Presentation of Godley Gifts to The House of Lords, Parliament Square, London

I would like to highlight the presence of two people in the group photo. Christopher James 4th Baron Northbourne (extreme right, with stick) and Mary Weston (fifth from right, in blue, with stick). Lord Northbourne, aged 90, drove a couple of hours from East Kent to be present. He died a few months later. Arthur Godley (later 1st Baron Kilbracken) was the boy ‘Little Arthur’ for whom J.E.FitzGerald wrote and illustrated in Lyttelton the children’s book ‘Seadrift’, the facsimile of which comprises the 2nd volume of ‘Godley Gifts’. Arthur Godley was Lord Northbourne’s god-father. Lord Northbourne’s great-aunt, Sarina, was Arthur Godley’s wife. Sarina’s father, Sir Walter James Bt. (later the 1st Lord Northbounrne) was named guardian, in John Robert Godley’s will, to the latter’s children in the event of Mrs Godley’s death before the children, including Arthur, came of age. Sir Walter and J.R.Godley had been close friends as fellow undergraduates at Christ Church, Oxford. Later, Sir Walter accepted J.R.Godley’s invitation to become a founder-member of the Canterbury Association, becoming an active member as part of the Management Committee of the Association.

Mary Weston was born in Rangiora near Christchurch, the daughter of Major-General Sir Howard Kippenberger, commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division in the Italian Campaign, where he lost both his feet at the Battle of Monte Casino when stepping on a mine. Mary married Garth Weston, son of Garfield Weston. Mary became a trustee of the prominent and renowned Garfield Weston Foundation, which became a most generous benefactor of the Oxfords’ Canterbury Association Project linking in perpetuity the cathedrals of Christ Church Oxford and Christchurch New Zealand. Mary Weston died only a few weeks after this presentation.