Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 4. p 766

The King and Queen'€™s Visit to Reading€” continued

M r. S. H . Hodgkin , rep resen tin g th e Reading
War Hospitals Care a n d Comforts Committee .
Alderman Bull an d M r. B . Russell, rep resen tin g
th e Reading Recruiting Committee.
M r. Sydney Brain , rep re sen tin g Reading
Labour Advisory Committee.

M iss C. T . Darker , H o n . Secretary o f th e Reading War Savings Committee.
M r. E . O . Farrer , Chairman o f the Reading
Board o f Guardians.

H .M . Postmaster a t Reading (M r. E . Wedlake ).
T h e Mayor's Chaplain (Canon W . W . Fowler ).
T h e a rra n g e m e n ts g e n e ra lly w ere a d m ira b ly
c a rr ie d o u t b y Major Denys Egginton , w h o was
assisted b y stew a rd s fro m a V .A .D . d e ta c h m e n t,
b y th e cou rtesy o f Vice -Admiral Fleet, Director
o f th e Berkshire Branch o f t h e British Red
Cross Society .
Major Egginton is p a rtic u la r ly
t o b e co n g ra tu la te d o n th e m a n n er in w h ich h e
m a rsh a lle d th e p eop le w h o w ere p resen ted .

S p e a k i n g to C a p t . F . F . Elderton ,R .F .C .

A t Messrs. Huntley & Palmers , Ltd.

P u n ctu a lly a t 3 p .m . th e Mayor re ce iv e d th e ir
Majesties on a rriv a l a t th e Biscuit Factory and
p resen te d M r. W . Howard Palmer , ch a irm a n o f
th e C o m p a n y , an d M r. Eustace E. Palmer,
d e p u ty -ch a ir m a n o f th e C o m p a n y . A m ove was
th en m a d e to th e B o a r d R o o m , w h ere th e C h a ir
m an o f th e C o m p a n y ask ed h e r M a je sty to a c
c e p t a b o u q u e t fr o m Miss Elizabeth Palmer,
d a u g h te r o f th e d e p u ty -ch a ir m a n .
H e a fte r
w a rd s m a d e th e fo llo w in g p r e s e n t a t io n s : M rs.
Howard Palmer, , M rs. Eustace Palmer , M r.
Alfred Palmer, S ir Ernest Palmer , B a r t., M r.
Cecil Palmer . H e re g re tte d th e a bsen ce o f his
o t h e r D ire c to r s, his b ro th e r, M r. Charles Palmer
, w ho was ill fro m an o p e r a t io n ; Lieut.-Col.
Albert Palmer, D .S .O ., co m m a n d in g th e Royal
Gloucester Hussars, now in Palestine ; Lieut.
Eric Palmer, w ith t h e 1st L if e 'Guards in
F r a n c e ; a n d Capt. Geoffrey Palmer , in the
Queen's O w n Oxfordshire Hussars, in F ra n ce.
A n o th e r m e m b e r o f th e fa m ily w h o w as o n the
p o in t o f b e in g m a d e a D ir e c to r o f t h e C om p a n y
w h en w a r b ro k e o u t was Lieut. Ronald Poulton Palmer,
o f th e Royal Berkshire Regiment, w ho
was k illed in France in May, 1915. F u r th e r also
his o n ly son, Lieut. Reginald Palmer, was se rv
in g in F ra n ce w ith his Majesty's Grenadier Guards and
Sir Ernest Palmer's y o u n g e st son,
Capt. Arnold Palmer, was w ith th e Royal Berkshire Regiment.
In all, sin ce th e o u tb re a k o f
w a r, 1,680 o f th e ir m e n h a d jo in e d his Majesty's
Force s, a n d 106 h a d lost th eir lives. M r. Howard
Palmer n e x t p resen ted M r. Herbert Pretty , the
general manager, w h ose s o n h a d b een severely
w o u n d e d ; M r. F. B . East, th e h e a d manufacturer
, who, w ith 52 years service w ith th e firm ,
h a d risen to b e an assistant directorr ; M r. A . T.
Knight, chairman o f th e Factory Workers '€™
Representation Committee, an d also th e president
o f th e Trades an d Labour Council o f Reading­
; and M r. D . W . Blunden , se cre ta ry o f the
Factory Workers' ™ Representation Committee .
P ro ce e d in g to th e Factory y a rd th e K in g and
Q u een w ere g r e e te d b y 79 m en , e a ch w ith 50
y e a rs ’ co n tin u o u s se rv ice a t th e F a c t o r y , an d 36
w h o h a v e b e e n w o u n d e d in th e w a r and retu rn ed
t o th e F a c to r y . T h e R o y a l visitors then co m
m e n ce d th e to u r o f th e F a c to r y , b e g in n in g w ith
th e manufacture and packing of Army ration
biscuits, a n d p ro ce e d in g a fte r w a rd s t o see the
m a n u fa ctu re o f rusks, th e p u ttin g u p o f sm all
p a ck e ts f o r th e Expeditionary Forces, th e m a n u ­
fa c tu r e o f va riou s b iscu its f o r British prisoners
o f war in en em y cou n tries, re tu rn in g th rou gh
o n e o f th e in v o ice offices, on e o f th e le d g e r offices
a n d th e filin g and re co rd office, t o th e Board
R o o m , w h ere th ey sig n e d the visitors’ b o o k b e
fo r e th e ir d e p a rtu re a t 4.15 p .m .
Messrs, Huntley and Palmers h a v e a cte d by
a p p o in tm e n t su ccessively to H .M . Q u een Victoria­
, H .M . K in g Edward V I I . and H .M . K in g
George V . T h e business was fo u n d e d in 1826,
w h en th e p o p u la tio n o f R e a d in g was 17,000.
T o -d a y it is 91,000. B e fo re th e w a r t h e n u m b er
o f p ersons e m p lo y e d a t the Biscuit Factory was
o v e r 6,000, o f w h om o n e -fifth w ere fem ales. T o
d a y th e re a re e m p lo y e d ju s t u n d e r 5,000, o f
w h om m o re th a n two -fifths a re females. T h e
n u m b e r w h o h a ve jo in e d h is M a je s t y ’ s F orces
is 1,680, a n d 106 h a v e b een k ille d o r h a v e died
o n service.
B e fo r e th e w a r o v e r 400 varietie s o f buscuits
w ere m a n u fa ctu re d . T o -d a y o n ly 50, all c o m ­
p a ra tiv e ly p lain kind s, a re m a n u fa ctu re d . B y
f a r th e la rg e s t item in th e ir m a n u fa ctu re to ­
d a y consists o f ration biscuits f o r th e troops in
t w o va rieties, w h ite an d b ro w n . A ll th e b is
cu its f o r B ritish p rison ers s u p p lied b y th e Central Prisoners­
o f War Committee a re m a n u fa c­
tu re d b y Huntley and Palmers.
V e r y la rge
q u a n titie s a r e also se n t e v e ry w eek t o th e Navy
an d Army Canteen Board , th e Young Mens'
Christian Association an d th e Church Army fo r
th e u se o f o u r F orces a b ro a d .
P a ck e ts are
g r e a tly in d e m a n d fo r th e tr o o p s, an d n ea rly
200.000.000 p a ck ets h a v e b een sen t t o them
sin ce th e w a r b e g a n .
T h e clerica l staff b e fo r e th e w a r n u m b e re d
343 o f w h om fo u r w ere fe m a le s. T o -d a y the
n u m b e r is 274, o f w h om 75 a re fem ales. In the
filin g and re co rd office t h e firm files a b o u t
1.000.000 d o cu m e n ts p e r an n u m .
T h e e x p o rt
t r a d e in b iscu its fr o m t h e U n ite d K in g d o m was,
b e fo r e th e w a r, o n e o f v e ry g r e a t m a g n itu d e ,
and th e v a s t b u lk o f th ese e x p o rts e m an ated
fro m Huntley and Palmers. L t d ., w h o ha d
tra v e llin g rep resen ta tiv es in e v e r y co u n t r y o f
th e civ ilised w o rld . S in ce th e w a r th e e xp o rt
o f b iscu its ha s b e e n p ro h ib ite d .
In th e ir engineers' repairing shops Huntley
a n d Palmers, a t th e re q u e s t o f th e Ministry o f