The Diary of Iris Vaughan We have already mentioned that with the SA War over, life at the Dutch Reformed church soon settled down to its normal Sunday routine. At the Anglican church that the Vaughans attended, things were also back to the usual hatching, matching and dispatching, with the occasional confirmation thrown in for good measure. “When the Bishop comes a big boy is to get confirmation. He is Mark Raine. He is very clever and asking Mr. Damp (Mr Campion) so many things about God that Mr. Damp (Mr Campion) gets savige.” The “big boy”’s name was actually Herford Rorke (1886-1924). We briefly glossed over his name when we mentioned the Adelaide Town Guard, of which he was a member at the age of 16. Now he was being prepared for his confirmation, which would take place in November 1902, when Bishop Charles Edward Cornish came from Grahamstown to test and confirm him. Like Iris, Herford drove the Reverend Campion crazy by asking lots of questions. After leaving school, Herford worked for Standard Bank. He played rugby and cricket, and was an active member of the Adelaide Literary and Debating Society. In 1914 he married Iris’ school friend, Gladys Armstrong. I have a photograph of the Adelaide Cricket Team selected to play Cradock in Dec 1903, where Herford was the scorekeeper, sitting right in front (picture 1). At that stage Cecil was an active member of the Adelaide Cricket Club, and from the Adelaide Free Press we hear that he still played the occasional friendly game at 51. And in 1902, when Herford was preparing for his confirmation, Cecil was 50 years old. “Pop is now the chief warder man in Church taking the plate round to ask for money. On Sunday all must go. Some in morning some at nite putting on of best clothes and hats. In Church men take off hats women keep on hats. Pop puts on his tail coat and best black bouler hat. On other days he wears his old bouler hat.” Those were the days when people really dressed for church, and nobody would have been seen dead without a hat. Iris was aware of her father’s position as Chief Church Warden at Christ Church, and seemingly proud of him. Note how she describes what he wore to church – coat tails and a bowler hat (pictures 4 & 5) – but says nothing about her mother’s clothes. We also learn that the Vaughans attended the evening service at Christ Church: “The other nite the lamp hanging over the front seat was going up high and making smoke. Mr. Damp (Mr Campion) was preeching a long sermon in the pullpit, and made signs to Pop to put it out and Pop must go and stand on High bak of seats and shaking backwards and sideways becos tops are thin to stand on and coat tails flying and he not being able to reach lamp and nearly falling over backwards and much laughing was going on we laughed too much. and then Pop got his savige look and got slowly down and came and sat in his place and Mom was red in the face and just left the lamp with long smoke coming out and Pop said let the dam thing burn I not braking my neck for it, and then the dam thing went out which was lucky for all.” Beautifully written. Almost no punctuation as the young writer dashes off her thoughts and observations before she forgets them. The description of her father wobbling around on top of the church pew, “coat tails flying”, while trying to extinguish the smoking oil lamp, is exquisitely lively and full of tongue-in-cheek humour. Iris realized they had all gone too far in laughing at her father’s antics about the same time as he did, and she watched the “savige” look she knew so well come over his face (picture 2). Cecil, realizing he was being made fun off, gathered himself, stepped off the back of the church pew in slow and dignified motion and prompty sat down, abandoning all attempts to snuff out the lamp and muttering under his breath about the “dam thing”. Patty, meanwhile, was red-faced with embarrassment, and then the lamp obligingly went out on its own! In the absence of a JH Jackson cartoon, we can at least have a look at what the inside of the church looked like (picture 3) and, although the original pews have been replaced with new ones, I’m sure that in our imaginations we can see Cecil Vaughan swaying backwards and forwards like elegant black sea kelp on the back of one of them!
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 20:24:40 +0000