A PRINCE A SHIP AND HAL JOSEPH E. BENNETT, 33ø 507 Ninth Street, Box 1928, Bandera, Texas 78003 ONE OF THE MORE fascinating contemplations one may experience is to view, in retrospect, the effect of a chance encounter between two people in an unusual setting. It is simple to trace the results of such an unplanned meeting and to realize how it might open a door of success that had not been dreamed of at the time. Certainly, we must agree that a power mightier than any mortal moves us about the chessboard of life without our knowledge or consent. A case in point involves a prince, a ship, and a young musician. The prince was the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VIII of England; the ship was the plush ocean liner, Berengeria; and the young musician was James Hal Kemp. The year was 1924, and the setting was the Atlantic Ocean. Those elements, in a chance encounter, changed Hal Kemp's life forever. Music had been Hal's consuming passion since he started taking piano from his sister, Marie, at age four. By the time he was nine, he had mastered the instrument and soon expanded his musical activity to include playing the trumpet in a marching band in his hometown of Marion, Alabama. Within a short time, he had also learned the clarinet and alto saxophone, the instruments he would identify with in his future musical career. When Hal was fourteen, the family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father, Thomas Dupre Kemp, was employed by the government. The youngster immediately became involved in organizing an orchestra in the small church the family attended. Here, Hal met John Scott Trotter, who would become an important personality in Kemp's musical life in the years ahead. They called their little group "The Merrymakers" and enjoyed a great deal of popularity beyond the confines of the church until Hal completed high school. In 1924, Hal enrolled in the University of North Carolina, ma- joring in economics in preparation for what his father hoped would lead to a successful business career. Although he commenced his studies, he also took steps to organize a dance band made up of fellow students at Chapel Hill. When his old friend John Scott Trotter and Skinnay Ennis were enrolled as students the following year, his dream became a reality. The band, which also included Ben Johnson and Saxy Dowell, enjoyed considerable success at the university and locally. Hal proved to be not only a gifted instrumentalist, but a fine arranger and leader. He cherished an ambition to lead the band to even greater accomplishments beyond the university. In the spring of 1924, the boys decided to seek a booking for the summer on one of the great ocean liners traveling between New York City and Europe. From Chapel Hill, Hal called his older brother, T. D. Kemp, Jr., a young graduate engineer who was working for Westinghouse in New York at the time. Also a music lover, T. D. was easily persuaded to add his effort to the plan and devoted many lunch hours to mak- ing the rounds of musical booking offices. Presently, he ran across band leader Paul Specht, who managed bookings for the Cunard Line to London. T. D. was successful in convincing Specht to give the college band an audition, but it required them to come to New York. Hal and the band managed the trip with a great deal of difficulty but were successful in auditioning for Specht. He was impressed. A short time later, Hal received a call at Chapel Hill informing him that the band had a booking on a ship to London. The job would pay their passage and expenses in return for their musical services on board. The young musicians jumped at the offer. Paul Specht accompanied Hal and the band on the voyage to England and was so pleased with their performances that he booked them for a month into the swank Picadilly Hotel and sent a replacement band back to the United States. When the job was concluded, Hal and his group were scheduled to return to New York on the plush liner, Berengeria. The fall term was about to start at the university, and the boys had every intention of returning to school. The Berengeria was the flagship of the Cunard Line in 1924. The product of a fierce rivalry which had existed between Great Britain and Germany before World War I, the ship was one of the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liners in the world. Originally, the vessel had been built by the Germans and named the Imperator. Kaiser Wilhelm II had personally christened her, with much pride, on May 23, 1912, only a few weeks after the Titanic disaster. The Imperator boasted the latest three-stack design, with the enormous funnels towering 69 feet above the upper deck. The ship was powered by newly introduced steam turbine engines driving four mammoth propellers. Her bunkers held 8,500 tons of coal to fuel the huge boilers. When the Imperator was launched, she was, at 52,117 tons, the largest ship afloat and designed to carry 4,594 passengersÄ908 in first class, 972 in second class, 942 in third, and 1,772 in steerage. The flood of immigrants to the United States made steerage passage by far the most profitable for the shipping lines in 1912, in spite of their preoccupation with providing the most extravagant accommodations for first-class passengers. The opulence of the Imperator's furnishings defied description. No expense was spared in creating elegant dining and social rooms, as well as spacious suites. The exquisite craftsmanship of hundreds of workmen who had decorated the ship was exceeded only by her immense proportions. She was 98 feet wide and, at 918 feet, longer than three football fields, truly the queen of the seas. Alas, her reign as the flagship of the German maritime fleet was to be shortlived. When World War I started in 1914, normal ocean travel was disrupted, especially after the United States entered the conflict in 1917. When hostilities ended in 1918, the Imperator was used briefly by the United States to transport troops before being turned over to Great Britain in reparation for the sinking of the Lusitania. Shortly after that, she became the property of the Cunard Line. The elegant liner was totally refitted and rechristened the Ber- engeria by Cunard. Assigned a passenger run between New York and London, she took her rightful place as the flagship of the Cunard fleet. Passage on the great liner could vary from $40 in steerage, to a high of $4,000 for the best suites. At $40, steerage accommo- dations made for a grim and austere voyage, in extreme contrast to the luxury of first class. The Berengeria's passenger list contained some of the most re- nowned names of the day, and it was an important social accom- plishment to book passage on the great liner. Once Commodore Vanderbilt, finding his favorite suite already assigned, reserved it for ten years in advance to assure it would always be available when required. Small wonder the Prince of Wales was convinced the Berengeria was the proper vessel to carry him to the United States. In 1924, the Prince of Wales was 29 years old and one of the world's most eligible bachelors. The dashing young nobleman was In 1924, at the age of 29, the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary of England was named Provincial Grand Master of Surrey. In 1936 he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England and ascended the throne of the empire. Edward was also an honorary Thirty-third Degree Mason in the Scottish Rite of England. the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary of England, and at his investiture in Carnavon Castle he became the first English prince to address the Welsh in their native tongue. Schooled at Osborne and Dartmouth to prepare him for a naval career, he served as a midshipman on HMS Hindostan. During World War I, he was with the British Expeditionary Force in Flanders and Italy, taking up his public duties in 1919, after peace was declared. Although, listed on the Berengeria's manifest under the alias "Lord Renfrew," none were deceived, and he became one of the most popular passengers aboard, especially since he joined many group activities. One of his favorite pastimes was dancing to the popular music of the day, and sometimes he played the drums a little. On this occassion, the orchestra providing the music was Hal Kemp and his musical group from the University of North Caro- lina. Their performances greatly pleased the young prince. He lin- gered every evening and even arranged a number of private after- hour musical programs to which only a select number of guests were invited. The enthusiasm of the Prince of Wales for the music of Hal Kemp and the band caught the attention of reporters aboard the Berengeria, and the word was flashed to the States via wireless. When the ship docked in New York, the music of the college band had a ready-made reputation. Specht was ecstatic and urged the youngsters to capitalize on the numerous offers. They did stay in New York for awhile and played a number of bookings, but eventually returned to classes at the university. The lure of popular music was too great, though, and before long Hal and the boys were back in New York for good. He had finished his third year, but was never able to receive the degree in economics envisioned by his father. When Hal Kemp brought the orchestra to New York for a permanent stay, Trotter, Ennis, Dowell, and Williams, were among those who joined him. They went on to become one of the finest orchestras of the Big Band Era, renowned for their stylish, sophisticated music and unique arrangements. Hal became a superstar among band leaders through his develop- ment of a musical style that was often copied, but never successfully. Several of his band members went on to carve out distinguished careers in professional music beyond the confines of the Hal Kemp orchestra. Notably, John Scott Trotter was musical director to Bing Crosby for many years, and Skinnay Ennis became a highly successful band leader and radio personality with Bob Hope. Hal's own brilliant career was tragically ended on December 19, 1940, when his car was struck by an oncoming vehicle in a dense fog which covered Madera, California. He died two days later, taking his distinctive musical talent with him. Today, only his numerous recordings remain as treasured possessions of his many fans. Not only a great musician, Hal Kemp was also a great Mason. In 1935, the Order of DeMolay recognized his outstanding contribu- tions to the youth of America by conferring upon him the Legion of Honour Award. The Prince of Wales, like Hal, was a Freemason of impressive proportions. He was initiated into the Craft by Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, on May 2, 1919, to become a member of the Household Brigade Lodge No. 2614, in which the Grand Master is permanent Worshipful Master. Edward was appointed Senior Warden of his lodge in 1920, and Deputy Master in 1921. On October 25, 1922, he was installed Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England, in Royal Albert Hall, with 9,000 Brethren in attendance. He was named Provincial Grand Master for Surrey on July 22, 1924, and became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England in 1936 when he ascended the throne of the empire. Edward was also an honorary Thirty-third Degree Mason in the Scottish Rite of England. The first bachelor in 176 years of English kings, the young mon- arch was on the throne only eleven months before abdicating to marry American-born Wallis Warfield Simpson. He assumed the title Duke of Windsor and served as the Governor of the Bahama Islands from 1940 until 1945. There he learned with regret of the untimely death of Hal Kemp. Although the lives of these two extraordinary men touched only briefly aboard the Berengeria, the career of Hal Kemp was dramati- cally altered by the meeting. Masons both, they were propelled by events over which they had little control, and yet without capricious fate causing their paths to cross on that stately vessel, who knows what direction the career of the gifted Hal Kemp may have taken? Broþ Bennett, 33ø, a District Deputy Grand Master of Ohio who recently took up residence in Texas, is the recipient of the national Philalethes Society 1988 Literary Award for best article published in that year.