What wasn’t obvious to the naked eye was that the restoration of Eltham Palace was shaped by Stephen’s war. While he and Ginie were planning and building, the European situation was getting tense once more and rumours of war were rife. Stephen was more aware than most of what another war might bring and he felt angry, anguished and incredulous. He had known that it was only a matter of time before the Germans tried to get their own back for Versailles, but no one wanted to hear such views. No one listened to Churchill either, he was derided and shut out.

If we are a race that cannot learn, what hope is there? Stephen thought, despairingly. What will become of us?

He hid ammunition and firearms at Eltham. If the Germans invaded, he intended to put up one a hell of a fight. There was an air raid siren on the roof and air purification units in the cellar, in case of a gas attack. The basement, which was protected by reinforced concrete, could be sealed off and made airtight. He had been gassed before and would never forget how it felt.

The modern part of the house looked like an ordinary brick building, but it was all made of concrete. The entire roof, over two and a half feet on the ground floor and slightly less on the first floor. It was a house that was designed for survival.

Stephen had longed desperately, continuously for children – it had taken years to relinquish the hope that one day he would live on through the generations. He put his grief to rest in creating. If he couldn’t have grandchildren, he would leave behind a grand house.

21 The Courtaulds, Eltham, 1930s

21

The Courtaulds, Eltham, 1930s

Caesar the Great Dane moved into Eltham Palace with the Courtalds. As they had so much space and thought that Caesar needed company, they bought two more dogs; a highly strung Afghan hound called Kais and Solfo, a giant poodle.

Stephen also bought Ginie a baby lemur from Harrods. She fell in love with him instantly and decided to call him Mah-Jongg. They built him a heated cage on the first floor, decorated with wallpaper depicting the Madagascan jungle and crafted a tiny bamboo ladder down into the Garden Room below.

Caesar, Kais and Solfo had a marvellous time roaming the grounds. The grounds included lawns, shrubberies, a sunken rose garden, glasshouses for Stephen’s orchids and a rock garden built from great slabs of weathered limestone, which was large and steep enough for him to have an alpine ramble up before breakfast. The dogs wreaked havoc by digging up bulbs, tearing hedges apart and trampling rose beds. Afterwards, they would come and find Ginie as though seeking praise for a job well done.

Caesar took to jumping over the wall and running away. He would trot onto Eltham High Street and steal sausages from the butcher, who sent Ginie the bills.