I wrote a long letter re; My father's Rolex watch which he had until he swam
in the Indian Ocean a few years after W.W,1, all after the "Mock Beggar
Rebellion when , as the first British officer he managed to Nab "Mahatma Gandhi"
Some time later the weather became unusually extra hot. My Father drove to
the Indian Ocean and managed to swim in the cooler water for a long time.
Needless to say that was the end of his Rolex, but he still had the gold chain
which he always wore with his waistcoat and different watch, also attached
with his house key !
What happened to Wilson Basille ? Tony and I rented a house on Water St,
Almonte, for a few months that Wilson had partially repaired after a fire there.
It was comfortable for the winter; during which time I flew up to Yellowknife to
help look after Tony's 3 grandchildren while Their Mother Katie ,tried to find
a reasonable workplace. Her Husband had a new position attached to the Cdn
Army in Northwest Territories. When I arrived there a week after they found a
house, it was -72* and stayed that way for almost 2 months ! I returned to Almonte
3 months later in Spring time, OH ! It was so nice to be warm again! Then Tony
and I found the 25 acres of land in Clayton. Would you believe Wilson had almost
finished building a new house, overlooking Clayton Lake much too close to the water,
he and the then official inspector (I forget his well known name) almost came to
Fisty-Cuffs as he refused to move the house back to the edge of Tatlock Rd.
Post Scriptum:
December 13, 2025
Thank you Bill, yes it certainly was Bruce Monteith. We became friendly with both
Bruce and his wife Anne, especially after Bruce learned that I had several relations,
long gone by that time; Alexander (Graham) Bell, and Duke of Montrose, both of whom
were first cousins to my Father's Father. Alexander chose the "Graham" to add
to his name once he was beginning to be well known, just a might "snobbish" !
