And that reader was me, today. Third and, for now, last day working at the National Archives. What’s in the files and boxes? Well, let me get on with writing the book, and some of it, you will find out.
Time to do some work. I didn’t travel out here only to access this room, but it was certainly a contributing factor. Did you know that when the Royal Navy handed over control of Ascension Island in 1922, the place was in possession of 4½ pounds of Bovril? Now you do.
I am in Oxford to consult an archive of material relevant to St. Helena, collected by the late Trevor Hearl, who, it appears, knew absolutely everything there was to know about the island — and as you see here, was prepared to offer his opinions to civil servants on their ‘Efficiency Reports’.
Being 42 