LUNCHEON TO LORD MONTGOMERY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 75, 20 January 1947, Page 5

LUNCHEON TO LORD MONTGOMERY

FOUR-COURSE MENU CARD

MAGISTRATE’S COURT SEQUEL

The menu card of the four-course civic luncheon at Portsmouth last July to Field-Marshal Lord Montgomery was an exhibit at Portsmouth- Magistrate’s Court. There the case was heard against a too-hospitable lord mayor of the city, who was summoned for a breach of the food regulations. But the secret of who “gave it away” remained a secret throughout the six-hour hearing. Alderman Albert Allaway, who was ' Lord Mayor of Portsmouth when “Monty” paid his visit, was held to have aided and abetted the caterers in serving biscuits and cheese' as well as soup, chicken, and sweets.

But the magistrates held that there were special circumstances in the case and that there were good reasons for not imposing a fine. They found the case proved and dismissed it.

They also held that there were good reasons for not imposing the maximum fine on the caterers, Smale and Son, Ltd., and the managing director, Charles Henry Smale. The company was fined £5, with £5 and Mr Smale £2.

The tiny court room—part of a former catering establishment on the seafront—was crowded. The hunt for the name of the informer began when Divisional-In-spector Metcalfe, of the Ministry of Food, was giving evidence. He told Mr Bray, counsel for Smale, that he did not think the prosecution was the result of enmity of competitors because the firm' sold cheap meals. Mr Bray: Did the information leading to the prosecution come from a servant of the corporation? Mr B. M. Stephenson, who prosecuted: Do not answer.