WEEK 1: AN EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTY
Monday 29 June to Sunday 5 July 1914
July 1914 dawned gloriously warm and sunny, with temperatures soaring to almost 30 degrees. In Folkestone, Mrs Armstrong and her daughters were looking forward to the inter-regimental polo tournament finals at Hurlingham, which King George V and Queen Mary were also attending. In Netheravon, Pat Armstrong had more serious business in mind. Dissatisfied with his mother’s living arrangements in a boarding house and her reticence on the subject, he decided to take matters into his own hands and find more suitable accommodation for the family. Things were a bit cooler in mid-winter New Zealand, where Colonel Algie Neill sat down after a long day’s work to warm himself by the fire while writing a letter to …