An Autobiography of an Ancient Athlete & Antiquarian

216 AUTOBIOGRAPHY "patriotic man, the present war and its losses affected him ''greatly, and may have shortened his life. His only son, "Colonel T. W. Purdy, of the Norfolk Regiment, was one of the '' first severely wounded, but is now recovered, and will keep the "name green in the county, for he has a sturdy son, who was " the solace of his graudfather's last days. "In public he did quite his fair share of duty as a member "of the Aylsham Board, a Commissioner for Income Tax, and "chairman of the Foulsham Parish Council, where he was one "of the most regular atten<lants, and where his efforts to pro– " mote and instruct a club for younger meu for whist, of which "he was an expert, were greatly appreciated. "His close observation of natural history was well-known, "and though on one occasion he was subje'-ted to undeserved "ridicule (by those who only believe what they see with their "own eyes), when he detected and observed a pair of luminous "owls. His correctness was never doubted by tho e who knew "his extreme accuracy, and the matter was set at rest when it "was endorsed by no less a scieutist than Mr. J. H. Gurney, "F.Z.S., of Keswick. " Holdiug stroug views on many subjects it cannot be said "that he made no enemies a111011g those who disliked his robust " common seuse, but very few will be more regretted by their "frieurls than he. "As an archreologist (he was the most active member of the "Committee of the N. and N.A.S.), he was most accurate and "careful, and knew the history of every house for miles round. "In short, he was a many-sided and most hearty wan, and will "be missed by very many, and by no one more than by W.R." After a long endeavour to make oil and water– dissent and church-mix I left my first lodgings in July, and got rooms at a friend's house, moving in on the r rth. Since then I have lived a very comfortable life, though bothered greatly with my health. By the 22nd I had got my weight down to 15 st. 4 lbs., including my clothes, and have since kept at this or a little less. My two sons, A.L.R. and H.G.R., who had attested from the first, joined the colours and soon got commissions. The Zeppelins were, of course, the subject of general con– versation in the city, but as I pointed out by calculations the chance of anyone's honse being bit by a falling bomb was only about one in 62,000. Capt. E. M. Beloe, who was on duty at Norwich for a month, came and lodged at my lodgings and cheered me up a lot. We had one journey to Wymondham, where I bought an old copper pot, and had the gas fitted under it. This month E. M. Hawtrey, the fine Eton runner, and an old opponent of mine (see p. 29), died, a very excellent and pleasant man.