Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

wine, examples of Madeira needlework and lace for presents back home. We
also hired a large ‘barouche’ for a drive into the surrounding hills.
The next port of call was Lisbon, where we had a day ashore walking
around this attractive city and returned, weary, to the ship. Sitting at a table in
a small saloon having a drink with some of the others I noticed a very pretty
girl in a fur coat and an orchid corsage walk very gracefully by. She was with
her parents and younger sister and had just embarked. The ship drew away
from the quayside and we were embarked on the last section of the voyage –
three days run to Southampton.
Later I met the lovely girl, who was called Maureen. In that Spring of 1950
the Holmes family were travelling to England where she was due to take a
secretarial course because that was ‘the thing to do’ those days! She taught me
to dance a bit, and with another passenger, a South American we had
nicknamed "Fatso", she did a kind of cabaret Tango to the diversion of us all. .
We talked and danced the time away; Maureen was a very graceful natural
dancer and of course my skills improved enormously. I made a point of
spending time with her during the three days left to us and discovered she had
a delightful natural personality, adventurous character and charming nature.
The last evening on board our Antarctic group invited Maureen, the ‘slick
chicks’, Ann, and Jean to a dinner party, the menu including ‘baked Alaska’ of
course. So we docked at Southampton, went through Customs and
Immigration and took the boat train to London. Maureen gave me her address
and we resolved to meet again. It was now April and I would have about six
months before heading south again for over a year.]
Maureen was placed by her parents in a family boarding house in Frognal
Road, off Finchley Road, London, with Mrs. Mather, who looked after about
eight "working girls" - provided their meals too. Maureen attended the
"Triangle" secretarial College in South Molton Street, London. Later I invited
her to my college, for the St. Catharine's May Ball, and we met quite often in
London and became good friends. Apart from seeing me both in Cambridge
(punting on the Cam and other diversions) and London, going out to ballets,
operas, concerts and plays - usually in the "gods", and dining out, she had quite
a few friends for company and to visit. Life was pretty full and interesting for
her.
First I travelled north to see my parents and then, at the end of April, went
up to Cambridge. I found digs in Hills Road and renewed acquaintance with St
Catharine’s and the Zoology Department. PhD’s based on extensive fieldwork
were unusual and I had to sort out firm arrangements to meet the ‘residence’
requirement., But with Sidney Smith’s support the Degree Committee agreed
that I could count register and count my fieldwork towards the time
requirement. All my Antarctic field work (some 3 years) was deemed as
equivalent to three terms of residence in Cambridge! This meant that I would
have to put in a minimum of 6 terms residence in order to qualify for my
doctorate.
I could fit in one term’s residence now, Easter Term, April-June l950 and
the Long Vacation, and then would need an additional 4 terms of residence in
l952-53, following a planned year or so of fieldwork at South Georgia. This
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