It was not until May 1960 that we set out for our last major holiday. As we were headed for the Scottish Highlands we decided to hire a campervan for a month. This was a very compact form of self-contained accommodation, and could be converted from travelling, to eating or sleeping conditions. Our vehicle was called a Dormobile and was based on an ordinary van with windows and curtains around the sides and a hinged roof.

The van had four separate bench seats. The backs of the seats could be dropped down so that we could sit sideways. The two left-hand seats could be converted into a bed, as could the two right-hand seats. These two beds could also be pushed together to form a double bed. The hinged roof could be raised to provide standing room, and had a strong plastic cover on one side. Two strong upper bunks could be pulled out from the side walls to provide sleeping for another couple. The front passenger's seat could be swung round to face the rear and a collapsible table easily mounted to provide eating space for four people. The back hinged door was divided into shelves like a refrigerator. The back of the van on the right hand side was fitted with cupboards, sink and gas-operated cooking unit and griller. On the other side there was a wardrobe and cupboard space. The whole was a masterpiece of ingenuity. It took but five minutes after lunch to return everything to the travelling-mode, and a little longer to make up the double bed.

This was to be our home for a month. One of the post-graduate students at Queen Mary College had been working on Scottish hydro-electric schemes and had collected statistics on rainfall. ‘When is the driest time in Scotland?’ we asked. ‘Without doubt, May or September,’ came the reply. So we left our home at 7.00 am on May the first and headed for the Lake District. We arrived at Lake Windermere mid-afternoon. Next day we wanted to find desolation. It was our experience that British guide books wrote about desolation as soon as there was no brass-band and a pier to walk on. We studied the map and found Wrynose and Hardknott mountain passes with a road marked as a dotted track with a note: Severe S-bends, gradients of 1 in 3, practical for experienced drivers only. Our van had a very low bottom gear and an exceptionally small turning circle, so this was the road for us.

One of my QMC colleagues, Alistair MacFarlane²² had given me a 1 inch ordnance survey map of the Lake District, so we set out to explore the “desolation”. The pass was only 1300 feet high and descended to Wrynose Bottom, a valley about two miles long surrounded by hills. We made our camp and spent the night there beside a running brook, completely isolated from the rest of the world. Not a single car passed us. I clambered with four-and-a half year old Judith and three-year-old Peter about 100 feet up a very steep slope - steep enough that Kay would not join us. The children thought that they were mountaineers. Next day we toured around the district on small unclassified roads and had no trouble with the 1 in 3 gradients and sharp S-bends.

Leaving the Lake District we headed north, stopping for petrol at a village called Twice Brewed. The quaint names of some English villages amused us. In Essex we had been delighted with the names of villages such as Much Hadham and Little Hadham. On our way we stopped at Hadrian's Wall. This stone wall stretching 73 miles across England was erected by the order of the Emperor Hadrian over the period 122-126 AD to protect the northern frontier of the Roman province of Britain. We examined the ancient fort of Borcovicium, went on our way, and spent the night in a farmer's field.

At Edinburgh we had arranged to visit John Oldfield. John had also been at QMC but was now lecturing at Edinburgh. As a youth he had tramped over Scotland, staying at youth hostels, and knew the country well. He had a set of thirteen detailed ordnance survey maps and wanted to lend them to us and to suggest a route that we might follow. His apartment comprised a bedroom and living room in an extensive block of flats. This block, he said, had been built as flats over one hundred years ago and the walls were of thick stone. In his sitting room we found a large circular table set out by his landlady with a delightful tea of ham and salad, cream cakes, buns and breads.

²² Alistair became Professor of Control Engineering at Cambridge. See page 353.

We returned to our campervan in a nearby caravan park at 11.00 pm with all our maps, ready to set off next day for the Highlands. First we took a ferry across the river beside the famous Firth of Forth bridge and headed for the Scottish town of Perth -and then, singing "The Road to the Isles" we drove to Loch Tummel and Loch Rannock. Further north we spent a night beside Loch Ness but did not see the famous "monster". We passed through Inverness and still headed north until we reached the northern coast at the Kyle of Tongue. At an isolated spot on the coast called Rispond we camped for the night.

From our van we could look out over the sea, fifty feet below. A steep grassy bank led to a white sandy cove bounded by rocky cliffs. Behind us a steep hill gave views of Loch Eriboll and, in the distance, we could see one or two mountain peaks. After breakfast next morning we wandered down the slope to the beach in our bathers. The sand was a fine white, like that of Western Australia. This was a complete contrast to the pebbly beaches mostly found in Britain. The sky was blue and the sun warm and we noted that the wind had swept sand into several cliff gullies, forming gently sloping dunes about thirty feet high. They were untouched by man and looked pure and inviting. With difficulty we climbed up them and then slid down several times. Judith and Peter laughed with pure joy and excitement. Then we ran into the sea, only to find it icy cold. It felt like melted ice. The sky might be blue and the sun warm, but we had forgotten that the mountains behind us were capped with snow and we were at the northern tip of Scotland. Quickly drying ourselves we played active games on the beach, found shells, built sandcastles and had a picnic lunch. We did not return to the campervan until late afternoon, so enjoyable was the day.

Next day we pushed on to Durness and then down to Rhiconich at the head of Loch Inchard. The only building was an old hotel with a single hand-operated petrol pump. It took quite a while to find a living soul who could tend the pump for me. We continued to Scourie, passing bare country with massive ancient gneiss rocky outcrops. As we headed for Kylestrome on Loch Cairnbawm, the weather deteriorated and a high wind sprang up. We wanted to cross the loch in the Kylesku ferry. About ten miles before we reached the ferry a car, travelling in the opposite direction, stopped to tell us that because of the high winds, the ferry was not operating. We pressed on and reached the loch at four in the afternoon. We could see the ferry on the other side, but we could also see a red flag flying: The service was cancelled due to the rough conditions. Thinking conditions might improve by the morning, we camped for the night, but the winds became ferocious and the van shook violently. We could not sleep and decided at four in the morning that it was hopeless. We broke camp and set out to detour around the loch - a detour that was over one hundred miles in length. Finally we reached Lochinver only a few miles from the ferry.

The wind was still roaring so we asked the garage attendant where we could find shelter. He suggested Achmelvich - a place that John Oldfield had recommended to us as very beautiful. While we were in a shop buying provisions, a man asked us where we were going. ‘Achmelvich is not a good place, there are road-works on the turn-off, and I doubt whether you will get through,’ he said. ‘I'm going just five miles further on to Stoer, where there are good sands and a green - a much better place altogether. I'm going there, and if you give me a ride, I'll show you.’

No sooner had he got into our car than he forgot how to speak English; we could not understand his Scottish brogue and we realised that he simply wanted a lift and was using us for his own purpose. Stoer was quite unsuitable so, after we dropped him, we returned to the turn-off and descended without trouble to Achmelvich Bay where we discovered rolling sandhills, a youth hostel and a white sandy beach. More importantly we could shelter from the wind under the lee of some rocky cliffs. The following morning the wind had dropped and we returned to Lochinver and drove south.

Our journey now was uneventful but beautiful, passing highland mountains, driving over the first and only gravel road we were to encounter. We passed Ullapool - founded in 1788 by the fishing industry and pushed on to pretty Gairloch. We paid ten-shillings for the Strome Ferry and then sixteen-shillings for a return ticket on the ferry to the Isle of Skye. After touring Dunvegan castle, we camped for the night at the base of the Coolins and woke in the morning to watch the mists falling over the hills.

Returning to the mainland we were disappointed in Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles. We hoped for a craggy peak, but saw only gentle slopes. It did not seem a mountain. Soon we were in the lowlands visiting Loch Lomond. For almost all our holiday the weather had been fine; now it started to rain as we left Scotland and made our return to London.

Of all our holidays in Britain, Scotland was the most outstanding. We made no attempt to visit Ireland or continental Europe as our children were so small. As it was, Judith and Peter had to cope with hours of travelling in the car or van, and sometimes they became fretful. Kay and I told ourselves that a tour of the Continent must await a future visit to Britain.

While the rugged country of the Highlands gave me a sense of peace and tranquillity and provided opportunity for introspection on the place of man in the scheme of things, perhaps my greatest gain during the years in Britain was the consolidation of my marriage. Until we left Australia, I felt continually under the influence of my Mother. The years from 1958 to 1960 gave me an escape from the tension between wanting to live my own life and responding to the pressures that I felt from her. Now, for the first time, we were a small, nuclear family of our own: All important relationships were those between Kay and me, Judith and Peter.

Many years later, when I was writing this autobiography, Kay and I attended a literature course in which, through two books²³, we examined the relationships between mothers and daughters. I was the only man in a class of twenty women, all with adult families. Soon, class members fell to discussing relations with their own mothers and daughters. A sense of conflict seemed almost universal: conflict both with their mothers and, later, with their daughters. Not only had their mothers failed to understand them and meet their needs but they, too, carried a sense of guilt for failing their own daughters. They felt responsible.

I could identify with this, and remembered that in the early days of marriage I had sometimes ranted and raved privately about my mother. In the 1950s I had not yet reached that level of understanding that enabled me to accept the notion that all human beings had failings, that all had needs of their own, and none were capable of fully comprehending the needs of those around them. It took me many years to realise that no matter what happened in my early life, no matter what might be the deficiencies of my parents, as long as I continued to blame them I would not rise above the limiting level of self-pity. It was only when I was ready to accept complete responsibility for my own life without projecting blame on others, that I could become a fully integrated and functional person. I remember once reading that what matters in life is not what happens to you, but what attitude you adopt towards it. People cannot always choose what happens to them, but they do have the freedom to decide what attitude to adopt. Recognising this, enables them to accept responsibility for their own lives²⁴.

The three years in England were the beginning steps in reaching that understanding. Kay sacrificed much while I studied very hard, my mind often being absorbed by the demanding and abstract nature of my work. To counter this we shared much: the pleasure of extending our family relations, and the excitement of discovering our personal and historical past. We watched over our growing children and took delight in their fun, curiosity, excitement and the development of new-found skills. We felt comfortable together as a family. Kay and I could wink at each other, over private pleasures shared and remembered,and the thought of those yet to come. Our personal, and our family bonding strengthened.

Varga, Susan, Heddy and Me and Modjeska, Drusilla, Poppy. ²⁴ See pages 269 & 277

While in Britain I encountered many people but none had as much influence on me as Arthur Ellison. Arthur was a QMC lecturer in electrical engineering, and a few years older than I. In mid 1959 an extensive building and refurbishment program started at the College and staff were consolidated in a small area while the work progressed. I found myself sharing an office with Arthur. He worked in a completely different field, but helped me considerably in my work. Sometimes my research would reach a dead-end and I could not see where I had taken the wrong tack. Although he did not understand the detail of my work, he encouraged me to use him as a sounding-board. He would listen attentively, while I spoke of what I was trying to do. By forcing me to be lucid in what I said, I usually discovered for myself the error that had led me up the blind path - but I would not have done so without the patience of Arthur.

Arthur was a widower and, I discovered, very interested in psychic phenomena. He was a member of the Society of Psychical Research and often told me how he investigated alleged pyschic manifestations. He said that many people were gullible, and tricksters often traded on their gullibility. He became interested in telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition. Arthur came to the conclusion that, while many claimed cases were no more than clever frauds, there were, nevertheless, several instances that seemed inexplicable, and on which judgment must be deferred. He impressed on me the need to keep an open mind, reminding me of Hamlet's phrase: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. He encouraged me to read such books as The Imprisoned Splendour by Raynor Johnson, an eminent scientist and one-time Master of Queens College, Melbourne University. Perhaps I approached this and other books with an open scepticism, but found Arthur's personal experiences fascinating.

I had developed the habit of browsing through the many bookshops in Charing Cross Road. In 1959 I bought a book called All Men are Brothers, being passages from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi. This looked at religion and truth, self-discipline, international peace, man and the machine, education and other topics. It made me think deeply. I purchased a volume called The Nature of Physical Reality by physicist Henry Margenau, and Northrop's very difficult book on The Meeting of East and West - being an in-depth analysis of the abstract theoretic, differentiated culture of the West and the aesthetic, experiential, undifferentiated culture of the East and of such countries as Mexico. This then led to Julian Huxley's Religion without Revelation and to Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy - a most erudite volume providing a glimpse into the profound experience of men through the ages. I cannot claim either to have read thoroughly or to have understood these books, but when I look at them now, still sitting on my bookshelf, they show the wear of much use. They are books into which I have dipped many times.

Time and again I went back to the bookshops. I bought and read Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy and Teilhard de Chardin's The Phenomenon of Man. I read an introduction to Jung's psychology and bought a fourteen-hundred page book called The Bible of the World. This introduced me to Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Zoroastrian and Confucianist scriptures. I looked at the Old and the New Testaments and at Mohammedan scriptures. The editor, Robert Ballou, wrote in his introduction:

Man is incapable of grasping pure truth in its entirety. The very search for it, if it is uncompromising, and conducted in humility, constitutes the most intimate contact with eternal verity which he will ever know. Exposed to this search in the mind and heart of another, he is exalted and feels the cleansing breath of truth itself, even though the other's point of view may differ radically in details from his own. And he will find, too, strangely insistent notes of that cosmic music of the soul the elusiveness of which had always tortured his desire.

I discovered that all scriptures essentially told the same message of living life with love, although the culture and period of the times in which they were written clothed the message in particular parables and language. It was Arthur Ellison who set me on the path to make these discoveries. Until this point I had been heavily limited by the sense of guilt I retained for leaving the Catholic Church with its authoritarian demands. Perhaps, I had at last the courage to think for myself. That thinking was to mature over the next few years.

If Arthur led me to think deeply on an abstract plane, he also led me to one or two more prosaic experiences. Some three months before we were due to return to Australia, he said to me, ‘We have talked a lot about psychic phenomena, but you have never experienced it first-hand. Would you like me to arrange a sitting for you with a psychic medium before you go home?’ I had not thought of this possibility, and was taken aback. The Catholic Church had warned against taking part in such evil practices, and I was dubious. However, I succumbed to the curiosity and agreed that Arthur should arrange an appointment.

It was not long before Arthur told me that I was to meet a Mrs Bailey in North London on 14 November. He arranged this, making certain that she knew nothing about me. At 10.00 am on the

appointed day I rang the door bell and waited nervously for about two minutes. Mrs Bailey , a very ordinary looking woman, opened the door. She wore dark glasses and a green eyeshade that I associated with tennis. I looked at her quizzically.

‘I have some trouble with my eyes,’ she murmured as she ushered me down the hallway and into her lounge room. She indicated a comfortable chair in which I sat, facing her chair about five feet distant.

‘Yes, but you are. I know because you have a large auric emanation.’ Her hands indicated a space of three or four feet around me. ‘But it is strongly turned in on itself, here.’ She pointed to her solar plexus. ‘I can see that you are a person who lacks confidence in yourself. You are retiring about your ability - as it were, you hide your light under a bushel: and yet you have that light within. Your ability is much greater than you give yourself credit. You are always inclined to consider that the next chap can do better than yourself. You are timid about what you can do and yet you have this large auric emanation and, I can see, great brain ability and, with this, a humility of mind.’

In my mind I agreed with her about my lack of confidence, but I had never thought about auric emanations! Mrs Bailey continued with what was almost a lecture.

‘You should get out of yourself. You should, and are beginning to realise the power to overcome the limitations you see in yourself. Do you see what I mean?’

Before arriving at her home I had decided to go along with Mrs Bailey in all that she said, so I quietly replied, ‘Yes, I understand what you are saying, but in what direction should I go?’

‘You can accomplish any goal you set yourself, if you only realised it. There are two or three ways you can go. Do you study or teach, or give help? I see a blackboard and easel. I don't know what it means but it could mean that you study or teach, or both. Do you both study and teach?’

²⁵ M rs Bailey allowed me to take copious notes during the sitting, so that I was able to reconstruct the experience later, almost word for word.

‘Yes.’ ‘Well, that is one direction you can go for a start. That is one line.’ ‘Perhaps we should start the sitting. This is not your first sitting is it?’ ‘Yes it is.’ ‘Oh, I thought you had sat before. I don't usually take first sittings. I feel sure that Mr Ellison told me

‘No, this is my first sitting, but Mr Ellison told me what to expect, he described his sittings to me and I have read much.’ ‘Well, all right, but you must understand that I go into trance. I do not know what is happening, and

I know nothing after the event. The trouble with a first sitting is that while it might be quite wonderful, yet again, it might be a complete dud. I cannot tell. Quite often there is a nervous tension, not only on your part, but also on the other side, and this makes it so difficult to make proper contact. You understand this?’

‘Yes, I must admit that when I arrived I felt somewhat nervous, but already this is much dispelled.’ ‘Yes I know. But do not be nervous, I will help you.’ ‘And I suppose your control will help me, too. He is Bill Wooton, isn't he?’ ‘Yes, William - Bill - Wooton is often my guide, but sometimes an old Scots doctor comes; he is an

old friend. I cannot tell who will come.’ Mrs Bailey sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and for about a minute breathed slowly and deeply. She grunted several times and squirmed in her chair and then slumped slightly before sitting

up erect, leaning forward to speak to me. According to the theory expounded to me by Arthur, the “control” was now alleged to have taken over. ‘I am very pleased to meet you. May I shake you by the hand?’ ‘And I am very pleased to meet you.’ I shook his - or was it her - hand. The voice had changed and

was deep and manlike. ‘Please don't be nervous - there is no need for it. If I had the power to show you the scene! I cannot

describe the beauty of fellowship that is yours! There is a whole band of fifty or sixty souls here; whether you realise it or not, you are greatly helped by unseen love and power. ‘Recently you have worked hard against difficulties, but you have not been alone; There is a

communion of souls, and for this we call our blessing. . .’ He recited a short prayer, and then continued: ‘You are of much interest as a person because you are on the outer fringe of understanding yourself.

At present, you cannot rightly see. You are groping, as it were, in a tunnel but now you are getting

out to see the aperture of light.’ I had a notebook on my knee and tried to scribble down rapidly all that I and he said. He expanded on the way out of the tunnel, but I could not keep up with my note taking.

‘Your mother's people are here; Your mother is on earth, but your grandmother is in spirit, and she is here today. She loves you very dearly; she says that she loves you as much as she loves your mother herself. She says she takes great interest in you and watches over you. Do you know your grandmother?’

I hesitated, as my Grandmother had died when I was only four years of age. I had only a vague recollection of her.

‘Yes, but not very well. Perhaps I should say, not really.’ ‘Never matter, she says there was not much life in you when she passed, but she says that you are a stake in her future. There is somebody with her. Something is being written up. It is Mary; Mary that was called Polly. Does that mean something?’

‘I cannot recall the meaning of that name.’ ‘Is it your grandmother's name?’ ‘No, it is not my grandmother's name.’ ‘Then it is someone connected with her in some way. Yes, Mary called Polly. ‘But, oh dear! If you could see the sea of emotion. Everyone trying to talk at once, it makes it so

Again, my note-taking could not keep up with the words. Later, I discovered that all that I had written down was “It is personality that counts.” ‘There are so many people here, different groups. Are you scientifically interested?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘No. I am called back to your people. Your father is in spirit, is he not?’ ‘No. He is not in spirit.’ ‘Then is it his father that is in spirit. Your father's father, your grandfather. He is here with you. He,

‘But your own father seems to have some emotional, nervous worry. But he should not worry, for all is all right. He should get rid of his worry.’ I replied, ‘Is there anything that I can do personally to help in this matter?’ ‘No no, if you were to tell him, or to tell him of this, he would probably think you were going potty.’ ‘I don't think that he would think that.’ ‘Well, he should stop worrying. And now I have a name. Is it Ralph or Raeph? Does that mean

‘Is it not someone's name? No matter, leave it. It's so difficult here. Ah! now I have the name Robert. Does that mean anything?’

‘Yes, Robert does mean something to me. There is a Robert.’ ‘It is difficult because there are so many souls here, fifty or sixty, all talking at once. But your grandfather is here again. He is a fine man; he is a fine man and carries his head slightly on one side . . .’

‘He has the characteristic of lifting one eyebrow higher than the other. . . yes, and he had a good quality of humour. He is a fine man. ‘Now I have the name of William or Bill. Does that mean something?' ‘Again, I cannot recall a close connection.’ ‘No, well . . . Oh! they are all talking at once. It is hard, but I am sure about this, quite certain: Your

father is worrying unnecessarily about something and his nerves are on edge. He should stop worrying.

‘Yes, I am drawn away from your people. There is a scientifically minded group of men who are interested in you.’ ‘On this side or on the other side?’ ‘Oh! on the spirit side. They are interested in your work. You are or shall cooperate in research with

someone. Research in what they would be interested. . . . Yes, I see. . . in some fabulous way you will eventually effect communication. Is there a link with Ellison here?’

‘There could be.’ ‘Yes, it could be. And that man Crookes is here; there was some mystery in his passing. He is interested in you.’

At this point, I could not keep up with my note-taking but it seemed as though, in some way, I would cooperate with someone in research. I had something valuable to contribute. I had an inventive ability. Bill Wooton continued:

‘But how? In what way must I develop this? In what direction? Does it concern my normal physical activities or other matters?’ ‘We cannot tell you the way, you must find this gift for yourself. It is in your mind, in your brain; it

‘I keep coming back to this "intercommunication" thing. There are other gifts which you possess, but again I am returned to the term "intercommunication". I cannot get closer to that.’ ‘I am not aware of these gifts.’

‘It has happened in a part of medical science. From time to time men have discovered things by accident. It has been said that it was an accident. Penicillin was said to be discovered accidentally. But I say that it was no accident. These ideas are there in the soul, though you know them not. Then suddenly, in the right circumstances, these ideas jump out, breaking through to reality. There are no accidents. It will be so with you; you have ideas in your soul but they have not broken out.

‘In collaboration with others you will blossom out in three directions, but you must gain confidence. Do you go to a university?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I see you at two or three universities, could that be so?’ ‘Yes, it is so. I am thus associated.’ ‘Do you go to London University? Are you connected with it?’ ‘Yes, I am connected with London University.’

‘And now I have the name "Reading". Does that mean anything?’ ‘Well, yes, in a sense, but not if you mean, am I connected with Reading University. I have no connection with that university.’

‘Of course I am talking universities! I mean Reading University. You say that there is no connection, but I am being shown the letters R E A D I N G. There is some link with Reading.’ ‘Yes, there is a link, but not with the university.’ ‘You are not married are you?’ ‘Yes I am married.’ ‘Oh! Well, has your wife got some connection with Reading?’ ‘No, not that I know of.’ ‘Yes, I see now. You know, your wife is also quite psychic.’ ‘I had never thought of her as such, or was aware of it.’ ‘Well, she is, although she may not know it. Have you children?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you two children?’ ‘Yes, I have two children.’ ‘Are they a boy and a girl?’ ‘Yes, there is one boy and one girl.’

‘Yes, I knew because your grandmother is telling me. She held up a pink light, and then a little blue light. This is the way she told me: pink for the girl and blue for the boy. She says she loves the children very much and is often with them. But she says that you are not to worry about them. You do worry a little, don't you?’

‘Then you should not worry. Now there is some trouble here. Does the boy get catarrh, or has he got it?’

‘Yes. Well, you are not to worry about it. It is nothing. But it is in connection with the boy. Is he seven?’

‘Well, then, yes, this is what it means. I am being shown a seven. It seems he may develop some catarrh trouble or something like that. He may catch it this winter. But you are told not to worry about it. Just let him breath strongly and steadily and it is not important. I am told to tell you certainly that it will pass by the time he is seven. Your grandmother says that he will develop into a bonny boy. And the girl, is she nearly six? Between five and six?’

‘Yes, well, you see, I am being shown the figure five, then it is being taken away and I am shown the figure six, and then quickly back to five. I took it that she was between five and six. She is very much like you and, when she grows up, she will become very much like you in characteristics.

‘There is great spiritual power in your house. I do not mean by this anything pious, religious or dogmatic in your house; of this it is clear.’

At this, my note-taking again failed to keep pace with what was said, and there was some statement about these characteristics having nothing to do with spirituality.

‘In your home there is real spiritual kindliness and tolerance. Here, bigotry has no place. There is much spiritual beauty in your home, but I see that your wife may worry about some things. Does she worry a lot?’

‘No, but she worries over a lot of little things. It is as with a sensitive. There are some things that try her nervous system. At times she is very tired through nervous worry. Is this so?’

‘Yes, at times she does get very tired through what is probably nervous worry over small things.’

‘I think that at times you find her difficult to understand. But do not worry. There is nothing important to worry about here.

‘Now I am called back to your people. Your mother's mother and your father's father. Yes. Now your grandfather is standing behind you. He is holding your shoulders with his two hands and I can see the whites of his knuckles, white with intensity. He loves you greatly. And I see Oxford. Have you a connection with Oxford?’

‘No . . . Well, there is the slightest of connections. I do know someone at Oxford.’

‘I am told that you go. I see. Yes. I believe. . . Yes, I am told this with certainty: I believe that with your own cooperation you may bring into being something that will give you visits to other universities and even America. Understand that this is the power within you to be brought out by yourself. The group of scientifically minded people are here again. Are you interested in some kind of Phys. . . Phys . . .?’

‘Well, that is what I am getting. And now I am called back to your people. This is a wonderful scene. I am being told to tell you again that your abilities are more than you realise; that in future you will have responsibilities difficult to put up with, but that you will, and you are being helped. You are, and will be concerned with study and students. Is this so?’

‘Yes it is so. Can you tell me in what direction I should go? Is there any advice you can give me for the conduct of my future?’

‘No. No. Advice is not what we are allowed to give. You must find your own way. Know that you are being helped, but find your way yourself. It reminds me of when I was a boy, my nanny read me Pilgrim's Progress. I don't know whether you know it. But it made no sense to me until after I was dead. Then it became clear.’

I had not read the book and did not have time to take notes on what was said. It appears that there was some character who wished to find the way to the eternal city of light. The pilgrim said, “Can you direct me to the city?” Bill Wooton continued:

‘You, too, are a pilgrim. When the pilgrim was told “See the yonder light”, he replied “No.” “Then, do you see the wicket gate?” The pilgrim thought he saw this. Then go to the wicket gate of understanding.

‘You have reached a certain phase. You have taken millions of years to reach this point. Through vegetable, animal to the awakening of consciousness. I believe in the evolutionary theory, but I go far beyond Darwin. You do not see the light, but you have a glimmer of the wicket gate of understanding. Go to this. You have help, a source of help at all times.

‘But you must do what you want to do; it is within your mind, your brain. Do you see how many are stamped down by orthodox living? There is this band urging you on, not necessarily in a scholastic way, but it might also be in an inventive way. You must talk or lecture.

‘Well, I am being shown West something. I cannot pick it up. Wait. No, I thought it was the West country, but it is not. It is West something. I cannot get it . . . I must not do it, because it is not quite it, but I feel I want to say “Go West, young man.” But I must not, because that is not quite it. I am sorry. I cannot pick it up.

‘And now I am told again to tell you that you must know that all is within yourself. You must open the door of limitation. You are a much bigger man than you give yourself credit for. Within is the power. In the old days they would have said that God is within you. I do not believe in God in the usual sense, except within the all embracing . . . ‘

Here followed a dissertation on God within all, being the sum-total of all, a living force. He continued:

‘In this sense, God is within you. You are a part of God, and within you is the power. I am sure that you will travel and you will lecture on those things you will bring into being. You will help others to understand. The ideas that are within your soul are but yet only an embryo. You have not yet even had the labour pangs of this. But hearken to me: There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you go towards the goal. Go up to the wicket gate, and there you will be told.

‘No, not my mother. But the name Elizabeth does mean something to me on this side.’

‘Not your mother. Then connected with her somehow? An Elizabeth on your side, but there is also an Elizabeth Anne in spirit. On your side, she has not been well.’

‘Well, I will ask a doctor friend to have a few words with you. You may ask him some questions if you wish. Goodbye.’

Mrs Bailey rested back in her chair for a few moments and then stirred, speaking this time in a deep Scottish accent.

‘How do you do. May I shake your hand and say how pleased I am to make your acquaintance?’

‘Now, I don't want you to worry. You worry too much. Nervous worry sometimes upsets one physically. Later you may have worry, and this may give you trouble in the stomach. You will have lots of responsibility with your work, and there may be some danger of a duodenal ulcer. You must then stop worrying. Sometimes you have, and will reach a stagnant point. If you do, then stop. Relax. There is always danger of you overworking your brain. This may damage your stomach and there may be ulcers. You must relax and not worry. You will still be working at sixty, and you will still be helping others to understand.

‘I tell you that worry is the biggest of your troubles, and that fear is your other trouble. But I also tell you that you have a very promising career, but that you must find it in your own way. But I can tell you that it will be a successful career. Tell me, when is your birthday?’

‘By May the seventh next then, I say now that you will know what it is that these people have been talkng about. You have had a difficult few years?’ ‘Yes, that is so.’ ‘And you have had some sticky patches for the last three or four years?’ ‘Yes, you might say that.’ ‘But I see that you are coming to the end of it. In fact, I see a new era for you. A new era, could it

be?’ ‘Yes. I have closed a chapter and will open another one.’ ‘Yes, that is what I said. You are closing an old chapter and starting a new one. You are entering a

new era. There were times when you didn't know how to face the future, yet, I tell you, you were led all the way. Now you are entering a new era. Don't worry. Go ahead, you are entering one of the first phases. And I can see that you are on an upward path, and I know that you will do well. You have moved around a lot. You have been pushed from pillar to post.’

‘It is true that I have moved around, but I would not consider that I have been pushed from pillar to

post. All that I have done has been of my own free choice.’ ‘But I tell you that you have been pushed from pillar to post as we see it over here. You have been pushed by others on this side. If you stay in one place too long, you get into a rut.’

‘Is there any danger that I will return to a rut?’ ‘No, you are on an upward path. But you have been short of money?’ ‘No, not really.’ ‘No. I know that you have not been in poverty, but you have been a little worried about money.’ ‘I may have, a little.’ ‘Well, I tell you, all this will be changed by your next birthday. And now, tell me, are you writing a

‘They are telling me that it is very good. They are pleased. Your grandfather is very pleased. Now, I have the name George here.’

‘No. I cannot get it. Now I have the name Davis and Matthew. Do these mean anything to you?’

‘Davies is it? D A V I E S, but is it called Davis? Leave it, I am sorry I cannot get more. But are you writing a thesis? Are you about to publish it?’

‘No, not writing a book. I have written a thesis. It is complete, and everything has been finished with it.’

‘Well then that is what it is. They say that is is very good, but that you are not really satisfied with it.’

‘No, I am not satisfied with it. In fact, I am not satisfied with anything.’

‘No. No. Don't be satisfied with anything. As soon as you become satisfied, that is the end of everything. But they tell me that it has been successfully acclaimed; that they are proud of you and that your grandfather and grandmother are delighted with it. You may not be satisfied with it, but they tell you that it is good and that you should recognise this. It is one thing to recognise this, another to be proud and self-satisfied. This you must not be. I tell you that this thesis holds a part of your gift, but just a part. Explore it fully; go with it.

‘And are there any questions you would like to ask? The power is getting weak, and we must soon stop.’

‘Well, there is one point. This is my first sitting and, as you say, it is very difficult because of it. I may not easily have opportunity to have a further sitting. Should I go my normal way, or should I seek a future opportunity for another sitting?’

‘You want no more sittings. Not now. Go your way. You are being helped. You cannot have your future told to you: do this now; then do this - and so on. Work out your own purpose in your own way. You ask with sincerity, but your dear ones are with you. The group is with you, but it is your effort. It must be your way. If in the years to come you want another sitting, then this one now will be of great help to you then.

‘But now I must be on my way. I am sorry that I have not dotted all your i's and crossed all your t's for you, but it has been difficult to get names for you with so many people here.’

Then followed a short form of thanksgiving for the power, and the Scottish doctor departed. Mrs Bailey rested in her chair, gave a few grunts and then came out of her trance, speaking in an artificially high voice, which later became natural. She asked if I had had success, and affirmed that it was probably difficult at a first sitting.

She went out of the room to get a glass of water while I placed some money on the mantlepiece above the fireplace, as Arthur had told me to do. After a few formal gestures, the front door closed behind me and I was in the broad sunlight, wondering what to make of my new experience.

When I look back on this experience, analysing it carefully to see how much might have been no more than calculated guesses, I remain very sceptical. A young married man of my age was likely to have two children of about threee and six years of age. But then, she got Judith's age right, and placed her as older than Peter. She knew that Arthur Ellison was at London University, so it was not difficult to surmise that I too would be there: teaching, helping people, writing a thesis, were all reasonable guesses. She had very little success with the names she produced, but then, she told me to go West - and I was about to return to Western Australia. She might even have heard of Humfrey-Davies and known that his name was pronounced Davis.

Although I realised that there was nothing in the experience that gave credence to her claim to be in contact with those “on the other side”, when travelling home from her house, I was affected emotionally by what had happened. My immediate reaction was that it was a very “real” experience, and that she had told me things of significance. Here is a list of the items that, at the time, impressed me as having possible validity:

You are in danger of overworking your brain - I often worked beyond my limits

You may get chest trouble - Severe colds and chest trouble were the frequent outcome

You have greater ability than you give yourself credit - I now know this to be true

You are on the fringe of understanding yourself - During the next few years I made great strides in self-understanding. So this was true.

Although you are doing reseach you have other gifts - I had been engaged full time on research for the last three years; very soon I was to turn away from it to follow a different gift.

You are being urged on, but not necessarily in a scholastic way. - The area to which I turned was counselling and helping students to expand themselves

Your future will be concerned with study and students - My professional career combined academic lecturing and helping young students develop as people

You will help others to understand - At the time I thought this meant helping others gain academic understanding, but most of my future was spent helping young people to understand themselves.

There are ideas in your soul that are as yet just an embryo. - At the time I had no idea that my future talents would lie in working with young people helping them to face life.

You will have responsibilities hard to put up with. - In the future there were many times when my total load almost crippled me.

You have a promising career You will have a successful career - both these were true. You will still be working at 60 helping others to understand. - this was true. You have just completed and published a thesis - This was correct You are coming to the end of an era and are about to start a new chapter in your

You will be associated with other universities - True

You will go to America and visit universities there - I did so in 1969

Your future is in some way concerned with "intercommunication" - Since I was, at the time, working in electronics, I took this to mean in the area of engineering communications. However, the word "intercommunication" accurately describes my major later concern with building trust and inter-communication with other

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people.

You have two children, a boy and a girl - Correct

The girl is between five and six years of age - correct

She will grow to be very like you in characteristics - correct

Your home has spiritual kindliness, tolerance and no bigotry - Our home certainly had tolerance without bigotry. Years later my daughter remarked on the non-judgmental atmosphere in the home.

Your wife worries over little things. - This was correct, although I did not fully realise it at the time.

Your father's father is here: I have the name George. - These two statements were made one after the other. Because I refused to give away information, I did not mention that his name was, indeed, George.

Only later did I become more critical when I compared these with other statements that were incorrect. Of course, I had no compelling reason to want to contact someone “on the other side”. It was an academic experience for me. Arthur had told me to give no information away on which she could embroider, and suggested that I go along with her, as though I believed in the reality of the experience. I had tried to do this. However, I could see that someone who had lost a loved one - as Arthur had lost his wife Marjorie - could well be disposed to believe in the reality of contact with that loved one.

Arthur told me that when he first went to see Mrs Bailey she described in detail the nature of his mother's kitchen - right down to a detailed description of a particular copper kettle. He was amazed at this, as there was no way in which she could have known such details. Later, he realised that this knowledge did reside in his own mind, and that no more than clairvoyance or telepathy might be involved. Nonetheless, he was impressed by his own experience, and felt disappointed that I had not gained a similar experience.

Shortly before we left London to return home to Perth on the maiden voyage of the "Oriana", Arthur asked us to dinner. With him he had a friend, Josephine Chase. Josephine said that she was an astrologer -and I must have scoffed at the idea of astrology. To me, it seemed a mumbo-jumbo without foundation. Josephine claimed otherwise, stating that it was the compilation of human experience over aeons of time. Finally, she said that, if I could give her all the required details, such as date and time of birth, and the lattitude and longitude of my birth, she would cast my horoscope for me and post me the results. From this, I could judge whether there was any validity in what she wrote. This is what I received:

26 November 1960 Dear John,

Herewith your horoscope which I hope I have calculated correctly for 116EE, 32ES. Also that the zodiac is valid for those born south of the equator. When in the dim distant past astrology was first devised observations were taken in the northern hemisphere and the "science" grew from that. At that particular time there were no very advanced peoples living in the southern hemisphere and consequently it wasn't possible to check whether the patterns set up for people north of the equator would in fact apply to those born and living in the south. However, when you are having a lazy time at sea, I hope you will write to me and tell me where I am wrong (and right, too!)

On the general lay-out of your map I would say that most of the things that come into your life are outside your control, although of course, man always has free will. Also, you are quite dependent on others for putting you in the way of success (the latter of course always depends on yourself but it is a question of getting the opportunity to succeed). Then you are more introverted than extroverted (more inclined to analyse your ideas, motives and emotions) and the emphasis is on "being" rather than on "doing", though of course there is a mixture of both.

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Many years later, in 1995, Kay and I discussed Josephine's letter in detail. So far she seemed "spot-on". Most opportunities in my life have been presented to me, and I am certainly more introverted than extroverted. I read on:

If I have calculated the time correctly, then on the ascendant - which gives you your "window through which you see the world" - is the sign Scorpio which is in direct opposition to your Sun, Mercury and Venus which are in Taurus. This, to a certain extent, gives you a kind of Jekyll and Hyde character as you swing between two extremes: Scorpio is secretive (just as well I am writing this to you - I would have difficulty in getting you to talk about yourself), bold, scientific, has enormous driving power, wants to get to the bottom of things and so loves research, is sarcastic and gives the worst "backhanders" of any sign of the zodiac, and is sometimes downright cruel (though the latter would not apply to you since you have too many kindly aspects). Taurus on the other hand is slow, painstaking, conservative with fixed opinions, magnetic, kind, humane, obliging, artistic (you have quite a lot of musical talent even though you may not perform), and a fondness for food. Mercury (which covers the mind) in this sign gives you an orderly, practical mind, with ability to concentrate but rather unresponsive to new ideas. It also brings sociability, love of ease and fondness of money.

Secretive? No, that did not fit. We agreed that I did not keep important things to myself, although I did not always talk about things I did that I considered unimportant or trivial. In later years, as I grew in confidence, I became very open. Sarcastic? `Yes,' said Kay, `you can be.' Painstaking in what I do, conservative, fondness of food? -Well, yes. Musical talent? -again, yes, in my own underveloped way. Orderly and practical, good concentration but unresponsive to new ideas? - again more or less correct.

It would be incorrect to say that I loved research; I recognised my unresponsiveness to new ideas although for me this was coupled with the intimidating effects of fear: I was afraid to let myself go for fear of criticism. This limited my research progress. I was unimaginative, but I certainly had much driving power and liked getting to the bottom of things so that I understood them clearly.

So far Josephine impressed me.

But the keynote of your character is STUBBORNESS. You would be stubborn, I think, just for the sake of being stubborn; even if you knew the other person to be right, you would still stick to your own point of view. But this does not mean that you are not adaptable. You can be quite enthusiastic over things which interest you (preponderance of fire signs), though these enthusiasms can be erratic.

You have quite a measure of intuition, generosity, plenty of energy which sometimes takes the form of subdued restlessness. Honourable. You can at times be pugnacious, rebellious and intolerant though at other times you can be friendly, helpful and sympathetic. There is difficulty sometimes in putting yourself in the other fellow's shoes.

You could never be frivolous or silly. You are not very talkative and would never talk just for the sake of talking. Although highly intellectual you are not so much interested in literature and poetry as in the sciences. (I know this, of course, but it does come out in your chart.)

There is a certain streak of hardness, sterness and inner austerity which may make you a little selfish and impatient. You are very stern with yourself - wanting perfection always -and very self critical. But you have shrewdness and business ability, foresight, tactical ability and common sense. Very conscientious. Don't very much like to listen to others.

As well as having an essentially practical mind you are a deep thinker and a seeker after hidden things and, with plenty of intuitiion, you should get the answers. Also a vigorous and alert mind and very objective. You could easily detect an opponent's weakness and take advantage accordingly.

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You have plenty of courage, daring, enterprise and inventiveness. May even be rash at times but this is unlikely since the emphasis in your chart is on thinking before you act. All your aspects point to you being a good scientist and Mars trine Mercury is good for engineering (it says so in the book!).

On the other hand there is also a "softer" side to your nature. You are quite sensitive, have sympathy for those in need, have refinement and good taste, you are hospitable and philanthropic and could be very much taken up with metaphysical speculation. You may be given to morbid fancies, and with some astuteness and cunning are hardly able to avoid deception even though you do not wish to deceive. You are quite idealistic. Rather reserved. Not always tactful.

On balance your chart works out at four inharmonious aspects and seven harmonious ones so you are doing quite well - enough for you to struggle against, but not too much adversity. I have seen far worse maps.

Kay said that if I wanted to do something my way and felt that a suggested alternative approach was no better, I would still do it my way. She disagreed that I was ever stubborn for the sake of being stubborn so we disagreed with Josephine in this. However, enthusiasm for the things that interested me was a strong characteristic and Kay agreed that while I had much energy, there was an element of subdued restlessness in my character. She thought I was strong on generosity and that I could be friendly, helpful and sympathetic to others, but that I was never pugnaciuous - if that meant wanting to pick a verbal battle with someone.

It was true that I could rarely be frivolous, and in this I took after my father, although my daughter in 1995 considered that I could be frivolous. Kay thought that while I was not very talkative when young and did not talk for the sake of talking, I changed as I grew older. It was true that my interests did not lie predominantly in literature or poetry. I discussed with Kay how I behaved towards our children when they were young and agreed that, in retrospect, we were probably both too stern with them. We thought we inherited this from the way in which we were brought up by our parents, but noted that our own children were much less stern with their children -so they did not inherit our characteristics. It was true that I was stern and austere with myself, always self-critical and wanting perfection. I never entered a business career so cannot comment on my "shrewdness". We did not agree that I did not like listening to others.

The horoscope correctly stated that I was a deep thinker and a seeker after hidden things. Kay said that I was very objective, had a measure of courage, was sensitive and had sympathy for those in need. It was true that I was rather reserved and idealistic, but Kay thought that I was usually tactful. I did not know how to interpret the statement that I could be given to morbid fancies!

Once again, we thought that the horoscope was quite accurate. Josephine continued:

So much for your character. Now for how this pattern as "externalised" or worked out in practice in your life. I think your childhood was rather difficult chiefly because your family life and history was not very happy. There seems to have been some emotional difficulty with the parents, but the main lack was either shortage of money, or you were made to feel there was a shortage of money. There wouldn't have been much money left over to be spent on entertainments or amusements for instance. Your own money will always be in short supply. In this respect you will have changeful and unsettled fortunes, loss and trouble and maybe loss through women (eg, the mother). You are perfectly capable of earning a good income on your own merit but unfortunately you do not always get as much as you deserve. However, as regards money this is not the whole story. Where you will receive money is through other people; your partner's money for instance, is very well aspected and she either has, or will have some money of her own. You should receive legacies in the course of time and things like grants for educational purposes would come into this area. You would also do well in business, especially in partnership; if, for instance, you set up in partnership when you get back to Australia, you would do far better than if you were to take a teaching job, because it is through partners and other people that you will always get money. But a word of warning: if you go into partnership with

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a friend or a group of people, be careful you are not deceived. Never gamble or speculate; if you want to invest money be very careful that you put it into securities that are absolutely safe.

We thought the horoscope was less successful in the area of money.It was true that my childhood was difficult because of emotional problems with my parents - although I was not fully aware of it at the time. It is also true that there was a shortage of money, because I grew up in the years of the great economic depression of the 1930s, but I was never very aware of this. My parents hid these things from me, and I could make no envious comparison with other children, because none of us had money. To me, life was normal. Money has never been very important to me, provided I had enough to meet my basic needs. Naturally, shortly after marriage it was in short supply, but this applied to most young married people. The thought that I did not get as much money as I deserved never entered my head - even if it were true. Most people receive some legacies when their parents die, and Kay and I were no different in this respect. However, we did not expect to receive a legacy from my Aunt Pat - amounting to $90,000, if I count our children. Gambling and speculating has never been within my character and I have always been careful, but not ultra conservative with investments.

We gave Josephine only half-marks for this section of the horoscope!

You are very fond of your children and they are very important to you. However, I think you may be rather too severe with them and you don't think you should spend too much money on them. Also, you should be careful of their health - there may be some sickness although this is not serious.

Your own health should be good although if you were struck down with an illness it might be something quite puzzling. In which case the more unorthodox methods of healing should cure you, but a severe illness is very unlikely. Work, employment, food, clothing are all favourably aspected although you may change your employment suddenly and often. You work extremely well with friends and groups of people and they give you quite a lot of help. (This is where friends are not in partnership with you.)

Your marriage is very fortunate (aren't you lucky!) I quote from the book: a generous, lofty, loyal, devoted partner. Honour through marriage ie, you married someone who was and is very well thought of. There may be some worry about the partner and sometimes there is unsettlement eg, have you had to move several times since you were married? The only thing you might not see eye-to-eye on is on the friends and groups of people you mix with. And it is possible that you did not end up with the girl you first thought of but you couldn't have done better as it is. Your relationship to other people, partners, contacts, cooperation with others are all equally good.

You should have success abroad but here again money may cause difficulty. However, it is extremely good for work and employment. There may possibly be a very deep lesson that you have to learn abroad.

Friends and groups of people are helpful for money and work. Some of your friends may be unorthodox, eccentric or downright "cranky". (I don't know which word quite describes Arthur!) Except as partners you should find that you have good friends. Also that, with the above exception your hopes and wishes should come true.

Again Josephine got much of this right. In retrospect we realise that we were too severe with our children, and did not lavish money on them. Not only did we not have much money spare, but we thought that children should not value their parents through material goods that "bought" their love. Perhaps both Kay and I followed the pattern of our parents. We loved our children very much but, compared with the way in which parents of the 1980s and 1990s related to their children, we were probably too tough on them. I was never (at least until 1995) ever struck down with a puzzling illness, and had no severe illnesses. I did not change employment suddenly and often. In one respect, however,

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the horoscope was very accurate. I did not end up with the girl I first thought of²⁶, but I could not have had a better partner in life. Kay was all the things that Josephine wrote and more. Generally my hopes and wishes have come true.

In the years from 1967 onward I was to live with Kay and the children in a university student residence and much of my time was devoted to the well-being of students who had personal problems. I related to these students to the exclusion of my own family, and Kay had just cause not to see eye-to-eye with me over the people with whom I mixed, because I was neglecting my family. Earlier, the horoscope stated that I could be selfish. I believe that there was some truth in this because, if I became very enthusiastic about what I was doing, and convinced as to the importance of my cause, I could ignore the needs of others.

The horoscope concluded:

With regard to the future: great emphasis is on children and this state of affairs will last until 1963 with the possibility of an addition to the family then. Plenty of energetic work, good aspects for your partner's money and many possibilities of travelling. Money from abroad is possible provided it comes through others. A great change in your employment at the moment in fact one that will affect your whole life. (I don't need to be an astrologer to tell you that!) Immediate changes with friends and groups of people - in other words you are losing one lot and will meet another - and changes in your profession and public standing. There may be unexpected confusion with regard to friends and partners until next October, but I don't quite know how this will work out in practice. You may find when you return to Australia that, although your immediate environment will bring you happiness, you may also find it a little restricting, especially through the home. You may also find that you cannot devote as much time to study as you like.

We never contemplated an addition to the family. Indeed after problems associated with the birth of our children, I was not anxious that Kay should go through it again. For the rest of my working life there was much energetic work and I did travel: not only to other states of Australia, but to Britain again for a year, and also periods in America and South-East Asia. As already described, we did receive $90,000 from abroad.

Since I was about to return to my work at the University of Western Australia, a great change in employment did take place and although happy at first, I did find it restricting and, within a few years, branched out in another direction at which I could not have guessed in 1960. This change was one to affect my whole life.

-o0o

I wonder why, after thirty-five years, I decided to include details of my psychic sitting and the casting of my horoscope in my autobiography. At the time I regarded them as interesting experiences, but dismissed them. A year later I had forgotten about them, and they played no part in my life. So why, now, resurrect them and give them some importance? I cannot answer this but tell myself that they were two unusual experiences that could be of interest to others, and they were experiences that intrigued me at the time, and continue to do so. I leave it to the reader to pass judgment on them.

- XXIX

We faced the prospect of returning to Australia with mixed feelings. We had greatly enjoyed our three years of freedom and our three years of new experience in a part of the world that seemed surrounded by history, and immersed in living history. We took the Daily Telegraph newspaper each morning and

See page 116. Had Joscie Sachse not already had a boyfriend, my life might have been different.

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The Observer on the weekends. We found ourselves better informed on current affairs than we ever were from The West Australian paper. This may be a little unfair to the Australian paper as, in London, we felt that we were in the heart of things, and probably read the papers with greater interest. We read of the European Free Trade Association starting up as a rival to the European Economic Community and often noted that important decisions shaping the world took place in London where we lived.

It was in our first year in Britain that we hired a television set. Before we left Australia television had started in the Eastern States but had not reached Perth. On the weekend when we received our set, we sat glued to the black and white screen and watched everything until our eyes were sore. We greatly enjoyed watching the high quality programs on the BBC.

In October of 1958 we watched the election of Pope John XXIII direct from Rome! This was hailed as a masterpiece of electronic ingenuity: Never before had television been transmitted such a distance, so that people in London could watched “live” events in Rome - particularly when Italian and British television worked on different technical systems. We did not guess that it would not be very many years before world-wide television would be the norm. Satellite communication was non-existent.

We watched as the Soviet Union and the United States of America vied with each other in the space race. In October 1957, the USSR had launched Sputnik I - an 84 kg object that orbited the earth 500 miles up. Then, in November, they launched another satellite, this time with a dog on board. Shortly after we arrived in London, in February 1958, the United States launched their first satellite - the 30 pound Explorer. However, they faced many problems with their Atlas rocket, five of their first seven exploding on take-off. In January 1959, the Russian Lunik flew past the moon, and the intensity of rivalry between the two nations increased. In May 1959, the United States put monkeys in orbit, and in September, a Soviet rocket hit the moon. In April 1960 the first weather satellite was launched, and it was not long before sufficient of these were in orbit to provide a much more reliable weather forecasting service.

In 1959 Australian population passed the ten million mark while in January 1961 the first contraceptive pill went on to the market in the United Kingdom.

Change was taking place in Africa. In February 1960, British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, visiting South Africa, made a famous speech. He said

“The wind of change is blowing through this continent and, whether we like it or not, this growth of political consciousness is a political fact.”

The following month we read about the Sharpeville massacre in the Transvaal where 56 Africans died and 162 were injured. Television brought the realities of African unrest to our homes. There were to be many years of killing and injustice in Africa, as independence was gained slowly in various states.

Surrounded by this much greater awareness of the world, and enjoying the British countryside and way of life, Kay and I debated whether we could settle permanently in England. As we made our booking on the maiden voyage of the new 42,000 ton Oriana, we never doubted that we would return to Australia, but had the feeling that had we stayed five years in Britain, we might have stayed there forever.

- XXX

The Oriana was the pride of the P & O fleet. We took the boat train from London to Southampton and found the docks festooned with signs of good wishes for the maiden voyage. The ship was much larger than the old Orontes and everything had a sense of newness about it. Our cabin was very modern and

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comfortable, tastefully furnished and decorated. However, we encountered various teething troubles, not the least being that our plumbing clogged and for some time we were without running water in our cabin. Our journey was to be a swift one of twenty days: Through the Mediterranean to Naples and the Suez canal - for which Egyptian President Nasser had paid £29 million by way of compensation to shareholders in 1958 - and then to Aden and across the Indian Ocean direct to Fremantle.

Not only was the ship fast, but she had several new features. One was that she did not need tugboats to ease her in and out of harbour. She could come in and out of a wharf sideways. We were having breakfast on the morning that we came into the wharf at Naples. By now we were seasoned travellers; no longer did we go without breakfast so we could be on deck as we came into the port. Through the port-hole in the dining room we could see the ship edging its way, sideways, ever closer to the wharf. We came closer and closer, without appearing to slow down. There was an almighty thud and a shudder went through the ship as we struck the wharf with force. The crew had misjudged the handling of the ship and several plates on the side were badly damaged.

Soon it was announced that repair work would take a day, so that we would be in harbour for two days instead of one. Quickly, tours were organised for anyone who wanted to make a day-trip to the ancient town of Pompeii at the foot of the volcano Vesuvius. Judith and Peter were old enough to take with us, so we excitedly set out in the bus. We were pleased that the ship had been damaged because this gave us opportunity for an unrivalled experience.

We had learnt about Pompeii at school: the ancient Roman town that had been buried in lava and ash in AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted. To read of this in a school-book in Australia as a child was one thing; to stand in the streets of the excavated town and see the ruts formed by the passage of Roman chariots all those years ago, was something quite different.

Pompeii, before the eruption, was a prosperous town with forum, amphitheatre, many grand houses with frescoes and statues. It was a town full of the bustle of daily activity, prosperous and complacent. Then, on 5 February AD 62, it was shattered by a great earthquake of which many eye-witness accounts remain. The town recovered and, for the next seventeen years, repaired the damage. And then at the beginning of August, AD 79, the ground again began to quake, all springs and wells dried up. Conditions quietened until on the morning of 24 August there was a deafening crack as Vesuvius broke open and spewed forth a mixture of smoke, flames, blazing mud and incandescent stones. Burning mud poured down the slopes, spitting and boiling as it reached the sea. Towns and villages within a radius of fifteen miles fell victim to the disaster.

We know the fate of Pompeii both from excavations in recent centuries and from eye-witness accounts at the time. Pliny the Younger was an eye-witness and wrote in dramatic detail of the death of his uncle Pliny the Elder. About two thousand people died in the eruption out of a population of about twenty-thousand. When the first eruption started and ashes began to fall on the city, many were able to escape, using whatever means they could. In the excavation, many bodies of citizens and dogs were found, but there were no horses or animals that could be used for transport. Obviously these were quickly harnessed by those escaping.

When our party reached Pompeii we were first ushered into the Antiquarium. There we saw the corpse of a young man lying face down on the ground, cradling his head in his arms; nearby was the contorted figure of a dog in the agony of asphixiation before being covered in molten lava²⁷. We were led to view

²⁷ The original bodies were buried in lava which then solidified. With time, the corpses disintegrated leaving cavities in the shape of the bodies. Centuries later these cavities were filled with plaster and the lava then gently chipped away to reveal plaster copies of the bodies. It was

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excavated villas adorned with beautiful mosaics and frescoes, with statues of Apollo and Venus. We saw earthenware pots and glass jugs. We viewed the amphitheatre designed to hold 20,000 spectators - the entire population. A group of Italian touts called the men of our party to one side and ushered us into what they called The Bachelor's Apartment. The walls were adorned with graffiti and lewd sexual drawings - man has not changed in two thousand years.

Our stay at Pompeii was too short. We needed several days to explore what was to be seen, but it is remarkable what a detailed reconstruction of Roman life of the times was made possible by the careful work of excavation and reconstruction. The memory of our short visit to Pompeii remained long with me.

There is little else to record of our journey home. After leaving Suez and Aden, we headed for the Indian Ocean and enjoyed good weather all the way. We left behind the cold weather of the British winter; we left behind us a country steeped in centuries of history and we headed for Fremantle, a little town on the other side of the world with little European-style history to its name.

Approaching the coast, we felt excited as we passed the northern tip of Rottnest Island and saw the sandy beaches and pine trees of Cottesloe. We entered Fremantle harbour slowly and scanned the many faces on the wharf for our family. Soon we were ashore with those to whom we had written for the past three years. We were home, and it felt good.

Three years in London had passed quickly. Much had been achieved. In less than three years I had gained my Doctorate in Philosophy and proved that I could hold my own with British academics. My confidence grew enormously. I had a much wider picture of the world both historically and politically. I had met many people: colleagues, friends and relatives. I had a sense of my ancestry and of Kay's family. We had experienced the British countryside and could compare it with that of Australia. All this gave us a new perspective on life.
More importantly Kay, the children and I had shared many experiences and strengthened the bond between us. Our family felt strong, and happy.
These years had been years of consolidation.
these that were on display.