Allen Hall 2010 LaFayette Ave.

McMinnville, Oregon 97128 Allen Hall 127/135 Farnham Road Slough Berks SL1 4UY England Atten: Allen Hall Allen, A short synopsis of memorable events experienced during my time in England. WHY ENGLAND? I completed my BS at Woodbury University in 1949 and still had U.S. Gov. GI Bill (Ed.) unexpended so I elected to continue pursuing my planned career in motion picture stage/set design. I chose Chelsea School of Art in London ( London U. exten.), years 1949-1950. ONTRA TO ENGLISH SOCIETY Made aquaintence/friends with British Empire kids and other leasure class people enrolled. Prime Benifactor, William (Bill)Coss. Retired U.S. Army Major who stayed in the UK after WWII. Bill was the officer in charge of the military police who guarded Herman Goreing at the Nurnberg Trial. After Goreing committed suicide, I believe it was sort of a forced retirement for Bill. BILLS ENGLAND. Bill married Iris Gault, a wealthy (ship building) widow who maintained homes in London and the South Down. (South Harting, Havant/Hants.) Iriss father was a British Empire General in India (large red-coat painting of him in her home.) Iriss children (Bills step children) David and Jennifer Gault are to inherit large fortunes when they became of age (21). INTRODUCTION. Bill and Iris introduced me to clearly upper class English Society. Dinner/tea/museum visits, etc to Count and Countess Eric Lewenhaupt (Swedish & United Kingdom Citizenship). The Count was very well Swedish born/educated (St. Petersberg, Russia, etc.) conversant in English, Russian, Swedish, Spanish and French. In his London home, he displayed faded framed letters on the wall that consisted of correspondence in French between an ancestral Swedish Count and Louis XVIs Marie-Antoinette. The Count authord many booksmost in Russian. Countess Lewenhaupt (Dora) was English born into a family of great wealth (things like shoe factories in Belguim, etc.) Dora was a very accomplished painter. She was a respected member of all the Royal Socities of Art. Dora often painted in the South-of-France her favorite subject seemed to be sunburned life-size nudes. The third floor of her London home was her studio. By the way, their ancestrial home is Landsdown Housean English historical preservation home. Photographs of their staff(1920s must have been 20 or more. At this time 1949/50 they had only two )2. I liked their French cook (Marie) personality and food! It turns out I guess, the reason I was introduced to the Lewenhaupts was that they had as 18 year old daughter, Karin, very attractive and a product of years of classical ballet training. I dated? (escorted) her a number of times. One time toe Hatchetts Restaurant (near Forten and Massions). The Count had a bodyguard accompany us (hc called him something else) as Karin was wearing her mothers diamond and Saffire neckless (100 carots?). The detective kept Tattler (magazine) photographers away from us.

Earlier, the Tattler and London newspapers had headlines that read Debutant presented at two Courts with photos of Karin in London and Stockholm. Another time at dinner at the Savoy Hotel (Strand) Karin introduced me to Prima-Ballarina Margot Fontaine. Bill and Iris Coss took me to a grand party in Londons west-end. A magnificent home; the hostess was Mary-Hanburry-Counard. This was a fun evening except the young guys my age were very snobish. Must have been 100 guests in formal atire. One night a dinner at the Lewenhaupt home was quite memorable. We sat around a large round dinning table with a top inlayed with signs of the Zodiac. I was seated next to an Austrian Duchess, long name, they called her Alecia. All dinner conversation was in FrenchAlecia later complimented me on my converational attentivness. I told her I did not speak French..she was ammused. (Inherited her pre-WWI title). Later, after Karin and I helped Marie (French Cook/server) with dishes (a lark), the time was about midnight and Alecias car did not come to take her home. The Count got on the telephone and hired a Limo for me to take her homethen to drop me off at my flat in Chelsea. By the way, this great home of the Lewenhaupts was on Victoria Road in Knightbridge. Another memorable night was attending the Christmas Special at Londons Palladian. Karin dance in the corps-de-ballet Puss-in-Boots. One Evening Bill and Iris took me to dinner at Eastlee House near South Harting. This grand 18th Century house was a gift to Lady Hamilton (from Lord..?). a silver and candle light event. Their decendants still reside there. When David Gault recieved his inheiratence, he moved into Telegraph Housea huge mansion on top of a hill at the end of an old Roman roadTelegraph house was given its name from the Napolianic wars, as it then functioned as a semaphore station.the ballroom in this house is a basketball court sizea heard of sheep are used to trim the lawns. Cherry-Tree Cottage in South Harting (on the Downs) was built before Columbus discovered America. Upstair rooms were painted in stylized cherry trees by Catholic Monks who were hidden from Cromwell s religious war armies. The head-master at the Chelsea School of Art ( I dont remember his name) was high placed in the Royal Accadamy of Portrait Painters. He secured us an invitation to meet HRH Princess Margaret. I seem to remember it had something to do at that time with the Chelsea Pensioners. Much more, but that all for now. Love Dad