RANDOM THOUGHTS -Part III

Returning to Pachuca :- the RD.M. Company was sold in toto to the Mexican Government in 1948. A few of the high ranking staff members were transferred to other mining operations of the parent company in Boston, some to Alaska, others to Texas, Utah and Arizona. Our General Supt. of Mills, Alan Probert, went to Fairbanks in Alaska. The remaining foreigners were invited by the new owners to continue in our regular jobs and be paid in U.S dollars as before. Mr.Russel RBryan who had been an asst. supt. in Loreto Mill before the war, but went to the Philipines to build and operate mills on gold properties, and who had rejoined RD.M in 1947 as head of the Lab’s and Experimental department - was promoted to Gen.Supt. of Mills at Loreto - Dick Stribley continued as Mill Supt. and I remained General Forman.

In 1949 Pachuca suffered a calamitous flood which claimed nearly one hundred lives. A violent hail storm on La Magdalena and adjacent mountains bought down masses of hail and water, plus rocks and debris which overwhelmed the capacity of the Rio de las Avenidas which was partially silted up. The water backed up where the Juarez Market is built and caused the ten metre high left hand retaining wall to collapse, so the whole volume of the river coursed down Hidalgo Street unimpeded and trapped motor cars, market stall holders and pedestrians, even invading houses where bodies were still being discovered days after the flood subsided. A monument stands outside the Juarez Market to record this tragedy.

Russ Bryan was a very energetic and competent metallurgical engineer and had a number of projects to introduce to the mill that derived from his previous experience with RD.M. He proceeded to obtain authorization from the new management under, for a short time, Ing. Gomez, then for the next fifteen years, Ing. Oswaldo Gurria who was appointed Managing Director by the Mexican Government. Ing. Gurria was a very fine man who appreciated his foreign staff and backed them wholeheartedly – he had a good sense of humour and a dry wit and all his dealings were very direct an honest - RI.P.
When Bryan became Gen. Supt. of Mills, he, with Dick Stribley and myself established a routine whereby each of us took guard duty of the mill in turn at weekends, and he marked the wall calendar in his office for the entire year with B, S or 0 to indicate whose turn it was - unfortunately it appeared as S.O.B, S.O.B, S.O.B, etc. [ son of a bitch] from top to bottom.

In the year 1949 the first project given effect to was the installation of a 100 T.P.D. pilot flotation plant to afford a means of recovering base metal concentrates from such ores
as contained suitable quantities of sulphides of Pb, Zn & Cu, prior to regular cyanide treatment for recovery of Au & Ag. . Smelter returns from the first carloads of concentrates soon demon stated the profitability of the scheme and the management consented to increase the throughput to 1,000 T.P.D. This required acquisition of equipment for primary and secondary flotation for three circuits, plus thickeners and filters to handle the concentrates. To make room in the restricted mill site it was necessary to remove eight old 15’ x 60’ "Pachuca" agitators to accommodate nine Fagergren flotation machines with their conditioners as a rougher circuit and six Denver Sub A machines with conditioners to form the cleaners on a lower floor. A further stage of the process required installation of two 10’ X 30’ thickeners complete with their diaphragm pumps, two American type disc filters with bins beneath to receive both Pb and Zn concentrates. The final stage required four 6’ x6’ agitators for cyaniding Zn concentrate before shipment to the smelter. This new 1,000 T.P.D unit was built and equipped during 1950 - 51 and started up successfully later in 1951.

Next project was an experimental double Airlift to elevate all mill pulp and give it good aeration to promote extraction of Au and Ag values prior to thickening. This ran for over a year, but did not appreciably improve recovery of silver, it also tended to hinder the subsequent thickening operation, so it was abandoned.

Clarification of pregnant solution in Loreto Mill had been achieved by pressure feeding twelve old Sweetland plate and frame presses, but these had several disadvantages, being labour intensive, awkward to service, inefficient and requiring a high canvas consumption. When the mill tonnage dropped to about 3,000 T.P.D one complete Butters vacuum filter unit became redundant, so it was possible to convert this 150 leaf unit to the vital task of providing a clear, slime free solution feed to the Crowe vacuum process in which zinc dust is added to pregnant solution and the resulting precipitate passes to presses and thence to bullion melting furnaces.

Big projects had been given effect in the past, such as the zinc dust plant which was built and operated during the war years, but biggest of all was yet to come during the growth of the tailings piles at Santa Julia, which began in 1912 as a joint effort by R del M, Santa Gertrudis and San Rafael Companies to clean up the accumulated tailings from centuries of operation, when everything was discharged into the river. Land was acquired and dams formed to contain current tailings, plus recovered material. Pumping to these dams during forty five years produced four piles some eighty feet high, with a tonnage of approximately fifty five millions, but of which some thirty one millions was worth treating.

A pilot plant was erected at Sta Julia and methods compared to obtain optimum recovery of metals. Various types of equipment and flow sheets were evaluated and the best combination selected. Finally by 1956 orders were placed in the USA for mills, flotation machines, tanks, filters, pipe, power transformers, etc and by 1957 construction began of the main plant near the village of Venta Prieta. Operations began in February 1959, when the inauguration ceremony was performed. Expected life of the whole operation was fourteen years. All mining of mill feed was performed by hydraulic monitors built in the Company shops in Pachuca.

During the period, May 1957 to February 1964 we were assigned a supplementary salary to compensate for extra work performed in running the tailings retreatment plant as well as the Loreto Mill.

Over the period when experiments were being conducted leading up to launching of the tailings retreatment project, a new type of classifier ‘The Hydro Cyclone’ came on the market and it was realised that the principle upon which it was based was ideally suited to problems of separating sands from slimes in a slurry, so we purchased a 4 inch unit and conducted many tests on mill pulps with gratifying success and eventually the retreatment plant was equipped with nine primary ‘Krebs’ D-20 B
cyclones and six similar secondary units. As a direct consequence of this experience, we determined to modernise the secondary grinding circuit at Loreto Mill by substituting cyclones for the ‘Dorr’ rake classifiers on the 8’ X 10’ ‘Traylor’ mills, of
which there were eight. To simplify the layout, one by one, these mills were turned end for end on new concrete foundations, provided each with a ‘Krebs’ D-10 B cyclone fed with an SRL sand pump in closed circuit via a high level 6’ X 6’ steel agitation tank through a rubber hose and pneumatic gate valve. The cumbersome 8’ Dorr rake classifiers were removed and scrapped. The slime fraction of the separation went direct to the thickeners in the cyanide plant as finished product of the fine grinding section. The sand fraction was fed direct to its mill. The cyclones were rubber lined for long wear life, as also the apex orifices and vortex finders, and inspected monthly. This program~ was completed by 1968 and proved itself a success in many ways.

Russ Bryan was a hard worker, always busy, always interested and always approachable. We shared a number of expeditions to inspect other mills or machinery and did consulting work when we had the time. He lived in a Company house on the hill behind Loreto Mill, but always hankered for a house of his own design somewhere in Mexico. Shortly after 1950 he acquired a property in the town of Villa Juarez on the highway to the Port of Tuxpam on the Gulf. Situated at an altitude of some 5,000 feet it had a more benign climate than Pachuca at 8,000, so he decided to build a spacious country house where he could house guests, or any number of his six children or. seventeen grandchildren who happened to be in the country visiting. It did not take him long to produce a plan and begin construction and the ground was soon littered with piles of sand, gravel, sacks of cement, timber, tiles and roofing. He spent many weekends, when not on duty at Loreto Mill, using a tractor he purchased and having the time of his life bossing a gang of men and smoking his old pipe. I have written elsewhere of his penchant for getting into unfortunate situations through his impetuosity and his subsequent humorous description of them - as nice a boss as one could desire and a good friend.

Several years later the house was complete. Access road gravelled, trees planted, flowers blooming and good relations established with the mayor of the town and neighbouring landowners. We were all bidden to the inauguration ceremony and blessing by a priest. Incidentally Russ was an excellent cook and his hospitality much appreciated by his friends.

After he retired from Loreto and left the employ of the Real del Monte Company in 1966, he acquired another house in Cananea, Sonora, to be close to his youngest son Bruce who was employed at the Copper Concentrator of Cananea Consolidated. Sadly he sold his property in Villa Juarez. Margaret and I paid him and his wife Edith a visit in Cananea on return from a trip to the USA in 1968, and that was the last I saw of him before he died.

After Russ Bryan retired, I was promoted to General Supt. of Mills with Albert Pengelly my assistant and Morley Carne as general Forman and I remained in that capacity until I myself retired in July 1971 and emigrated to New Zealand.
Both Margaret and I were tennis addicts and we were fortunate to be able to play
everywhere we went. With Santa Gertrudis, a court was located inside a disused rectangular water tank - a most convenient arrangement which eliminated the need to pay ball boys!

At San Rafael there was a wire netting surrounded clay court inside the mill area - we used two selected men to keep it in good condition. Los Azules had a concrete all weather court near the dwellings available to all staff and families. In Pachuca two courts had been developed in the ruins of the disused EI Progreso Mill belonging to the Cia Minera de Maravillas y San Francisco in 1924. These adjoined the managers residence occupied by my father and his family, so were very convenient for us, especially after we converted an old masonry water tank into a swimming pool. Years later, in 1957 our tennis club was forced by redevelopment plans of the owners of the land to seek another home. By appealing to the ROM management, I was able to obtain permission to set up two courts in the ruins of the La Purisima Mill of the Fresnilo Company, adjacent to Loreto Mill. We transferred the wooden clubhouse, wire netting, posts and gate for the enclosure, also net posts and nets to the new site and were ready for business within two weeks - we even erected two umpire chairs.

Fortunately the engineer in charge of the ROM small mine operations was an enthusiastic tennis player and it was not difficult to persuade him to send a few truck loads of coarse and fine waste rock to fill holes and level off the playing surface. Later he consented to dump some 800 tons of waste rock into a concrete tank situated above the courts that was thirty feet deep - too deep for a swimming pool, so we reduced its depth to eight feet, put in a false concrete bottom, added a springboard and diving platform plus change rooms nearby, and ‘VOILA’ a place to swim and conduct aquatic events for club members.

The ROM managing director, Ing Gurria took a very friendly attitude and encouraged our attempt to build a social club, so our efforts were intensified and we managed to
convert old derelict buildings into a series of utilities, VIP office, and social hall with
seating for two hundred people, kitchen, two more tennis courts, showers and change rooms, a barbecue pit and a locker room. We recruited club members from the company employees plus a few from the town and even from parts of the State. Our annual beano was celebrated on November 20 ^th , which is a Mexican National Holiday. Naturally’ a tennis tournament was paramount, but also aquatic sports followed by a barbecue lunch, music from a local combo and dancing. At Christmas time it was customary to celebrate the traditional ‘Posadas’ and provide pinatas for the kiddies, followed by dancing and merry making.

Margaret, Martin and Charmian shared my love of swimming and we always headed for the nearest pool or beach or river when on holiday or weekends. Our happy hunting grounds in Acapulco were the Caleta, Homos and Roqueta beaches. In Vera Cruz it was Villa del Mar and Mocambo. Tuxpan on the Gulf had Cocoteros and Tampamachoco. Manzanillo on the west coast had Audiencia and Santiago beaches. Mazatlon had Olas Altas and Sur.

Three miles out of Pachuca, just beyond the tailing’s piles on the road to Mexico City, golf enthusiasts in the mining companies had purchased some land and organised the first golf course in Pachuca. To be sure, it started with only nine holes, but was enlarged to eighteen eventually. Members of the club were mostly Americans and British, but little by little Mexicans became interested and joined up. Young boys from the nearby village of Venta Prieta were trained as caddies and were glad to earn the fees paid by members.

This golf course differed from conventional ones in that the terrain was flat, having no natural obstacles apart from the odd ditch and could have been monotonous except for the presence of cacti in the roughs - the pernicious CARDON with spiked spines was a real nuisance, but there were others such as the BARREL cactus, the ORGANO which grew in rows and the NOPAl with its edible fruit. Added to these peculiarities were the so called ‘greens’ - not of grass, but black sand two inches deep. These required a special tool called a scraper which was carried with the clubs in the bag. It was used to smooth the pathway from the ball to the cup, once the ball had reached the circular sand area, about thirty yards in diameter. Visiting players from the other clubs were greatly intrigued by our system and puzzled about how to cope.

We did have a club house, little more than a large shed to provide shelter from rain, but no bar facilities - members bought their own hooch. My Dad joined the club in 1928 as a means of getting exercise, but as he was left handed I was not able to borrow his clubs and had to buy my own! Margaret and I remained members until 1937, but we found tennis more energetic and closer to home, also, Margaret was an
excellent player and became Ladies Champion of the old Progreso Club de Tennis. Joe Sullivan, purchasing agent for RDM was Club Champion of the Golf Club with a handicap of + 4 - most of the rest of us were golf duffers with handicaps around 23 +.

Pachuca can boast the largest and most pretentious town clock in Mexico. A committee of citizens decided that the most appropriate symbol to mark the 100 ^th . anniversary of the outbreak of war against Spanish sovereignty which would occur in the year 1910, should be an ornate clock tower to be erected in the centre of the town square. Work began in 1906 and a forty metre high tower of white stone from the Texhuantla quarry in Real was erected. It was equipped with a four face clock made by the London company DENT L TO, which was donated by Capt’n. Frank Rule, also a carillon of bells marked the quarter hours as does Big Ben in Westminster. Imported Carrara marble was used to sculpt statues set on balconies on four sides, together with ornate pediments and a platform where the State band could perform.

Frank Rule - Cornish of course, was one of the three ‘Kings’ of Pachuca - wealthy men named Pancho [Francisco] ; Pancho Rule, Pancho Hernaandez and Pancho Rosetti.
They gained their fortunes from mining in the district. All got behind the clock tower project.

Frank Rule was credited with discovery and initial development of a number of silver ore bodies in the Pachuca area, notably Santa Getrudis, Santa Ana, La Blanca and Maravillas. He also purchased various farms in the State of Hidalgo growing maguey cactus for the production of pulque, the ‘poor man’s beer’. Also the raising of bulls for bullfights and forests to provide mine timbers. All these units prospered before the revolution, which began in 1911 when the dictator Porfirio Diaz was defeated after 31
years of rule. Among these farms or Haciendas were Chavarria, Tulancalco, Caltengo, Amolucan and San Nicolas.

The first named - Chavarria, was the residence of the Rule family. Situated some eight kilometres from Pachuca, it specialised in growing the maguey which were planted in stately rows surrounding the house and cottages for farm labourers, which included a small church and a school. Power for lights and a pump to distribute well water was supplied by a generator driven by steam from a Cornish boiler which was fired with wood. The Mexican railway line passed by about one kilometre distant and travellers to Pachuca were conveyed in an old stage coach and four mules, to the station of San Jose to await the evening train from Ometusco.

My sister Amy met Cecil Rule, grandson of Capt’n Frank Rule at a dance - they fell in love and were married in 1927 - thereafter living in Hacienda de Chavarria. Thus it was that we became acquainted with that farm and were able to enjoy its amenities which included horse riding, occasional games of cricket when friends came visiting from Mexico City, tennis on a concrete court near the orchard and watching the operations involved in the production of pulque; through milking and rotation of the cactus plants, fermentation of the liquor. collected in cow hide vats, to the eventual filtration of the end product, a milky liquid having an alcohol content of around 6%. This was shipped out every night at about one a.m. in barrels, by truck to the distributor in Real de Monte

During the period of maximum production from the silver mines from 1920 to 1950, the scattered mines and mills were well served by a German transport company which laid metre gauge track from La Rica mine in Real down to Pachuca and the various companies in the hills around. Double bogie electric locomotives using D.C. pulled heavy loads of timber, lime, cyanide, grinding balls, etc. from the R.R. station as required, supplementing the companies’ own trucks on local roads. The German company even ran a tram car service in the town of Pachuca, known to ribald American miners as ‘the Toonerville trolley’. A passenger train even climbed to Real de Monte and had a spur to the Hiloche Park. This facility was made use of by the British committee which hired a train to transport families to the park for a sports day picnic annually on Empire Day - May 24 ^th . The American colony in Pachuca usually held their annual celebration at the Golf Club on their Independence Day - July 4 ^th , [also our wedding day]. Both colonies invited their opposite numbers to join in.

There was a joint congregation in St. George’s Anglican Church. My father, Sydney W. Ough was a member of the committee that founded this church in 1924 and it so happened that as the sole remaining member of the vestry, it fell to me to preside over the eventual dismantling of the building. It was established in the La Luz Hacienda as also was an English speaking facility in the adjacent American School, which was attended by Martin and Charmian for a few years. Social facilities provided in the La Luz complex included a gymnasium cum theatre, swimming pool, play ground and social hall. All costs involved in establishing these amenities was borne by the Real del Monte company.

Sadly, the duration of these happy times for the Anglo - American colonies was to be curtailed by the decline in ore reserves as the ore bodies became exhausted and one by one the foreign companies ceased to operate - as happens in every mining camp. First to cease operations was Maravillas, followed by La Blanca in 1923. Next came Santa Getrudis, which became a co-operative" in 1937, as did San Rafael in 1938 Real del Monte - the largest sold out to the Mexican Government in 1948. The few remaining foreigners still working became so small a group that they were unable to support St. George’s Church, which was eventually disestablished and dismantled, the few worshippers remaining reverting to the Methodist Church - a neo gothic, red brick building erected in 1901 by a Cornish architect called ‘Maestro’ Williams.

One activity continued in spite of hard times. The Duck Club out at Zupitlan, which was limited to 24 members, counted a large group from Mexico City who were
independent of mining and dedicated to the sport of shooting. The club owned a set of aluminium boats, rented a large house near the lake, built a number of blinds and
spent weekends during the duck season drinking, gambling, sleeping and shooting. .

Before leaving for Jamaica, both Martin and Charmian availed themselves of the opportunities provided for sport. Martin joined a group of boys who were undergoing training for boxing under the local champion, Jose Rocha, the ring being set up in the
Parish Hall. He also joined in the Boy Scouts of Mexico, organised by a company mining engineer, Jose Galindo. This group were affiliated to the British organisation founded by Lord Baden Powell in England. Charmian became interested in ballet
dancing and entered a class conducted by Senora Spota to learn the rudiments and theory thereof. Both learned the basics of driving our car during those years and we did a lot of exploring on local picnics, climbing peaks such as Las Ventanas and EI Zumate which was the highest in the State of Hidalgo. A favourite grassy clearing called Las Sabanillas in the forested mountain region which bordered the road to the remote mining camp of EI Chico, was very popular. Beyond was a lookout situated on a salient crag which opened up a huge prospect of rough country on the EI Chico side of the range. This vantage point bore the name Pena del Cuervo - or the Crow’s Perch. Westward along the range near the town of Actopan, were a series of rocky towers of weathered andesite, two of which named Los Frailes, showed a friar and his acolyte, most lifelike against the blue sky.

Prominent among the swimming pools we patronised was the Balneario de Ajacuba some 20 miles away, and that at Taxquillo, both of which had low diving boards and warm spring water. More distant were those near Mexico City on the east side, plus those of the foreign clubs to the west. The one we preferred was that of the British Reforma Athletic Club. However, we were not particular in our allegiance and would take a dip anywhere, be it river, pool or ocean beach as the occasion offered.

During the war years the British colony of Pachuca was actively engaged in raising money to help the war effort in the UK. A branch of the ‘Fellowship of the Bellows’ was formed and affiliated with the parent group in Mexico City. The objective was to collect from every member a monthly sum calculated from the number of enemy planes shot down by the RAF, the proceeds being applied to purchase new Hurricanes and Spitfires to help keep the RAF flying. Each new member was a ‘Snuff’ when he joined, then became a ‘Whiff’, rising in rank to ‘Puff, Zephyr, Breeze’ etc, to ‘Gale, Hurricane, Typhoon and Tempest’. There was a new, coloured button-hole badge for each promotion, to be worn in one’s coat lapel. The group disbanded after VJ Day.
The ladies had a branch of the Woman’s Auxiliary and devoted their fund raising activities to purchase and equip mobile canteens for relief of bombed out survivors of German air raids on London and other cities. Margaret was secretary of this group throughout the war.

One money making scheme involved available talent and produced a series of vaudeville shows staged at the La Luz Theatre. A well equipped bar catered to the thirst of patrons who were hilarious in their enthusiastic praise [and criticism] of the various turns, and some came supplied with cabbages and rotten fruit to hurl at the actors as a mark of their esteem.

These entertainments were varied with square dances, plays such as ‘Dear Brutus’ by Barrie, ‘Dulcy’ by Mark Connelly and Geo. Kaufman, ‘Curse You Jack Dalton’, also barn and ballroom dances. My sister Amy, having a talent for acting since her school days, was prominent in the casts of every show position, especially as comedienne. Margaret did a number of turns in the vaudeville shows, which included a poem called ‘Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight’, likewise a skit about a Chinese laundryman in difficulties.

With the passage of years, I found myself engaged to a greater extent in dealings with the Mexican officials; Federal, State and Municipal on matters such as renewal of driving licence, payment of fines levied for traffic infringements and assistance of the local fire brigade in extinguishing town fires in Pachuca. Then there were the State arbitrators belonging to the local Conciliation Tribunal who presided over cases brought to their attention by the labour union representing workers of the RDM company. Most cases involved punishments inflicted by the Company bosses on men found guilty of some misdemeanour prohibited by the current Labour Contract.

Other cases dealt with, concerned disputes between workman as to their seniority for promotion, also attempted justification of combatants who had been fired for fighting while on the job. Regardless of the CAUSUS BELLI, the procedure was always the same; late arrival of Government officials, ceremonious introduction of parties to the complaint, seating of officials, seating of everyone else, lighting of two cigarettes at a time by the secretarial lady - one for the conciliator, one for herself, side by side. This repeated every twenty minutes or so during the session. The belligerent attitude of union representatives became muted under the official gaze and usually the case was settled by a compromise, but we did win a few of them.

We became involved in the political side of officialdom quite frequently when called upon to help entertain some high Government personage who wanted to visit the RDM mines and mills. Especially presidential candidates prior to elections, and even reigning presidents, such as Adolf Lopez Mateos in 1962 and Luis Echeverria in 1970. The former was a pleasant man, very interested h, the explanations we afforded of mill operation. His handshake impressed me because the flesh was as hard as a board - presumably the result of greeting so many people all over the country. Occasionally Harold Pengelly, British Vice Consul, and I were invited to help the State Governor entertain the British Ambassador to Mexico who made a point of visiting every State in the Union to get acquainted. He arrived on one occasion in the Embassy Rolls Royce and Harold and I were invited to ride with him for the last five miles into Pachuca, ending up at the Governor’s office. He had an audience with the Governor, Quintin Rueda Villagran, who invited him to dinner in the evening after he had visited Loreto Mill, several schools and places of interest.

At the Governor’s house, while waiting for him to get home from some business, the Ambassador, Mr. Sullivan, was asked what he liked to drink and right away selected Teq!la which he praised highly as Mexico’s gift to the World - unfortunately there was none in the bar, so a minion was hurriedly despatched surreptitiously to the nearest pub for a bottle [which cost $1 :50] and he was poured a liberal potion - while he was imbibing it, the governor arrived, full of apologies and inquired what the Ambassador was drinking he was aghast at Sullivan’s reply that TEQUILA was his favourite tipple - also he knew that he had none of it to offer, so he promptly told Sullivan to throw it away and try a snort of Aquardiente de Cana Aneja - a mature sugar cane brandy - 50 years old from the low country. He proudly produced a wicker covered demijohn, hoisted it to his shoulder and poured each of us a jigger - never have I tasted any liquor so smooth, potent and attractive, nor had the Ambassador, he was forced to concede the point.

The visit to Pachuca of a later Ambassador brought Sir Nicholas Cheetham and his aide. Harold did the honours by conducting them underground, properly kitted out with hard hat, electric lamp and belt. They descended the La Rica mine shaft in Real del Monte by cage five hundred metres to the haulage level, boarded an empty ten ton ore car provided with plank seats to sit on, attached to the 20 car electric train making its 10 a.m. run delivering 200 tons of ore and were bumped and rattled for three miles to the San Juan shaft in Pachuca where all ore lots were hoisted to the mill bins. They were glad to see daylight again, where I met them at the shaft collar and after being photographed for the press, [we have a copy of this in our albums] we proceeded to give them a tour of the mill and refinery to see the highlights of the process of silver reduction.

The refinery or parting plant being the unit in which the Dora bullion from the mill melting room was purified electrolitically and gold separated from the silver, was the final stage in the process and the one most interesting to the visitors. However, having regard to the intrinsic value of large quantities of precious metals in the building, every effort was made to avoid loss by theft and therefore, the entrance of casual visitors, tourists or citizens were prohibited and only V.I.P’s with passes issued by the management were admitted through double doors with a Company guide.

It was my dubious pleasure to be called upon by our director to accompany Alfred Krupp Von Bohlen, head of the Krupp armament empire of Essen. The blighter who was responsible for the production of the main proportion of guns and steel by Germany in the second world war against Britain, as his father had done in world war one. An austere type with perfect manners and impeccable English, but not nice to contemplate.
Along in the 1960’s the State of Hidalgo Governor, Major Oswaldo Cravioto was instrumental in promoting an enlargement of the industrial capacity of Pachuca to provide more jobs for the citizens in view of the approaching exhaustion of the ore reserves in the silver mines which employed over 5,000 men. He invited a group of foreign trade attaches of the embassies of industrialised nations such as Britain, Canada, USA, Russia, France, etc, for a total of twenty four to come to Pachuca, see the problem at close range and make suggestions and later offer aid in helping establish new ventures for the workforce.

A touring coach was provided for the contingent from Mexico City, who were
augmented by the Governor himself and a number of his aides. Actually the number
of seats was insufficient and some eight of us had to stand in the aisle on the steep hero up to Real del Monte, a fact noticed by the Governor who soon stood up and took my place, insisting that I take his for a rest, which I was glad to do. A true gentleman was Cravioto - very considerate.

A tour of Real del Monte and surrounding villages such as Huasea, Atotomilco Hueyapan and Velasco gave the delegates an overview of the potential and resources of the area and ended up back in Pachuca with a banquet laid on in the Rotary Club about 2 p.m. to which we all did full justice. Margaret and I were sitting with the Canadian Attaché, Mr. Pearson, son of their Foreign Minister, Lester Pearson - good linguist and witty. Not ‘till after 5 p.m. and some twenty speeches did the gathering break up, the Governor being very satisfied with the undertaking given by all to promote his objectives.

This Governor was very hospitable and on the eve of September 15 ^th . extended Margaret and myself an invitation to attend the annual banquet in the Gubernatorial Building on Plaza Morelos, given traditionally to mark the ringing of the bell by Padre Miguel Hidalgo at the church in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato in 1810 to announce the beginning of the war of independence from Spain. All Mexican State Governors performed this duty on a similar bell hanging above the balcony of each government house at about 8 p.m. on September 15 ^th .

The most important celebration of course, is that conducted by the President of the Republic in Mexico City ringing the original bell used by Hidalgo. The venue being the central balcony of the National Palace on the east side of the Zocalo, a huge square.
Pachuca and more especially the mines, had their share of catastrophes starting in the colonial period, and continuing to the present day. Mention has been made of the disastrous fire in the Encino Mine on Magdelena Mountain in 1786, whose death toll was never accurately established, but estimated at several hundred miners. A violent explosion occurred in the Rosario tunnel when a wagon with a full load of dynamite collided with an incoming train of empties, the force of this detonation directed by the tunnel mouth, emerged as a shock wave that did a lot of damage in the yard.

In 1920 the masonry dam impouding water for the San Fransisco Mill collapsed – it had been heightened by about one metre during the war, to increase its capacity. The resulting flood poured down the valley and partially inundated EI Rosario Mine, resulting in some 21 deaths. My father, just back 1n Mexico after the end of world war one was mill superintendent, but had nothing to do with increasing the dam height which was done in his absence. The authorities decided to lay the blame for the whole affair on his shoulders and locked him up in the town jail where he languished for three weeks before the British Consul managed to have him released.

The nineteenth level in the Dos Carlos shaft of the Santa Gertrudes Company was the main haulage level where electric locomotives, propelled all trains from D.C. to San
Francisco shaft from whose bins the ore was hoisted to surface to be transported by conveyor belts to the mill. Close to the D.C. shaft was a huge blower running constantly to exhaust foul air from the lower levels where some eight hundred miners drilled and blasted silver ore in the stopes. On August 8 ^th , 1931 an explosion of the compensator controlling the blower motor produced a fire which quickly took hold and
burnt the fan casing, travelling thence from one timbered section of the tunnel to another, it finally reached the San Francisco shaft where it was extinguished. All eight hundred miners were safely taken out of the mine, but the unfortunate motor man, his helper, the pump man and his helper who had taken refuge in the sump, died and their bloated bodies found by the rescue team later - in all seven men perished.

The Pachuca branch line from Ometusco of the Mexican Railway was serviced by a veteran 4 - 6 - 0 steam locomotive which made its first trip of the day starting with its train at 7 a.m. Since its arrival at 9 p.m. the day before, the fire was allowed to go out until rekindled by an apprentice at 3 a.m. and steam pressure built up to 200 P.S.I. by train time. Before igniting the clump of oily waste in the fire box, it was essential to refill the depleted boiler with water from the main supply until the level was visible in the gauge glass. On a certain morning in 1947 the man in charge failed to fill with water before lighting up and being fuddled or sleepy dosed oft. When he finally woke up he was conscious of the overheated boiler, realised what he had neglected to do and to rectify the omission opened up the cold water valve - once the water hit the red hot plates it flashed into steam and generated a explosive pressure wave that ruptured the boiler, which detached from the engine frames and disappeared through the roof of the shed coming to . rest some fifty yards on its back. The unfortunate man did not survive the thunderous detonation.

The complete agitation circuit of Pachuca tanks at Loreto Mill consisted of two rows of ten tanks each, making a total of twenty. These dated from about 1906, so were somewhere near 38 years old when one tank collapsed during the night in 1944, dragging six others with it. Total loss of pulp was some 550 metric tons, which spilled into the Pachuca River. The whole mill had to shut down during one week to enable gangs of workmen on two twelve hour shifts to clear away pulp, cut up and remove the pile of rusted steel plates, repair broken pipelines and damaged pumps. The group of tanks was not replaced, but a hurried programme of reinforcing the bases of the remainder required about six months to complete. Luckily, there were no fatalities caused by the accident.

The main ore extraction shaft for the Real del Monte district in later years was La Purisima, situated in the Hiloche Forest. Also it was used to lower miners, for which special cages were provided, at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. starting shifts and hoisting them to surface when shifts ended at 3 p.m. and midnight. It was customary to load thirty men
per cage. In 1968 occurred the worst accident involving mine hoists in the history of Pachuca - Real del Monte. Through carelessness and inattention the hoist man did
not notice that the hoist drum had become declutched - had he been in his place, it would have been easy to apply the powerful brake and hold the cage while he reclutched and continued lowering the men. By the time he resumed his station at the controls, the speed of the cage was too great to stop, the cage went into the water filled sump 300 metres below. An immediate investigation conducted by the Mechanical Superintendent showed there was nothing wrong with the machinery in spite of the hoist man’s contention that the clutch broke, so he was held responsible for the entire tragedy. ,.30 men died.

La Purisima Mine was also the scene of a most bizarre failure of equipment which, although it halted operations at this mine for several days, did not produce any fatal accident. All high pressure compressed air at 90 p.s.i. required for operation of pneumatic drills in the stopes and chute air gates underground was supplied by two Ingersoll - Rand duplex comressors at surface and accumulated in a steel plate receiver made from an old boiler situated close to the shaft collar. The ten inch diameter pipeline made from seam welded black iron pipe was laid across the yard for a distance of some fifty yards. Cylinders of reciprocating air compressors require lubrication, which is drip fed by an oiling device. In the course of time, spent oil travelling with hot air tends to accumulate in the receiver and has to be drained often.

Failure to do so generates a potential danger from fire. In the incident under discussion, neglect to replace a defective discharge valve on a compressor led to overheating of the air for some hours and eventual ignition of the oil. The resulting explosion generated so much pressure that the seam of the pipe failed and split the pipeline from end to end. The rupture producing a flat plate instead of a tube.

A fire in the EI Bordo Mine on the Vizcaina vein in Pachuca during operations involving top - slicing of fills in the upper levels in the early years of this century, caused the collapse of timbering and the death of seventy miners. The most probable cause of the fire being careless handling of lighted candles used for illumination and placed near tinder-dry posts in the drifts.

The Dos Carlos shaft alluded to on page 29 ceased operation when all ore in this mine was exhausted in 1952 and from that year its only function was to give access to pumps on the twenty first level which kept water levels low in the other mines close by. The shaft itself was notorious for having penetrated a zone of loose ground in depth and required constant retimbering to keep from obstructing passage of the cage, which occasionally got stuck. The resident watchman was surprised one night to hear noises of stones pattering in the shaft, followed eventually by a whoosh – morning revealed a huge hole about fifty feet in diameter where the shaft had been, with steel I beams of the head frame dragged down, although still attached to their anchor bolts set in concrete. The sheaves and angle iron platform were also pendant in the void the whole shaft assembly had disappeared.

A similar subsidence occurred at the No.2 San Francisco shaft of the same Company
a few years later. These phenomena are attributable to the weakening of the rock and the huge cavities produced by levels, ore bins and pump stations which are indispensable adjuncts to mining operations. No watchman was injured in either collapse.

Industrial accidents resulting in fatalities are unfortunately all too common in the mining industry and one recalls a number of men being asphyxiated by loose crushed ore when being sent to poke hung up chutes in the fine ore bins and going to sleep. Others lost their lives by cyanide poisoning, falling off roofs on construction jobs, being dragged by conveyor belts or caught in dynamite explosions. I well remember being appalled by watching a Symons crusher head and main shaft, weighing one and a half tons, mounted on a steel car being hoisted up the inclined track at Loreto Mill. The seven eights inch steel hoisting cable broke, the load came downhill at a great speed, the car jumped the track on a curve and the crusher head went through a two feet wall with a dull crump and came to rest between two lathes in the machine shop. When the dust subsided, both lathe men were revealed unhurt but startled, to our anxious gaze.

The deep rocky canyon of the San Buenaventura creek that skirts La Magdalena mountain on its west side holds the Tulipan dam, a masonry and concrete structure built to collect rain water which is piped to Loreto mill to serve as an emergency supply. Some 400 metres below the dam is the Amalcos vein crossing the creek at an angle of 90 degrees, a nearly vertical ore body that was ‘extensively mined in the late 1600’s, and virtually exhausted except for a block of ore immediately beneath the creek bed which was left in place to protect the workings from flooding.

During the rainy season of 1955 a particularly violent hurricane came ashore in the Gulf of Mexico and precipitated an unusually large rainfall on the mountains, the run off from which produced a big flood in the creeks whose weight overcame the inertia of the block of ore of the Amalcos vein and caused a subsidence which allowed the full volume of water to enter the mine and penetrate old levels and stopes until it reached the San Juan shaft. At this stage the situation became critical and it was impossible to hoist ore or operate pumps on the 275 metre and 375 metre levels in that shaft. However by great good fortune the weight of water accumulating below forced open a steel door leading to a long drift below the mountain which took some hours to fill, thus giving our repair crews time to erect a timber support across the gap in the rock and build a wooden launder three feet wide to carry the by then, diminishing flow to the other side. Once the influx was cut off the flood water drained away and pump men were able to get down and recommence pumping and shortly, hoisting ore was resumed after a lapse of two and a half days of lost production.

Retrospectively one is aware of a number of people one has known who possessed interesting traits in their characters and are memorable for their deeds or language. By far the most influential man in my youth was my elder brother Syd. Henry Sydney
Ough, four years older than myself, born in San Luiz de la Paz, Mexico in 1905 and stricken with polio in 1909, the year I was born. ‘Polio’ or Infantile paralysis as it was known in those days was accompanied in his case by Spinal Meningitis and the combination was tragic.

Syd was paralysed from the hips down and was never able to walk again. With the aid of crutches, he could swing along slowly and even climb steps if there was a handrail to steady him. Our mother who had been a professional nurse in London before her marriage, took us to England in 1910 and had Syd examined by several specialists and given treatment to improve his gait, but sadly there was nothing that could be done for him. The Salk Anti-Polio vaccine was not yet in existence.

Syd was the most patient, kindly and uncomplaining person I have ever known. He was never able to participate in sports or adventurous activities, so was denied the excitement and thrills that Amy and I enjoyed. As I grew older, I could occasionally discern a whistful look in his eyes, but he never referred to his disability with self pity or rebellion.

He had a first class brain and developed a profound knowledge of electric and electronic phenomena, also radio and television. He was a keen photographer and home movie expert, doing his own developing and printing. Finding it difficult to move around to reach things or to travel on foot, he relied on me to act as leg man, also to
push his arm propelled wheelchair up hills when he went out. Associating with him, I
was encouraged to read boys adventure books that he had enjoyed, and profit by his descriptions and explanations of various phenomena in all branches of learning. After our father died in 1934, Syd took over his job as manager of the Maravillas Company until its demise in 1937, thereafter he took a job in Mexico City for a year or so Mother going with him to keep house for both. Finally he returned to Pachuca and accepted work in the Loreto Mill office under Alan Probert and was assigned a dwelling house close by which was most convenient. He remained there until his health began to fail and he died shortly after being transferred to the Cowdray Hospital in 1955, aged only fifty. He was buried in the British Cemetery in Mexico City.

Our mother then gave up the Loreto house and went to live in Mexico City with Amy who had a job as housekeeper at the Cowdray Hospital [ later amalgamated with the American Hospital to become the A.B.C. or American, British, Cowdray Hospital ]. Amy gave her a room and looked after her until she died in 1966 in the Cowdray Hospital after a heart attack, aged 91 and was buried beside Syd.

William E.Crawford, American Mill Superintendent of Molino Nuevo was a huge man; tall, wide and heavy - probably the strongest man I ever knew. He was known far and
wide as ‘Champ’ Crawford for his feats of strength and endurance in various sports while in college and in later years, the mining field. He must have been an awe inspiring sight thundering down the pitch in grid iron football and overwhelming his
opponents as he carried the ball.

At Pachuca golf club he out drove all other members down the fairways, but was occasionally erratic and unpredictable, with sliced or hooked iron shots, so it behove us all to keep an eye on him when in his vicinity and drop prone if threatened.

At the mill there was an inclined track from the crushers to the lower pump house, at an angle of 30 degrees, whose iron car coupled to a 7/8" dia. steel cable was raised or lowered by a 50 HP electric hoist to service different levels. This car weighed over one ton and on one occasion became derailed when the hoist broke down. The available peons were unable to get it back on, so word came to Champ of the impasse and he went to have a look. As a result he placed wedges against the wheels - took off his coat, grasped the steel cable and pulled the car uphill until it was back in place - his audience gave a shout of admiration at this incredible feat and his reputation became legendary.

Margaret still remembers the evening meal she gave Champ and his wife shortly after we were married. She prepared a succulent roast with all the trimmings and we had ample supplies of beer to entertain the boss, but his appetite was extraordinary and she was apprehensive of food running short after his third helping - I believe he would have relished another! His temperament was mild and friendly for which I was grateful when he patted me on the shoulder from behind in his office in front of an open window and very nearly pitched me into the yard head first.

A great friend of ours was Sture Oahlbeck, a Swedish engineer attached to the SKF ball bearing company branch in Mexico City. He frequently came to Pachuca on business with our company, introducing his newest products and advising on their installation. I can still remember his office phone number - 18 -08 - 07, diez y ocho
d(ro - ocho - c~o -siete. We benefited considerably from such items as oil mist
lubrication and spherical roller bearings, which were novelties in those days back in
1942. Sture’s wife, Margareta was a striking bouncy blonde who loved the gay life, parties, shows, dining out and gambling - she owned expensive jewellery and was a stylish dresser.

Early in our acquaintance, Sture obtained tickets for the inaugural ceremony of the first
modern horse track - ‘EI Hipodromo de las Americas’ in Mexico City. The tape was cut by Mexican President - Manuel Avila Camacho, who had the President of Costa Rica as his guest. Our party; Oahlbecks, Sullivans [ROM Purchasing Agent] and Oughs had good seats in the stand and enjoyed several hours of racing, plus speeches, betting and admiring the fashionable elements in the crowd - and having the odd ‘copita’ to lay the dust. Later in the day we repaired to the popular French restaurant - ‘Henri’ for a much needed meal - unfortunately the cuisine was not up to expectations and we struck the toughest duck in the whole of Mexico - ‘Canard a I’orange’. I haven’t tried one since! We travelled in Joe Sullivan’s car and were amused by his driver whose regular job was operating a 10 ton Mack truck – a ponderous, slow moving behemoth with long turning radius. His technique was the same with both vehicles and he swung wide around all street corners with an Olympian calm, regardless of obstruction to oncoming traffic, which was disconcerting.

Sture was a gregarious chap, spoke perfect English and got on well with everybody.
Being close to the Swedish Embassy people from the Ambassador down, he was in contact with all transient Swedes visiting Mexico and frequently was asked to take them around to visit places of interest close by. One of his pet trips was to Pachuca to have a look at Loreto Mill, which seemed to fascinate them, especially those of the engineering profession. He would ring me up and say, ‘Valter, I have two or three friends who would like to see your mill. May I take them next Monday?’. This would give us time to prepare food, so we invited him to bring them to lunch after seeing the works, Sture acting as guide because he did so, so many times and had the palaver down pat. The meal, well lubricated, always proved hilarious with good fellowship reigning supreme. Swedes like most Scandinavians, are taught English as a compulsory school subject, so are seldom at a disadvantage in international society.

We had the pleasure of entertaining inter alia, the Ambassador and some of his staff, the head of the Swedish Atomic Energy Commission with his wife, several engineers and professors over a span of nearly 20 years before Sture was transferred to Barcelona. He was divorced from his first wife early in our acquaintance and went through a bad patch of depression while readjusting. One day about noon, he called up asking if I could give four friends and himself an evening dinner, just potatoes, greens and coffee - they would bring the meat course. Julia, my cook and I examined our resources [ Margaret was then in Jamaica] and were able to do as requested. We were confronted at 6 pm with five hungry blokes somewhat the worse for wear, bearing a huge tureen stuffed with meat balls, with six separate ones on a saucer. Julia enquired why the segregation and was scandalised by the bloke with the beard [ a sailor] who opened up his shirt and exhibited a 20 .. vertical scar from a recent operation, saying’ Look - those balls on the top are for me - doctors orders.’ We sat around the sala while the meat balls were reheated and had several rounds of rum, became acquainted and told a few stories. The food arrived from the kitchen and we all hoed into it, not leaving a crumb, then returned to the bottles.

We polished off their rum, half a bottle I had, a dozen of beer and sundry residues in liqueur bottles. When foraging produced no more comfort, one of the blokes said ‘Ve haf no more rum? No. Ve haf no more to eat ? No. - Veil, ve viii now go home ‘. Which they did grabbing a rotten banana on the way out. The last I saw was a departing dingy rattletrap with a number plate hanging by one bolt, and one tail light extinguished, weaving across the road.

Two more Swedes later on had a bad shock when having lunch with me. Both were over six feet tall with appetites appropriate to their size, both downed a noggin or so before we sat down to eat and when we did so, they sniffed the appetising aroma of Julia’s cooking and said ‘Aha’, rubbing their hands. The bell brought Julia charging
down the passage from the kitchen with a loaded tray - she tripped over some obstacle and all the grub spilled on the floor with a crash. Consternation was writ large on their faces, but not concern for Julia’s possible Injuries. There was no more food available, so I gently closed the door to the passage and helped her to rescue and dust off all the components, which soon emerged redivivus with a clean tray cloth and none the worse, to the vast relief of our guests.

During the war Sweden remained neutral, but was suspected of supplying steel to Germany. Britain was aware of this traffic but was unable to prevent it - she had a black list of the principal industrialists engaged in the trade, including Count Axel Wennergen, who was very wealthy and pro Nazi. After Mexico joined the allies, Wennergen arrived at Veracruz in his private steam yacht ‘Southern Cross’, complete with a Swedish crew and anchored in the harbour.

The Mexican Government impounded the boat, cleared out the crew and declared Wennergen ‘Persona Non Grata’. Dahlbeck was called in by the Swedish Ambassador to help the crew find work in Mexico. and as a result he approached the management of ROM. He succeeded in placing the boson, Carl Laursen and the cook, Sven Hjort as operators in the Parting Plant. The second engineer, Ranvall also found a job with us but resigned shortly after to take charge of the totalizator betting control at the
Mexican City racetrack.

It is a Swedish custom to celebrate Christmas Eve by progressing from house to house in one’s circle of friends to leave gifts and have a toast accompanied by Aquavit - this very potent national drink is such a menace that the government established a total monopoly on its production and distribution. Every bottle bears the official licence moulded in the glass and drinkers are rationed, especially in wartime. Sture showed up in Pachuca just before New Year looking much the worse for wear half healed scars on his head and many bruises - it seems that towards the end of his Silvesterabend round he had an argument with a statue on the Revolutionary Monument and came off second best, so also did his car, but he was not at all concerned. In just the same manner he arrived at the mill upon another occasion minus the top joint of his index finger which he got caught in the swing door to his kitchen and was unable to locate - a search showed it still stuck to the door and he brought it along wrapped in his handkerchief.

After Sture’s salad days he remarried a very nice brunette and started to raise a family. After his transfer to Spain and other foreign posts we were able to keep in touch for many years but never able to meet in person, which was sad.
Our mother, Florence Ough, nee Glanville, was the daughter of William Glanville, 1845 - 1885, died when 40 years old, and Sarah Anne Asher. 1847 - 1895, 48 years old. She was born in London, October 17 ^th . 1875 and died aged 87 in Mexico City in 1962 and buried in the British Cemetery in Tacuba, where her two children, Henry Sydney and Amy Florence were also Interred. Syd died in 1955 and Amy on May 10 ^th . in 1990

Florence was trained as a professional nurse and cared for her mother during her last long illness. She joined the staff of West Ham Hospital and advanced to the post of Night Sister under the Matron, Amy E. Ough, who later became her sister-in-law. During this period she met Sydney William Ough, brother of Amy E. Ough, who was employed in the works of the Great Eastern Railway Company at Stratford nearby and they became engaged to be married. She went to Mexico on the Leyland Liner ‘William Cliff’, and married Dad in the Anglican Cathedral Christchurch, Mexico City in 1903. On her travel from Tampico to Guanaguato, the train caught fire and burnt down to the wheels, luckily not hurting her.

In that year 1903, S.W. Ough had decided to go to Mexico and participate in the development of the cyanide process then being applied to the treatment of silver ores, following its success with gold ores in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. The Mexican Government under General Profirio Diaz was dedicated to the policy of modernisation of industry, transportation and commerce to bring the country into the twentieth century and offset the backwardness of the huge Indian population. To this effect foreign experts were encouraged to come to Mexico to establish companies to exploit natural resources and help to establish a solid industrial base for the national economy.

S. W. Ough was engaged in perfecting the technique of treating argentiferous ores by cyanidation in a number of mills and changed his residence from town to town or mining camp as required. Florence was with him most of the time with the exception of trips to England to seek< treatment for Henry Sydney’s paralysis after he contracted polio in 1909. She also spent a few months in Devon for the birth of her daughter Amy Florence in Nelson Cottage, Lyn mouth, home of Henry Ough, her father-in-law on April 29 ^th . 1907.

During the turbulent years of the initial phases of the Mexican revolution from 1912 to 1914, our family lived in a comfortable house in the walled patio of the EI Carmen mine of the Maravillas Company, which was up in the hills and isolated from Pachuca. There were a few British and American employees living and working in adjacent mines, such as Camelia, San Rafael, Santo Tomas and Xotol, and mother was able to socialise with their wives and families. but occasions were few. She presided over the education of her three children at home with the aid of a home study course, supplemented by copy books. atlas. dictionary and illustrated story books. taking great pains with our writing and grammar and establishing a sound basis far- our subsequent schooling in England after 1914. A born teacher, she got us interested in geography and history. even drawing, and managed to keep us out of mischief most of the time. One of our treats consisted of riding donkeys over the hills behind EI Carmen to the timber line and through the woods to a gassy open space where we had a picnic and gorged ourselves on a succulent chicken pie made by mum for the occasion. There were two maids - Elena and Paz, but she cooked the English dishes. They gave us only Mexican food. but excelled with tamales and the staples of corn

tortillas and frijoles. Mum was always conscious of the poverty and primitive conditions endured by the Indian peasants in Mexico and constantly did her best to help any in her area who were in trouble, often visiting their huts to bring medicines or comfort to the families whose plight was exacerbated by the revolution.

She had a talent for discovering sources of food while travelling, which our family had to do when Dad decided to leave Mexico and return to England. While camping on the station before the last train left, then on board the caboose of this train, provender was hard to come by, but we never went hungry because she opened up sources in the most unlikely places - some eggs here, some corn there - tortillas, beans, even the odd chicken, and managed to cook them over fires of twigs in a brasero. This journey lasted eight days, until we entered a hotel in Veracruz which did have food and once on board the Ward liner ‘Morro Castle’ there was food aplenty until we docked in New York.

Once back home in England, the great war bulked large in daily news and we were conscious of its bearing upon society and its peculiar effect on our family. Mum was our mainstay during sojourns in T orquay, Dulwich and Scrubwood in Bucks between 1914 and 1918. Dad had to reside in London close to his job in Woolwich Arsenal, so we only saw him occasionally, less so after 1917, when he moved us all to the country some thirty five miles away from frequent bombing raids of Hun Zeppelins and Gothas, aimed at the London area. The Government food rationing system had a tight hold on the economy and made the task of providing an adequate and varied diet to suit her family a constant preoccupation, made more difficult by severe wintry weather and relative isolation, coupled with a total absence of electric power. How she coped and never let us go hungry is a mystery.

After returning to Mexico in 1924 to rejoin Dad, Mum became a member of the Ladies Guild attached to the church and continued as an active member of the Pachuca group before, during and after the second German War, until her health deteriorated early in 1960. She had been a widow since 1934 and therefore kept house for Henry Sydney, until he died in 1955, with the help from an old retainer, Juana, a very reliable servant who had worked for foreigners, British and American, all her life dour, unsmiling but with a keen sense of humour and a heart of gold. Thereafter she led a quiet life and was often visited by her circle of friends, and kept a spare room for Amy, who spent many a weekend in Pachuca, also Audrey Rule and her family.