to my cousin, Marion, for finding it and sending it to me.