Mr. Lathom said that he had known Mr. Harrison and his family for a
period of rather over twelve months. He had occupied the adjoining
maisonnette to theirs in Bayswater, and had there formed an acquaintance
with them, which had resulted in a considerable degree of intimacy. He
had painted a portrait of Mrs. Harrison, which had been exhibited in the
spring of 1929 at the Royal Academy. Financial and other considerations
had resulted in his giving up the lease of the maisonnette in February,
and going to live in Paris, but the friendship with the Harrisons had
been kept up by correspondence and occasional visits.
Mr. Harrison had been accustomed to take an annual holiday “on his own”
at “The Shack,” living a bachelor existence, and making the experiments
in natural cookery in which he was interested. He also painted in
water-colours. On Mr. Lathom’s return to England, in October, Mr.
Harrison had suggested that he should join him in his residence at “The
Shack.” They had gone down there together on Saturday, the 11th of
October, and had passed a very enjoyable holiday.
* * * * *
_The Coroner_: Will you explain the arrangements made about obtaining
supplies of food and so on?—Bread, meat and vegetables were brought,
when required, by the carrier, who called on Monday and Thursday, and
took the orders for his next visit. A supply of tinned food, including
condensed milk, was kept in “The Shack.” There was no delivery of
newspapers. Letters were fetched from the post-office at Manaton by
anybody who happened to be walking that way, or brought by the carrier
on his visits.
Who did the cooking and housework?—We shared the work of washing up,
carrying wood and so on. Mr. Harrison did all the cooking. He was a
first-class cook.
Did he supplement the fresh and tinned meat and so on, with what may be
called experiments in natural diet?—Oh yes. One evening we had swealed
hedgehog, for example. (Laughter.)